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A real housewife is coming to the defense of Hilaria Baldwin, in the wake of accusations that Baldwin has faked her Spanish accent, heritage, and ethnicity, among other things. Dorit Kemsley of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills took time during a recent Instagram Q&A to defend Baldwin.
In response to a fan who asked her about the scandal, Kessler said, “I feel bad for what she’s going through in the press at the moment. I don’t think she deserves it. I’ve had so much scrutiny over the way I speak, I’ve learned to ignore all the noise but at first it was really hurtful.”
Kessler added, per Us Weekly, “I’m sure all of this backlash has been hard on her. I don’t know her but I’ve followed her for years and I hope she’s back on social media soon…If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Baldwin Admitted She Grew Up in Boston With the Name ‘Hilary,’ But Denies Faking Her Spanish Heritage
Last week, Baldwin was accused of faking her Spanish accent, as well as fabricating the details of her childhood and family life to give the impression of being a person of Spanish descent. The New York Times has since confirmed that Baldwin is legally an American, grew up in Boston, and went by “Hilary” until 2009. However, Baldwin gave an interview to the Times in which she argued she didn’t lie or fabricate any aspect of her life. Rather, she insisted that she has a relationship to both cultures.
“There is not something I’m doing wrong, and I think there is a difference between hiding and creating a boundary,” she told the publication. “The things I have shared about myself are very clear. I was born in Boston. I spent time in Boston and in Spain. My family now lives in Spain. I moved to New York when I was 19 years old and I have lived here ever since. For me, I feel like I have spent 10 years sharing that story over and over again. And now it seems like it’s not enough.”
All of the members of Baldwin’s immediate family, including her parents and siblings, now reside in Mallorca, Spain. She told The Times, “My family, this is where they’ve decided to spend their lives. I guarantee you they are going to live there and they are going to die there. That’s their home and that’s because this is not something new, no one put a map up on the wall and threw a dart at it and said, ‘Oh, Spain sounds good.’”
Kemsley Has Experienced Her Own Accent Scandal in the Past
Kemsley, who grew up in Connecticut, has fielded questions over the years over her apparent British accent. In 2017, she spoke to the Daily Dish about her unfounded accent.
“I think the way I speak is probably a combination of many things,” she said. “First and foremost, I am married to a Brit who’s got a very, very strong London accent, and I’m sure some of his inflections have sort of rolled over on me. My parents are not American. I was born and raised in America. I did spend a significant amount of time, nearly 10 years, back and forth going to Europe.”
Kemsley went on,
”I spent a lot of time working all over the world and in various places of the world where people didn’t speak English all that well. I had a tendency to over-enunciate, so I think at times some of my English is part that and part inflection. And you know being around a lot of Europeans and a lot of Brits, you just become a product of your environment, really. That’s who I am. That’s the way I speak. I don’t hear it. My husband doesn’t hear it but it’s definitely become a topic of conversation.”