Bravo/YouTube Andy Cohen and Kelly Dodd
As Bravo fans know by now, “The Real Housewives of Orange County” franchise has gone through a major cast shakeup. Season 16 is currently filming and includes Shannon Beador, Gina Kirschenheiter, Emily Simpson, and Heather Dubrow. Kelly Dodd, Braunwyn Windham-Burke and Elizabeth Lyn-Vargas are not returning.
Shortly after the news broke, Dodd released a now-deleted Twitter statement on June 14, 2021, “The last five years have been an amazing experience. The next five years will be even better. I am so grateful for all the love and support and so excited about the future. #RHOC”
The star has since been open about her RHOC journey and life since the show. Most recently, Dodd retweeted a tweet that insinuated she thinks Andy Cohen may have had a hand in her Bravo departure. A fan tweeted a video from the RHOC season 15 reunion where Dodd calls Cohen, “Anti-American.” The caption read, “Andy never let this go. Let’s be honest.” Dodd didn’t reply or comment on the tweet, but she retweeted it.
Two months prior to that tweet in June, Dodd shared that Cohen did call her about the RHOC decision. In a separate Bravo fan account took a poll to ask fans if they thought Dodd should have been fired from RHOC. The majority of the poll voted for no, and Dodd retweeted it with the caption, “It was time !!”
It Looks Like Dodd Has Come to Accept Her Bravo Departure
Time heals all wounds, after all! Two weeks after Bravo announced its RHOC recasting, Dodd set the record straight. The mom of one appeared on SiriusXM’s “Jeff Lewis Live” with Leventhal on June 30, where she claimed she was, “blindsided” by the decision. She added that the producers called her before the news went public and she responded, “I said, ‘Well, why? Was it political?’ and he said, ‘No. Bravo wanted to take a different direction than you.’”
Leventhal chimed in saying, “There’s no one more popular than her. Even if people hate her, they love to hate her. They love to watch her. She was the brightest spark on that show. I have to say, when that phone call came I was very surprised because even though she’s so controversial, she’s still great television.”
Lewis then asked Dodd if she thought the choice could have been “personal” or if she had “insult[ed] any executives.”
“I did,” she replied. “Listen, ultimately I got fired because of myself. I’m the one who got myself fired. I was like Howard Stern with WNBC. I had the executives calling me, and Emily’s like, ‘Who are they?’ and I’m like, well, they know me! I know them! But I was causing them a lot of grief. I was causing them a lot of trouble. And, you know, I’m sorry about that. I feel bad.”
Dodd Teased at a New Reality Show Adventure
When one door closes, another one opens! Dodd recently teased that fans may be watching her and her husband Rick Leventhal in some form of reality tv. The two attended a wedding on July 8, and she shared lots of great moments on her Instagram Story.
She introduced her friend – who owned the mansion – to her followers, and she then turned the camera to show a cameraman. The man appeared to be interviewing many of the ladies.
“There’s camera people here [filming] a show that might be happening very, very soon,” she said in the video. “There’s things happening… things happening here.”
And that wasn’t all! She also showed her and Leventhal seated and then included the cameraman filming them. “Oh, hey there cameraman,” Leventhal said. Dodd then chimed in saying, “I’m just showing you about the show. The show that’s gonna happen for everyone. There’s gonna be a show happening,” to which Leventhal replied, “Oh, there’s a show happening!”
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