Credit: Instagram
Bethenny Frankel reacted to Nene Leakes‘ return to Bravo on Instagram on Friday.
After it was reported that the 58-year-old Real Housewives of Atlanta alum would be joining the likes of Vicki Gunvalson, 63, Gizelle Bryant, 55, Luann de Lesseps, 60, Teresa Giudice, 53, Kyle Richards, 57, and Lisa Barlow, 51, in a cameo role on a spinoff of The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip, which had been tentatively titled Real Housewives: Ultimate Road Trip, Bethenny, 55, claimed to have pitched a similar show to the network.
“Nene and I have a good relationship, and I am so happy for her, for whatever makes her happy in her life. And everyone makes decisions for different reasons, emotionally, financially, career, relevance, whatever anyone’s choice is, I’m thrilled for Nene,” Bethenny began on January 16.
While the former Real Housewives of New York City star insisted she was happy to see Nene returning to Bravo, she told her fans and followers that she had a couple of things to mention, starting with Nene’s past racial discrimination lawsuit against Bravo.
“I’ve never in history heard of someone [going] after a company and [taking] legal action for different accusations, and then that company [hiring] them back. That’s just an interesting dynamic,” she noted. “Like, I don’t know if there are any other examples of that.”
Another topic she mentioned was that she’d pitched a road trip show featuring her and Nene to Real Housewives EP Matt Anderson, “where I took her to see my friends and visit things I’m interested in throughout the country, and different restaurants, etc., and she would take me on hers.”
In response, Bethenny revealed she was told that Nene was “kryptonite and toxic” and that “they couldn’t touch it.”
“I’m not in any way saying that they stole my idea. Road Trip has been a movie, and many people have had different road trip shows, nor do I care, and if they do, or did, great. But it’s just an interesting conversation on how, like, time heals all wounds, or not everything is as it seems in the moment,” she stated.
“I think it’s a positive thing in that the bridge was not burned because they are doing this show with Nene with the same concept, except that this is a group of people, and mine was just about her and I alone. But it was literally for us to go in an RV across the country. I have all the receipts,” Bethenny continued.
She then pointed out that every time she pitched the idea “to someone, they [said] no.”
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Following the sharing of her video, Bethenny was met with backlash from fans who called out her “shady” response to Nene’s return to Bravo.
“Couldn’t just say congratulations?” one person asked.
Another said her reaction was “giving VERY MUCH BOTHERED [AND] BITTER.”
“It’s called JEALOUSY,” agreed a third.
Someone else said, “This is giving passive-aggressive. Sounds like a hater.”
Another suspected that Bethenny shared her statements in an effort to get back at Andy Cohen, 57, who seemingly shaded her “suffocating” TikTok videos earlier this month.
“Because Andy called her Margarita Lady,” the person wrote.