We have some real drama between two cast members on The Real Housewives of Orange County.
We’re talking about some real serious legal drama here.
In a surprising turn of events, Vicki Gunvalson has filed a lawsuit against her fellow Bravo colleague, Kelly Dodd, accusing her rival of making defamatory statements toward her.
According to documents filed on November 1, Gunvalson is irate over allegations hurled in her direction by Dodd, most notably such quotes as:
You prey on older people, You are a con woman and You engaged in fraud.
Initially, Vicki included Bravo and its parent company, NBCUniversal, in the complaint — but she later dismissed both the network and the company from the lawsuit.
We’ve obviously heard of plenty of Real Housewives getting all angry over what someone else said on air or in some interview about her.
But this is the time we’ve heard of actual legal action being taken in response.
The 57-year old Coto Insurance CEO claims the allegations Dodd made are false and that they could “damage her reputation and livelihood,” negatively affecting her career outside of the series if the network airs them on national television at any point in the future.
To be clear, the episode during which Dodd says these things about her foe has not yet aired.
Gunvalson is seeking an injunctive relief and damages, stating that she doesn’t want the entire episode to be pulled from the air.
However, she is demanding that producers remove the remarks Kelly made about Vicki being a “con woman” from the installment in question.
This lawsuit, of course, is brand new.
But tension between Vicki and Kelly has been lingering for several months.
Dodd told Us Weekly in August that she will “never, ever, ever” be friends with Vicki after she accused her of doing cocaine during season 13.
Kelly pushed for Vicki to be fired at the time.
“I think that she uses everybody as a story line. She doesn’t really have anything in her life,” Kelly said last year, adding:
“You know, her kids are gone, her grandkids are gone. It’s just her — what are we going to watch her and [fiancé] Steve [Lodge] drink wine on the couch?”
Gunvalson was demoted to a “friend” role for season 14.
But this didn’t stop her and Dodd from engaging in several arguments.
“If Kelly had a job and went to work every day like I do, she wouldn’t have time to constantly throw stones at others,” Vicki said in August. “She really needs to worry about herself.”
We can also now confirm that The Real Housewives of Orange County reunion will be filmed next Friday, November is 8.
Both Dodd and Gunvalson are expected to attend.