Newbie castmate Lizzy Savetsky recently announced her exit from the Real Housewives of New York reboot, and she said she received a wave of antisemitic attacks online.
Amid her announcement, Bravo reportedly made a statement saying that the exit was a mutual decision, though no further details were provided.
According to a source speaking with Page Six, there’s another element to the story. The insider claims the N-word was repeated on set, which occurred when Lizzy’s husband allegedly recounted a conversation between two stars on the show.
The source says it started when Lizzy, a matchmaker, revealed her preference to only set up Jewish people with other Jewish people, and she said Orthodox Jews prefer marriages between Jewish people in order to preserve their ethnic lineage. Another co-star, Brynn Whitfield, who Page Six describes as half-Black, was reportedly upset with these matchmaking choices, and she shared that Lizzy’s terminology sounded like that of “horrific people [meaning Nazis] who did evil things to your people.”
Lizzy was reportedly shocked, and she had an off-screen phone call with Brynn as they addressed the effect of racial slurs. The source claimed that Brynn used the N-word during the call. Lizzy allegedly had the impression that Brynn was planning on telling co-stars that Lizzy also used the word in the call.
Insiders claimed Lizzy’s husband, Dr. Ira Savetsky, then became angered, and he reported this alleged encounter to producers of the show.
Sources allege he used the actual word when recounting the story instead of saying “the N-word.”
Though he reportedly apologized later, “conversations began” regarding the couple’s exit from RHONY.
The sources also pointed out that Lizzy indeed received antisemitic hate online, and the racial slur incident wasn’t the only motivation for her exit.