Members of the Real Housewives franchise are said to be distancing themselves from former Real Housewives of New York City alum Bethenny Frankel amid her messy feud with ex-friend and boss Andy Cohen.
Following Bethenny’s calls for reality stars to form a union, and her ongoing criticism of Andy, 56, which has included accusing the Watch What Happens Live host of “belittling” racism and using the Bravo shows to get rich, an insider claims the women of the franchise are avoiding Bethenny, 53, so they don’t get on the bad side of Andy.
“The ladies felt they had to pick a side, and everyone chose Andy,” a source explained to In Touch Weekly. “Not only is he nicer than Bethenny — he’s the guy who pays their bills!”
Prior to Bethenny taking a stand against Andy, she starred on RHONY for eight seasons and in her Bethenny Ever After spinoff for three seasons and often appeared on his late-night show. And she wasn’t professionally friendly with Andy. In fact, the two of them were once close.
“So, when she betrayed him, it hurt even more!” the insider concluded.
As fans will recall, Bethenny fired off a legal letter from her attorneys in which she targeted Andy and Bravo, as well as their parent company, NBCUniversal, saying, “The sordid and dark underbelly of NBC’s widely consumed reality TV universe has remained under wraps for far too long.”
A short time later, during an interview with Vulture, Andy described his former friend’s behavior against him as a “sustained attack.”
Andy also spoke of Bethenny in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, admitting to feeling hurt by her claims against him.
“I’m super proud of what we’ve built and of everybody who’s been a part of it. I think most people involved with these shows have been very grateful for the platform, but there will always be a few with complaints. Obviously, it’s no fun to be a target. So, yes, it’s hurtful. But I have no regrets about the way I’ve handled anything,” he stated. “I know what the truth is and I know how I’ve conducted myself, and I walk tall every day on that.”
Although Luann de Lesseps, 59, recently reunited with Bethenny in the Hamptons, she later suggested that her former co-star had used her teenage daughter, Bryn Hoppy, to “get to [her].”
“After watching Bethenny’s video and still being blocked by her on social media, I realize she just used her daughter to get to me,” Luann told Us Weekly after the run-in. “It hurt my feelings.”