Karen Gravano sitting at a table full of food and smiling while wearing a black dress
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Mob Wives Alum Karen Gravano Recalls Drita D’Avanzo Feud: ‘It Was About Respect’

We are in a Mob Wives renaissance. As a society, it seems like we have all concluded that it’s time to relive VH1’s iconic series. The “mob wife” aesthetic is all the rage. Big Ang memes are at an all-time high. Clips of Drita D’Avanzo and Karen Gravano beating the crap out of each other go viral on Twitter three times a day. It’s been eight years since the series wrapped, so yes, we’re feeling a little nostalgic about it.

With Mob Wives on everyone’s minds, Karen recently got booked to chat about the show on the Dumb Blonde podcast with Bunnie XO. She added some much-needed context to her neverending feud with Drita. On the show, we knew that their beef stemmed from the fact that Karen used to date Drita’s husband Lee D’Avanzo. Karen explained on the podcast that there was much more to their story.

Karen’s side of the story

According to Karen, she was the one responsible for bringing Drita into the Mob Wives mix. She said that before the show started, they were friends, and Karen’s past with Lee wasn’t an issue. Things only got messy once the cameras started rolling.

“Me and Drita sat down at a table and were like, ‘We’re going to show that no guy could ever come between [us girls],’” Karen recalled. “So then when the show aired, and it came out, me and Drita had this thing like we were friends, ‘F–k him, our friendship matters more than all that.’”

Obviously, their agreement didn’t hold any water. Once the VH1 cameras started rolling, they got to rehashing their issues, calling each other rats, and fist-fighting at cocktail parties. Karen said that ultimately, their beef was about respect, and she blamed the show for misrepresenting the way their feud transpired.

“The way that they were trying to make it like I was this obsessed ex-girlfriend but really it was about respect,” Karen explained. “Because I always respected you, I always brought you to the table with us as an equal.”

Although Karen thinks the show didn’t portray their feud in an accurate light, Drita doesn’t seem to share that sentiment. She recently shared on social media that she rewatched a few episodes of the show. She felt zero regret.

Drita wrote, “Rewatched couple episodes of Mob Wives to see if I overreacted a bit. Decided nah…I didn’t. lol”

If you’re looking to relive the chaos of Mob Wives, you can stream all six seasons on Paramount+.

TELL US – WERE YOU TEAM KAREN OR TEAM DRITA? ARE YOU SURPRISED TO HEAR KAREN’S PERSPECTIVE ON THEIR FEUD ALL OF THESE YEARS LATER?

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