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Did Heather Thomson quit The Real Housewives of New York City out of embarrassment?
According to a new report, Heather is being accused of walking away from the show amid production on season 13 after her plan to act as a moral ally for the series’ first Black cast member, Eboni K. Williams, backfired.
“She started making excuses about why she couldn’t show up for shoots,” an insider told Page Six on June 9, not that Heather was “embarrassed” by her failure to align with Eboni as a “way to fit in” with the cast.
Because Heather didn’t have a close bond with any member of the RHONY cast, she reportedly hoped she could integrate herself by crusading for Eboni. However, rather than becoming an ally, Heather alienated Eboni from the group.
During the most recent episode of the show, Eboni and Luann de Lesseps were seen discussing the way in which Luann had “triggered” Eboni by calling her “angry.” Then, as Eboni attempted to explain to Luann how her use of the word gave a nod to the offensive “angry Black woman” stereotype, Heather inserted herself into the conversation and advised Luann to apologize.
Following the show, Eboni told the Insider that “to have this white woman, despite her [good] intentions, step into the space of translator, it furthers a narrative that there’s some inability to connect with me directly in shared humanity.”
She also accused Heather of “whitesplaining” and doing “more harm than good.”
Fighting back against the report regarding Heather’s alleged embarrassment, sources close to the mother-of-two informed Page Six that she was actually asked to step into the role of ally for Eboni and added that she was invited back to the series to “be a bridge” between Eboni and the other women.
The insiders then noted that Heather’s sudden exit was prompted by her messy feud with Leah McSweeney, who began gunning for her well before they appeared together on camera.
“[Heather quitting] had nothing to do with Eboni and everything to do with Leah,” one source shared. “Leah made her super uncomfortable and she didn’t want to deal with her,” said the source.
The Real Housewives of New York City season 13 airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.