Bravo / YouTube Erika Jayne
It’s all in the timing. “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne gave the context behind the “Hellevator” moment from the show’s November 15 episode in an Instagram Live from that night.
During the episode, the RHOBH cast was preparing to leave Las Vegas, where they had gone to celebrate Crystal Kung Minkoff’s birthday. On their way out of the hotel, the elevator doors opened to reveal Jayne’s friend Mikey Minden and his boyfriend Davis, who performed in the “Magic Mike” show that the ladies had attended. Jayne called out Sutton Stracke to apologize for walking out of the “Magic Mike” show, which upset Stracke.
Later in the episode, Stracke claimed that “Erika specifically, intentionally embarrassed me. Cue elevator doors, ‘Oh Sutton! Now’s your chance, you can apologize!’ What the hell?”
In her Instagram Live, Jayne was ready to give details about the moment and clarify that it was not pre-meditated on her part.
Erika Jayne ‘Jumped All Over’ the Chance to Have Sutton Stracke Apologize
“As a group, we were all in our suite, we were getting ready to leave Las Vegas. We were standing, literally, at the door. And if you know anything about these shows, there is always coverage,” Jayne said, clarifying that a producer caught the “Hellevator” moment on their cell phone, rather than on a usual handheld camera used for filming.
“We were on our way out, the f***ing elevators opened. I see Davis, and I go, ‘This is it. Sutton, this is your moment. Apologize to the wonderful performers walking out of their show.’ And I think everybody including me was a little gagged,” Jayne added. “It was like the reality TV gods had dropped this moment in my lap, and I jumped all over it. It is what it is. You can’t make it up.
When it came to the claims that she had organized the moment to set Stracke up, Jayne told her followers, “You can not set up Las Vegas elevators. If so, I could set up the weather, and if so I could set up a better life for myself and it wouldn’t be here.”
While on “Watch What Happens Live” alongside Stracke, host Andy Cohen asked country singer Maren Morris, “Did you feel that Sutton overreacted to the ‘Magic Mike’ elevator run-in, or do you agree with her that the whole thing was a setup that Erika orchestrated?”
Morris disagreed with Stracke that the moment was set up by Jayne, and said that she felt Stracke may have overreacted a bit to being called out, but she doesn’t know everything Stracke was going through at the time.
Bravo Debuts First Trailer for Erika Jayne’s Spinoff Special
The news came out in October 2023 that Jayne had landed a multi-part documentary special about the conception of her Las Vegas residency, “Bet It All On Blonde”, and at BravoCon 2023, the network shared a first look at the spinoff.
In the first look, Jayne is seen processing the fallout of her pending divorce from Tom Girardi behind the scenes while working to bring the show to life with her director/choreographer Minden. The special is set to air on Bravo in Spring 2024.
Speaking with TooFab about the miniseries at BravoCon, Jayne said, “Putting a show together is a lot. Whether it’s costumes, choreography, the budget. All the design and rehearsal, it’s a lot. And it’s a great personal journey, along with a lot of other side stuff that’s coming to a close. And it’s an emotional moment for me.”
READ NEXT: Sutton Stracke Leaves Andy Cohen Speechless