Bethenny Frankel Needed Bravo More Than Bravo Ever Needed Her
While the golden era of Bravo juggernaut Real Housewives of New York is no longer, Bethenny Frankel is still dominating our social media feeds. From eating crab legs in a hotel bed that she ordered off of Uber Eats to putting cottage cheese and caviar on quite literally anything, Bethenny’s TikTok activity runs the gamut of one-sided feuds, delusions of grandeur, and the occasional dating tip to modern women that’s shockingly poignant. What’s made Bethenny gain a following on the app is her constant jabs at the show and the network that made her famous.
Bethenny has historically been insistent on making sure everyone knows that she was successful beyond Bravo and that Bravo needed her more than she ever needed them. If that’s true, then why keep bringing Bravo up to maintain relevancy? If anything, Bethenny needed Bravo far more than Bravo ever needed her, and her likability has been in free fall since they parted ways.
Bethenny Was Bravo’s Rising Star
Bethenny endeared herself to audiences as a scrappy bachelorette who rubbed elbows with women who were more established or married well. For the runt of the group, she was the most aware of how ridiculous everyone around her was, and she was the one who anchored the group down to reality. She possessed this savvy, acerbic wit that made her entertaining to watch her first few seasons, and no one can take that from her. However, when she came back, RHONY was having no problem thriving without her. Sure, Season 3 had a slight slump, but many newbies such as Carole Radziwill, Sonja Morgan, and Aviva Drescher were able to seamlessly enter the thunderdome that is Bravo, and many of the show’s most beloved seasons don’t even feature Bethenny.
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Some call them villains and others might just say they’re misunderstood. No matter what, they stirred the pot.
When Bethenny came back, she was understandably troubled by her messy divorce, but she was marketing her caustic remarks as sardonic humor, her verbally incinerating others as brutal honesty, and her frigid, sanctimonious demeanor as setting boundaries. Bethenny bragged about being the favorite of producers and Andy Cohen, and it’s no coincidence that the three women she butted heads with — Kristen Taekman, Heather Thompson, and Carole — were all fired from the show. That was the beginning of the show’s demise, not Bethenny leaving one season after she got her way with casting.
Bethenny Can’t Let It Go
On top of her “Reality Reckoning,” where Bethenny endeavors to “expose” Bravo, she has allegedly funded both Leah McSweeney and Rachel Leviss‘ respective lawsuits against Bravo without ever actually suing the network herself. Bethenny has a history of being litigous, as two TikTokkers with much smaller followings than her have been on the receiving end of legal action against her, so why not sue the network?
Bethenny can’t stop talking about Bravo even after she spearheaded this vendetta against them. Bethenny claimed that in contract negotiations, they have something called “The Bethenny Clause” because Bethenny’s brilliant business acumen rendered her a fantastic contract with them. Bravo commented on the situation, saying there is no such thing as “The Bethenny Clause.” She has pretended to not know who certain castmembers are from different franchises, but she’s really, really insistent on making it public that she has no idea who they are by blasting it to her millions of followers, as if it makes her somehow superior. She did it to Danielle Olivera when Danielle introduced herself at a party, she did it to Gia Giudice recently, and she did it about Vanderpump Rules while giving Rachel her first interview since Scandoval. Bethenny even went on The Him & Her Podcast to really drive home the ratings that she brought to the show. Girl, let it go.
Bethenny’s career didn’t take off after she left Bravo the first or second time. She claimed to have all of these businesses, but many of them have been revealed to be licensing deals under the Skinnygirl umbrella. Her talk show, Bethenny, along with her Max show, The Big Shot With Bethenny, only lasted one season each, and she had an unmemorable stint as a judge on Shark Tank. Even her successes with BStrong are misleading because while she’s raised money for good causes, she claimed it was a charity, when really it’s an initiative. It’s extremely telling that many of those who have left Bravo, either volitionally or by force, have successfully marketed themselves as public figures without the help of castmates, editing, or Bravo. Even Kelly Bensimon is more lovable and lucid than Bethenny these days. For the sake of her sanity and Q Score, Bethenny either needs to let her grudge with Bravo go or she needs to log off the Internet, but we know she will do neither.
