NBCUniversal Kate Chastain
Kate Chastain has made it clear what she thinks of Bethenny Frankel‘s recent crusade for a “reality TV reckoning” when she took to social media to throw shade at the “Real Housewives of New York City” alum.
On Monday, August 7, Chastain wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “I can’t wait to watch the Netflix documentary about the exploitation of Skinnygirl.” As RHONY fans know, Frankel founded Skinnygirl in 2009 and sold her pre-packaged Skinnygirl Margarita, which she discussed in the early seasons of the hit Bravo show.
In 2011, she sold Skinnygirl Cocktails to Fortune Brands’ Beam Global (which is now part of Suntory) for an estimated $100 million, People reported. While there is no documentary about Skinnygirl, some of the criticism Frankel has received over her videos calling for reality TV stars to unionize and stop networks exploiting them is due to the success and notoriety she received following her time on RHONY.
As for Chastain, the new mother is set to make her return to Bravo in her new series with Captain Lee Rosbach, “Couch Talk with Captain Lee and Kate,” which premieres on August 14.
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Bethenny Frankel Has Been Calling for Reality TV Stars to Strike & Make Demands
Despite Chastain’s comment, Frankel has received lots of support for her push to get reality TV stars unionized. She began discussing the exploitation of reality TV stars amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. In several videos posted to her social media, Frankel suggested that reality stars should go on strike to get better working conditions and get residual pay for their work.
“I got paid $7,250 for my first season of reality TV, and people are still watching those episodes,” she said in one video posted to TikTok. She also argued that reality stars are the ones doing the “heavy lifting” in the entertainment industry during the ongoing strike.
On August 10, SAG-AFTRA announced that it was working “toward the protection of the reality performers” to fight to end “the exploitative practices that have developed in this area” and “to engage in a new path to union coverage,” Deadline reported.
Bethenny Frankel Named Some of the Bravo Stars Who Messaged Her About Her Calls for a Reality TV Strike
Frankel told ET on July 20 that several Bravo stars had reached out to her to voice their support or express interest in her message.
“I got a message from Hannah Berner, Kaitlyn Bristowe, Chrissy Tegan, JWoww [Jenni Farley], people from ‘Love Is Blind,’ ‘The Bachelor,’ ‘The Bachelorette,’ ‘Below Deck,’ ‘Vanderpump Rules,’ ‘Summer House,’ Paige DeSorbo. These are people that are messaging me back. They’re listening. They’re interested.”
Berner is a “Summer House” alum while DeSorbo is currently filming the 8th season of the show. “Vanderpump Rules” is another Bravo show currently in production as season 11 is filming.
Meanwhile, Frankel called out Bravo head Andy Cohen during her ET interview as someone who was “very involved” as a producer in negotiations for the show’s casts. “He’s quite knowledgeable of what the television industry represents and what it means. And he’s knowledgeable as a producer and as an observer and as a monetizer of this dynamic,” she shared.
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