It probably won’t surprise anyone to know that Bravo seems to be exploiting its talent in order to make addictive, completely bonkers reality television. This has always been the underlying tension of Bravo’s franchises, and it often gets dismissed because reality stars are perceived as fame-hungry fools who willingly open themselves up to ridicule. And in some ways, that’s true: a new Vanity Fair investigation into Bravo’s behind-the-scenes includes a quote from one anonymous Housewife who is willing to put up with a lot for fame: “Have I been put through the wringer? A hundred percent…. Still better than my worst day withering away at a life of quiet desperation.”
But Real Housewives Of New York legend Bethenny Frankel’s calls earlier this year to form a reality star union has put renewed scrutiny on Bravo’s practices. That infamously includes plying talent with alcohol, harrowingly recounted for Vanity Fair by ex-Housewife Leah McSweeney; her mental health deteriorated as her sobriety was put to the test, with other Housewives pressuring her to drink just to make good television. (NBCUniversal supposedly has instituted a new alcohol policy for its reality shows since the VF investigation began.)
Below are some of the most eyebrow-raising revelations from the investigation:
- There’s a “1-800 number for Dr. Barry,” a.k.a. psychologist Barry Goldstein, who calls up Bravo stars when they’re not doing what production wants them to do, in one Housewife’s observation.
- Eboni Williams, Real Housewives Of New York’s first Black cast member, recalls a racial sensitivity training (a “cover your ass” exercise, in her words) in which co-star Ramona Singer questioned an instruction not to speak about racial stereotypes like Black fathers not being present for their children: “What if they don’t have a father? Why can’t I say that?” she asked. “Most of them don’t.”
- Williams felt she was the victim of microaggressions during filming, and one insider claimed to have witnessed an outburst from Singer after an altercation in which Singer declared, “This is why we didn’t need Black people on the show…. This is gonna ruin our show.” (Singer denies having said this.) Singer also allegedly compared being called a “shiksa” in college to a Black woman being called the N-word to a Black producer. (Singer denies having said this.)
- A butler on an upcoming season of Ultimate Girls Trip has filed a lawsuit alleging that NBCU, Bravo, and the production company “allowed, condoned and even encouraged” Brandi Glanville to sexually harass him (“and others”) on the set. Rumors suggested Glanville also assaulted cast member Caroline Manzo. “You’re not in your right mind, and you want to give them good TV,” Glanville explained to VF. “The whole point of these shows is to get us unhinged. If there was an issue or situation where someone was uncomfortable in Morocco, no one in production or the crew or cast intervened in the moment.”
- Andy Cohen is alleged to have tacitly condoned some of this bad behavior, like when he responded to Singer’s racist microaggressions by allegedly claiming it would make “amazing episodes,” or his failure to correct Vanderpump Rules stars when they suggested Rachel Leviss was faking her mental health issues despite knowing she was in an inpatient mental health facility. The VF article notes that Cohen teased an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Singer as recently as October 23.
To understand the full picture, you need to read the full Vanity Fair piece (and probably know a bit of Housewives lore). The bottom line, though, is that even if reality stars are willingly becoming part of the machine, that doesn’t mean the machine isn’t grinding them down.
“We literally are walking to the casino thinking we’re gonna change our family’s lives, make a fortune, and ride off into the sunset,” is how another anonymous Housewife puts it. “But if you were, say, the most successful Housewife ever, you would not be able to chart it without charting also absolute emotional destruction, public humiliation, divorce, death, crime, prison, shame, misogyny, and just an onslaught of pure hate.”