Getty Kelly Dodd in 2017
Real Housewives of Orange County fans know that cast member Kelly Dodd is not afraid to share her hot takes. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry sat down with Oprah where they talked about stepping down from their royal duties on Sunday, March 7.
At the beginning of the interview, Oprah clarified with viewers that neither Markle nor Prince Harry were being paid for the interview, and that no questions were off limits for the couple. But the interview wasn’t necessarily free. CBS paid between $7 million and $9 million for a license fee to air the interview, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
Dodd took to Twitter to give her two cents on the situation. The RHOC star said she found it, “hard to believe” that the couple was not paid for their tell-all interview.
“I find it hard to believe that Oprah made $9m to do this interview but M&H didn’t get paid?” Dodd tweeted on Monday, March 8. “Maybe they didn’t get paid personally but did their business Archwell get paid ?? Why do this for free especially when you got cut off ? Just asking a questions haters .”
One fan chimed in replying, “I think it’s to be able to put her side forward and speak her truth. You can’t put a fee to that I don’t think,” to which Dodd understood and responded, “Yeah that’s true .”
Dodd Wasn’t the Only Housewife to Criticize the Interview
I chose reality tv, to work towards making $, to be scrutinized & criticized.I took the trappings & the beatings along with it. It’s a rose w petals & thorns. People beg to enter the often toxic institution I signed up for. That WAS the life I chose. You can’t play stupid & smart
Prior to the highly anticipated interview, former Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel slammed Markle.
“Cry me a river,” the star wrote Saturday, March 6. “The plight of being a game show host, fairly unknown actress, to suffering in a palace, w tiaras & 7 figure weddings for TWO WHOLE YEARS to being a household name w @Oprah on speed dial, fetching 7 m for interviews, hundreds of millions in media deals.”
In another tweet, Frankel also said that she supports Prince Harry, but not the former princess. “I 100% give Harry a break,” Frankel tweeted. “This isn’t the way to generate less press & cannot be filed under the guise of wanting privacy to prevent a repeat of previous events. If you hate me for saying it here don’t listen to my podcast #justbwithbethenny it’s littered with my opinion.”
In another series of tweets posted on March 7, Frankel explained why she believes Markle can’t “play stupid and smart.” Frankel tweeted, “I chose reality tv, to work towards making $, to be scrutinized & criticized. I took the trappings & the beatings along with it. It’s a rose w petals & thorns. People beg to enter the often toxic institution I signed up for. That WAS the life I chose. You can’t play stupid & smart.”
The Interview Affected Frankel & Another Housewife
I just watched the M&H sit down. Wow. I love how people say Meghan knew what she was getting into…people said the same thing about Carolyn Bessette when she married into the Kennedy family. You could never know. Meghan said it right the perception is nothing like the reality.🤦🏻♀️
Shortly after tuning into the interview, Frankel changed her mind and issued an apology. “I watched M & H sit down,” she tweeted on Sunday, March 7. “Emotional distress & racism must feel suffocating & powerless. I’m a polarizing, unfiltered(often to a fault)flawed person w a voice. When I heard of the interview,during a pandemic, it felt like a surprising choice. I’m sorry if it hurt or offended you.”
Frankel’s once best friend and former RHONY star Carole Radziwill also watched the interview and shared the effect it had on her. “I just watched the M&H sit down,” she tweeted Tuesday, March 9. “Wow. I love how people say Meghan knew what she was getting into…people said the same thing about Carolyn Bessette when she married into the Kennedy family. You could never know. Meghan said it right the perception is nothing like the reality.”
She added in another tweet, “I’ll always be on the opposite side of those perpetuating, willfully or not, misogynistic, and perhaps in this case, racist narrative tropes about women marrying into powerful controlling families.”
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Kelly Dodd Shades Meghan Markle & Prince Harry on Twitter