Andy Cohen has finally spilled the beans on the firings that shook Real Housewives of New York. No, he didn’t have a personal vendetta against Jill Zarin – although that’s what she’d like us all to think. And no, Bethenny Frankel didn’t influence the decisions – research did!
Say what?! Andy uses graphs and charts to cast the crazy?! According to a new interview with AdAge, Andy credited research for the reasoning behind the firings. “We snort up research like fine Colombian cocaine,” he admitted of the Bravomeisters approach to determining what viewers want.
“I love Twitter because it’s a live focus group,” said Andy, explaining that one reason certain cast members of RHONY were let go was because of negative feedback about them on social media.
It’s #PrideByBravo and out to celebrate the momentous occasion are some of our favorite Bravolebrities! The stars have been updating their twitters with photos of the event. Below are some of our favorites!
CLICK CONTINUE READING FOR PHOTOS OF PRIDE BY BRAVO!
I’m guessing the newcomers on Real Housewives of New York didn’t realize they would be jumping back into last season! With Jill Zarin, Kelly Bensimon, and Alex McCord out of the picture, it seems like the Count(l)ess LuAnn and Pinot Singer are vying to see who will be the biggest, baddest housewife in all the Upper East Side land. The claws are out, which isn’t surprising given this pair.
On the season premiere, Countless told her new co-stars of Ramoana’s threat regarding her children. The maven of manners also demanded an apology for last season’s drama during a party. I find her public admonishment of ol’ Crazy Eyes a tad hypocritical, given there is, according to LuAnn, a time and a place for everything. For example, you don’t talk about losing a parent over drinks with friends. It’s poor form. However, making others uncomfortable at a party is completely acceptable behavior. In her Bravo blog, she explains it all…and with words we serfs can understand. CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR THE REST!
Many have wondered – especially me – just how much money do the ladies of Real Housewives get to act like such loons on national television. Oh, whoops – I meant: How much do they make to act like such classy examples of wealthy American women. Freudian slip!
Anyway, RadarOnline seems to have the answers I’ve been looking for. According to the sometimes right usually not site, Vicki Gunvalson – the OG of all Housewives everywhere – earns a whopping $450,000 per season to obsess about working and have various meltdowns.
I will say, like her or not, Vicki has more or less remained her same wacky self throughout the years and I don’t think she’s acting for the cameras… unlike some of the other grossly overpaid high earning reality stars! Like NeNe Leakes, for instance! The Real Housewives of Atlanta star is reportedly the highest paid of all the women in the franchises – commanding an insane $750,000 per season.
If you thought the Real Housewives of New York was going to get less dramatic following the firings of Jill Zarin,Alex McCord, and Kelly Bensimon, you’d be wrong. Rather than getting classier, the show is probably going to look a lot more like the menopausal, passive aggressive version of Bad Girls Club. The show premieres in two weeks and already, the ladies are taking shots at each other in the press for truly pointless things like their premiere parties.
Rob Shuter of the Huffington Post, who love him or hate him, does appear to have a direct line into the RHONY world, reports that the upcoming season will be Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan versus the rest of the gang, which isn’t surprising. As far as Countess LuAnn, she remained more opportunistic, as she usually is, and stuck with the new blood, and the anonymous cast member tells Rob “The Countess, who has tried to stay neutral in the past, was forced to choose between the new ladies and her old cast mates … and picked the former.”
While Jill Zarin and Alex McCord are officially out of the Real Housewives of New York City, they won’t go quietly into that famewhore night and continue to draw attention to themselves, no matter what. We’ll start with the grossest news. Somehow, Alex was able to get press for a very odd passage in her “urban parenting” book, which was released two years ago, Little Kids Big City. They weren’t getting enough hate messages on Twitter, so they decided to promote the passage below, describing husband Simon VanKempen‘s reaction to the au naturale birth of son, François. Alex describes her natural birth as:
“Once he was finally out of my body, I experienced a tsunami of endorphins that was almost orgasmic and I understand completely the stories other women have written about ecstastic birth. Simon was sitting behind me at the point of birth, and later when we untangled ourselves he discovered he’d actually ejaculated though hadn’t felt any of the normal lead-up to that.”
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Photos below include: Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy out for a stroll; Real Housewives of Miami star Joanna Krupa protesting at DASH; Simon Van Kempen and Alex McCord attend an event; Phaedra Parks in NYC; Debbie Gibson and Aubrey O’Day at the Crystal Light launch; Peggy Tanous attends an event and many more!
Also featured: Pauly D, Giuliana Rancic and Bill Rancic, Dayana Mendoza, Coco Austin and Ice-T, Dee Snider, Tyra Banks, Lisa Lampanelli, Gene Simmons, Anita Gohari (Shahs of Sunset), Rachel Zoe, and so many more!
[Photo credit: Pacific Coast News]
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It’s hard to believe, looking back, that Jill Zarin and Ramona Singer were ever friends. Well, not friends, per se, but at least frienemies! And after four seasons and one firing, the duo whose relationship rapidly deteriorated into a ‘her or me’ situation at Bravo still can’t stand each other!
Speaking to HollywoodLife, Ramona opens up about her animosity towards a certain former co-star! “Jill and I, it’s really funny because we were better friends before the show aired than now,” Ramona explains. “But you know, we’re still … when I see her, we’re still friendly. But do I spend time with her? No.”
And Ramona is still accusing Jill of talking about her to the media! “She makes up stories just for the press. If she were a different type of person, I would talk about it.”
Ramona still likes one of her former co-workers though – she is still the best of friends with Alex McCord! Am I the only person who just simply doesn’t buy this? “The only person I spend time with is Alex,” Ramona reveals. “I’ve always been friends with [her] on and off camera.”
“When you’re good friends with someone, you’re good friends forever,” Ramona added. “With Alex and I, we did develop a true friendship and I will always be there if she needs me. I know she’ll be there for me.”
“Whenever I pick up the phone with her, it’s just like I saw her yesterday,” she describes. “That’s what true friendship is.” Well, that’s very nice.
Moving on, Jill is still selling shapewear—she’ll be on HSN very soon—and she is still talking Real Housewives of New York! The former reality star, who claims to be in talks with Fox for her own show, says she has no hard feelings towards her still employed former co-stars.
“I will definitely watch next season of the Real Housewives of New York, I am looking forward to it,” Jill insists to RadarOnline. “It is funny how the press misrepresents me sometimes but the truth is that I have absolutely no animosity towards the show, Bravo or any of the girls, I wish them all the best and am sure the show is going to do very well.”
She also reminds us that even girls with hot bodies like Kelly Bensimon and LuAnn de Lesseps wear shapewear. “Countess Luann and Kelly have great bodies and they were fighting over my shape wear, they both wear it, you would be surprised to hear the list of people who wear it!” Those two fighting over shapewear? Now that’s some footage I don’t want to see!
[Photos Credit: WENN]
SHOULD RAMONA AND JILL GET OVER THEIR FEUD ALREADY? DO YOU BELIEVE RAMONA AND ALEX HAVE AN AUTHENTIC FRIENDSHIP? IS JILL OVER BEING FIRED OR NOT?
