Bravo has already lost one of its new cast members of The Real Housewives of New York City.
Lizzy Savetsky, a digital influencer who hosts an Instagram show that helps Jewish singles find love, announced that she will not be continuing on the show with Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Dana Lichy, Jenna Lyons, Jessel Taank, and Brynn Whitfield.
Her reason? Savetsky says she’s been the target of “anti-Semitic attacks” since her casting was announced during the BravoCon festivities in October.
Real Housewives of New York Elizabeth Savetsky
Cindy Ord/Getty Images Lizzy Savetsky has departed ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’ after being the target of ‘anti-Semitic attacks.’
“I will not be continuing on The Real Housewives of NYC,” Savetsky wrote in a statement she shared on Instagram. “As a proud orthodox Jewish woman, I thought participating in this series would be a great chance to represent people like me and share my experience. Unfortunately, from the time of my announcement in the cast, I was on the receiving end of a torrent of anti-Semitic attacks. As this continued, I realized that this path was no longer right for me and my family. I’m looking forward to my next chapter. Stay tuned — and thank you for your support! All my love.”
A Bravo spokesperson told EW, “After thoughtful consideration and discussion with Lizzy, we have reached the mutual conclusion that Lizzy will not be a cast member on RHONY.”
Savetsky and the other RHONY stars’ casting made a huge splash a month ago, marking the first time none of the original cast members of the series were coming back. This season with fresh faces was pegged as season 14 of the show instead of a reboot.
Savetsky was described in a press release as “a digital influencer, activist, mom of three, and wife to plastic surgeon Dr. Ira Savetsky. Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Savetsky moved to New York for college and, after a brief stint back in her home state, returned to the Big Apple. Lizzy uses her platform to express her style, educate others on her deep-rooted beliefs, and hosts Instagram show Bashert, where she is setting out to help Jewish singles find love.”
Real Housewives of New York
Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images The new cast of ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’ season 14
During a recent BravoCon panel, executive producer Andy Cohen said he had been looking for a new cast for RHONY ever since the pandemic-filmed season 13 proved to be a ratings killer.
Original cast member Ramona Singer didn’t help matters, with reports surfacing about her alleged racist behavior while filming RHONY; Bravo conducted an internal investigation on the matter. When asked about Singer during the BravoCon panel, Cohen said Bravo hasn’t worked with Singer since.
Singer, however, used the “you can’t fire me, I quit” approach, telling Page Six that she no longer wants to participate in the RHONY: Legacy series that’s in the works with veteran RHONY cast members.
“It’s not for me at this time,” she said.
“We didn’t talk about Ramona, who announced she is not coming back to RHONY: Legacy. I think people saw that coming,” Cohen said recently on his SiriusXM show, Andy Cohen Live. “It’s interesting, one of those hilarious things of the internet, which is every time it was mentioned, it was, ‘Please, no Ramona.’ You go on Twitter, ‘No Ramona!’ The second Ramona announces she’s leaving, ‘No, Ramona’s a legend!'”