Bethenny Frankel is mad as hell, and is biting back at the injustices she claims are perpetrated against reality TV stars.
In a video uploaded to her TikTok and Instagram on Thursday, the 52-year-old Frankel, a former “Real Housewives of New York” reality show alum, claimed that reality stars should receive residuals like other actors.
“Reality stars are the stepchildren, the losers, the mules, the pack horses. The ones that the entertainment industry is going to rely on, right now, to carry the water and do the heavy lifting when real stars, real A-list Hollywood is on strike,” she said.
Frankel doesn’t need the money. She is now the CEO of Skinny Girl, whose liquor division she sold for a reported $100 million while retaining the rights to use the name for other products. She’s also a best-selling author and producer.
But she’s disturbed by how disposable her fellow reality stars are.
In one example, Frankel said “Vanderpump Rules” star Raquel Leviss’s affair “pretty much ruined” her life.
“And at what price?”
She added, “Reality television exploits affairs, bankruptcy, falling off the wagon, not really having what you say you have, something inappropriate, risking cancellation every single time the camera goes on.”
Frankel said that she recognizes how a “young, doe-eyed reality star-to-be,” who wants fame at any cost, doesn’t “know what they’re signing” and “can’t afford a good lawyer.”
” So, just because Hollywood and the entertainment industry can exploit this green talent, does it mean they should? Contracts are designed to protect talent. Not for a gotcha moment.”
Frankel claimed she was compensated with $7,250 for her first season of her Bravo series.
” Why isn’t reality TV on strike?” Frankel said. “I got paid $7,250 for my first season of reality TV and people are still watching those episodes.”