The Real Housewives of Potomac cast are attempting to take down Stacey Rusch, but it’s only made fans love her more. The former QVC host found herself in the hot seat, the latest in an unfortunate trend of Real Housewives pile on storylines. Her castmates are determined to pin Stacey as a liar after her former “best friend” TJ Jones’ reunion accusations. TJ claimed that Stacey paid him to pretend to be her love interest. This season, Stacey’s RHOP co-stars are still adamant that TJ was telling the truth. But their attempts to get viewers to turn against Stacey fell completely flat. Here’s why RHOP fans love Stacey more than ever, and why the attempted takedown backfired so hard.
Why Stacey Rusch is an RHOP fan favorite
Andy Cohen said it best when he complimented Stacey as “endlessly entertaining” on Watch What Happens Live. He also called her one of Bravo’s best new cast members on Call Her Daddy. That’s very high praise, and lots of RHOP viewers would agree.
Stacey was made to be on TV. She has such a unique personality, and her endless positivity and slightly delusional attitude make her perfect Housewife material. You can never really guess what she’ll say or how she’ll react to things. Think of when she was assigned to sleep in bunk beds on a cast trip. Most Housewives would throw a fit, but Stacey was overjoyed about living a childhood fantasy. Of course, the best example of this was her reaction to TJ’s claims at the Season 9 reunion. Her choice to quote Maya Angelou with “Still I rise” was instantly iconic. And it gave her the inspiration to have the best RHOP Season 10 tagline.
Another reason fans love Stacey is that she’s incredible at throwing shade. Her comments about Ashley Darby’s singing abilities are especially cutting. She’s also a very effective sparring partner for Gizelle Bryant. When the ladies were grilling Stacey about TJ, she threw a verbal dagger with “Really Gizelle? You’ve never been humiliated by a man?” In fact, I think this cutting wit is why Gizelle is so bothered by Stacey.
It’s not just her presence on Real Housewives of Potomac that fans love either. Recently, old clips of Stacey’s time as a QVC host have gone viral. Bravo fan accounts are particularly obsessed with the way she sold a nativity theme sweater. Her way with words is unmatched!
Why the takedown against Stacey Rusch failed
On RHOP Season 10, Gizelle and Ashley are particularly determined to paint Stacey as a liar. In the premiere, they claimed that an actress who is close friends with TJ showed proof he and Stacey had a contract. Allegedly, there was a document that stated Stacey would pay TJ 50% of her RHOP earnings. However, Gizelle and Ashley conveniently didn’t get a picture of this document. Fans were skeptical of its legitimacy, especially because 50% seems way too high.
Ashley also theorized that Stacey never got legally divorced. She claimed she couldn’t find the divorce when she searched the database. Stacey hilariously responded to this by saying that Ashley should search for singing lessons instead. This fell flat when it was reported that, yes, Stacey is legally divorced.
Another reason that the takedown failed is that it’s too mean. Especially because there’s a running bit about Stacey’s bad breath.
Fans were also put off by Gizelle’s level of pettiness towards Stacey on the cast trip. When every other cast member went to their rooms, they were greeted with flowers, a personal note, and an embroidered robe and bag. But while Stacey got flowers, they came with a blank card. Her robe was the wrong size, and it wasn’t embroidered.
It all came across like high school mean girls. RHOP fans agree that the level of disrespect towards Stacey is unfair and unnecessary. We’ll have to see how the other RHOP cast members react to Stacey’s popularity, and if they apologize or change how they treat Stacey in response.
Real Housewives of Potomac is available to stream on Peacock.
TELL US – HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT STACEY RUSCH ON REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC? DO YOU AGREE THAT THE TAKEDOWN FAILED?
