Credit: Bravo
Margaret Josephs defended Amanda Batula amid her controversy with West Wilson. The Real Housewives of New Jersey star said West and Ciara Miller weren’t a “madly in love couple,” and called out how Amanda is being “vilif[ied].” Below Deck‘s Daisy Kelliher then reacted as Amanda was compared to Jen Shah (who went to jail after pleading guilty to fraud).
Last month, Amanda and West announced their relationship after previously denying the rumors. Many Summer House fans are outraged because Amanda was a close friend of Ciara, West’s ex.
“Ciara and West weren’t like this madly in love couple,” said Margaret on Yacht Mess with Daisy & Marc. “[Ciara] did have a lot of feelings … but [West] played her. … I just don’t want to vilify Amanda the way everybody is, because the way they’re coming at her, this isn’t good.”
“Yeah, it’s too much,” agreed Daisy.
“This girl’s life should not be ruined over this,” Margaret continued. “She is losing basically her career. What is it that she did that brands can’t align with her?”
Daisy’s cohost Marc then referred to Jen Shah.
“If Jen Shah goes to prison and loses housewives and all of her brand deals, we’re being the moral police,” said Marc.
“She broke the law!” said Daisy, highlighting the difference between Jen and Amanda’s controversies.
“[Jen] scammed old people out of money. That’s illegal,” Margaret agreed. “Amanda didn’t do anything illegal. [West] didn’t do anything illegal either.”
“Amanda f**ked her best friend’s situationship!” said Daisy. “That is not the same as scamming old people!”
“He didn’t do anything illegal,” echoed Margaret. “What Wes did was unethical. There’s a difference.”
At the end of March, Amanda and West released a joint statement confirming the rumors.
“We’ve seen the growing online speculation, so while this is still very new, we wanted to provide some clarity. It was never our intention to purposefully hide anything. Given the complicated dynamics involved and the scrutiny that comes with being on a reality show, we needed a little space to process things privately before speaking on it,” wrote the stars on Instagram.
“We’ve shown up for each other as friends over the years, through all the highs and lows, and what’s developed recently was the last thing that either of us expected,” they continued. “Our connection grew out of a genuine, long-standing friendship, which made it especially important for us to approach this with care.”
New episodes of Summer House air Tuesday nights on Bravo.