Bethenny Frankel says Andy Cohen and her former network Bravo haven’t reached out to her about reality TV residuals after she called out the lack of payments for unscripted talent amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
Speaking to Newsweek, Bethenny Frankel responded “no” when asked by the news outlet whether Andy Cohen or any representatives from Bravo had reached out to her since she went public with her comments earlier in the week. She again responded “no” when asked if she expected them to ever reach out to her about the issue.
The former Real Housewives of New York City star made headlines earlier this week when she called out Andy Cohen and Bravo for the lack of residuals being paid to reality TV talent.
The conversation started amid the ongoing strike in Hollywood, where the Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) recently joined the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in their efforts to create a better future for their members. The strike has halted production on many films and TV shows and Bethenny believes that reality TV stars should be taking the same action.
In a video posted to her Instagram on Wednesday, July 19, Bethenny revealed that she has “never made a single residual,” adding “either I’m missing something, or we’re getting screwed too.”
She continued, “Anyone shooting a Bravo show should not be shooting until they get paid residuals for all the other episodes that they’ve ever done, or those episodes should be taken down. Reality stars should go on strike.”
In her comments, Bethenny made it clear that she is sticking up for the lesser-paid reality stars and not the big ticket talent like she was on her show. “I am the exception, not the rule. Me making money is because I’m extremely smart and knew what I was dealing with and grew up at the racetrack. This is not designed for me because I have more than I could ever want,” she said. “This is for the girl who gets paid $7,250 In her first season and said something she regrets that she has to watch on television and on T-shirts and on YouTube for the rest of her natural-born life and make no money on it.”
As Newsweek points out, her comments have drawn praise from reality TV icons like Aviva Drescher (The Real Housewives of New York City), Kaitlyn Bristowe (The Bachelor franchise), and even NeNe Leakes (The Real Housewives of Atlanta).
This isn’t the first time Bravo fans have heard that the reality stars they know and love are underpaid, with some new cast members signing up for season 1 of their shows for as low as $30,000 a year but this is the first time Bravo and Andy Cohen have been called out so publicly.
As previously reported, Bethenny has had quite the week, reuniting with RHONY co-star Jill Zarin on her podcast and throwing her former bosses under the bus in the process.
