Credit: Daniel Robertson/startraksphoto, Jeffrey Mayer / MEGA
In a recent trailer for the upcoming season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Erika Jayne had a heated exchange with co-star Crystal Kung Minkoff. During a clip, Erika said Crystal wanted to support victims (in her husband Tom Girardi‘s embezzlement lawsuit) because she thought it would look cool.
Some of the victims are slinging lawsuits at Erika as well, claiming she was allegedly involved in Tom’s embezzlement — although no criminal charges have been brought against her.
“It’s super cool [to support the victims]. I’m the coolest,” said Crystal in a recent interview with Page Six while she attended her co-star Sutton Stracke’s “Cashmere & Caviar” party.
“Here’s the thing. It’s hard for me to lean into something or go after someone if I’m not quite sure,” added the star. “But in this situation, defending victims is very easy. So it doesn’t bother me, you know what I mean?”
Crystal said Erika’s outburst in the trailer was similar to her outburst at the reunion (after Crystal questioned if Erika was mad at Tom).
“Am I not angry enough for you?” Erika asked in a heated tone.
According to Crystal’s interview, the newbie was “really taken aback” by Erika’s response at the reunion.
“Because I’ve always given her the benefit of the doubt, if I question one thing, it feels bigger,” said Crystal. “But last year was hard when she yelled at me at the reunion.”
In spite of all their issues in the current season, Erika and Crystal managed to stay friends.
“Erika was actually very helpful for me this season. She helped me a lot when I was going through my conflicts with others in the cast,” said the star, who is now in her sophomore season of the show.
“I didn’t like any of that that she was saying in that moment. I don’t think anyone did. And I don’t even think Erika did. Everyone has their own regrets,” she added. “The night she was yelling at me and the girls, she wanted to take that back.”
Crystal was asked how she could be a friend of Erika’s –and also an advocate for the victims. She responded, “That’s a good question … All I will say is that my current friendship with Erika does not affect how I feel about the victims and what they’ve been through. That’s always No. 1 for me.”
She went on to say, “I think that when you’re friends with someone, you’re really willing to be honest with them. I expect my friends to hold me accountable if I’m doing something wrong. And Erika, for the most part, is down to hash things out.”
Then, Crystal addressed another source of drama in the season — Kathy Hilton, who’s reportedly sitting in the hot seat.
“I talk to her a lot and I will say that Kathy is staying very positive and holding her head high throughout all of this,” said the star. “It’s very inspiring to me. I want to be like that!”
Crystal gave a (perhaps cryptic) explanation of where Kathy now stands in the group: “I know that she still is friends with all her friends. So nothing’s changed in that way … She’s still my friend and that’s all that matters to me.”
Although Crystal grew closer to both Kyle Richards and her sister Kathy, this dynamic became “challenging” for Crystal when the siblings were clashing.
“Friends getting between friends is one thing. But Kathy, Kyle and everyone on the cast knows I am the biggest supporter of family,” said Crystal.
“I feel like a good friend always encourages family to resolve anything. No matter how tense things got, I always encouraged Kathy and Kyle to resolve whatever was going on.”
As of now, the season 12 conflicts are somewhat a mystery. Crystal, along with everyone in the cast, is forbidden from discussing the major details until after the episodes air. Perhaps the story will become clearer on May 12, when Bravo airs the anticipated premiere.
In the meantime, of course, there are always certain leaks (aka Lisa Rinna, the most trigger-happy castmate on Instagram).