Bethenny Frankel is once again making headlines over her time on “The Real Housewives of New York.” The Skinnygirl founder recently told Us Weekly that she negotiated what she called a “cushy contract” during her second stint on the Bravo hit, claiming she had control over how, when, and even where she filmed.
“When I was going back to Housewives, I asked for anything I wanted,” Frankel said. “They asked me what I wanted. I asked for it. I got it.”
She continued, “My contract was anything I wanted to the days I wanted to shoot, the hours I wanted to shoot, the way I wanted to shoot, the money I wanted to get. I had a very cushy contract.”
Frankel added that her custody arrangement with her daughter was her top priority. “If I had my daughter on those days … I would be able to leave,” she explained. “It created some resentment, but I was able to come to a cast trip two days late, leave two days early. I would maximize the most of the content when I was there.”
Insider Denies Bethenny’s Outrageous Claims
But according to an insider who spoke with Page Six, not all of Frankel’s comments reflect the full picture. “It’s not true that [Frankel] called the shots over everything,” the source said, pushing back on the idea that Bravo gave her total control.
The insider did acknowledge that Frankel was treated with consideration. “It’s nice to see Bethenny finally acknowledge that she was treated with respect and with genuine empathy for the situation she was in at the time,” they added.
Frankel first exited “RHONY” after season 4, returning in season 7 under the contract in question. She eventually left again and has since been critical of the way Bravo treats its stars.
These days, Frankel claims she is highly selective about television projects. “I’ve been asked to go on so many television shows, and I’ve declined because of the time,” she said. “It would have to be a very specific situation, and it would have to be an astronomical sum … Definitely seven figures for a couple of months.”
Joking about her reluctance to jump back into the spotlight, she quipped, “Now you’re going to get me out of this house with makeup on? It’s gonna be a real number.”
Want even juicier Bravo tea? Sign up for Cocktail Party here!
Lmao. That’s definitely some media trained PR rep for Bravo. She did not say “she acknowledges she was treated with respect and empathy”, she says she was smart enough to put all those things in her contract and negotiate it that way. You guys accepted the terms. So you can’t deny her the special treatment she negotiated in her contract. That’s not “respect and empathy”, that’s legally following your contract. Nice spin on the words there though. 👏😂 you might trick a few.
I hope Bethenny’s future is filled with successful business endeavors that provide the necessary promotion needed for her charity work that are not dependent upon Bravo or its viewers. She makes it clear that she has little respect for Bravo, her former co-workers, producers, and especially Andy Cohen. That’s understandable given her allegations as to the working conditions. But it’s too bad she has to publicly reminisce about all things bravo to generate media attention rather than focus on her new, independent successes. Like her HBO show? Her MGM deal? Her show with Frederik? How about Food Porn? Skinny Jeans? Her Shark Tank success? They offered her a permanent spot ? How about the show with Kevin from Shark Tank? How did that go?