Melissa Gorga Criticized For ‘Rude’ Comment About Niece Gia Giudice in RHONJ Season 14 Finale

Heavy/Peacock Melissa Gorga.

Melissa Gorga was criticized for a comment she made about her niece, Gia Giudice on the season 14 finale of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.”

In a scene from the RHONJ finale episode, titled “When All Is Said and Done,” Gorga met up with co-stars Danielle Cabral and Rachel Fuda. During their conversation, Cabral talked about a meeting  Teresa Giudice had with her, Dolores Catania, Jennifer Aydin,  and Jackie Goldschneider. Giudice’s 23-year-old daughter Gia was present at the meeting, which was called to expose details about Margaret Josephs’ alleged communication with Louie Ruelas’ ex.

Cabral shared details of the “pow-wow,” telling Gorga, “This was something Teresa has been wanting to say, she had on her chest for a long time. What happened was, she had her lawyer Jim there. And we were all sitting around. Gia was also there.”

“That’s weird,” Fuda noted of Gia’s presence at the meeting.

“She’s gotta have the backup,” Gorga said sarcastically of Giudice and her daughter.

On social media, fans reacted to the scene with some slamming Gorga for referring to her niece as a “backup” for supporting her mom.

Fans Think Melissa Gorga Is Jealous of Her Niece

GettyGia Giudice; Melissa Gorga

While the Giudice-Gorga family feud has been going on for years, some fans thought Gorga took things too far by referring to her niece as a “backup.”  Fans reacted to a clip from the episode posted on the @allabouttrh fan account.

“Imagine calling your niece “the backup” 🫣,”  one commenter wrote on Instagram.

“Calling your niece backup for being there to support her mom? Yikes that’s gross,” another agreed.

Others felt that Gorga has “always been triggered by Gia,” who is the goddaughter of her husband Joe Gorga.

“Melissa is so rude to Joe’s Goddaughter! When Danielle brought up Gia being there, Melissa should have kept her mouth shut!” a viewer wrote, adding that Giudice never talks poorly about Gorga’s kids Antonio, Gino, and Joey.

“She is so envious of Gia… It’s so obvious,” another commenter wrote.

“Crazy they seem a little jealous,” another wrote. “That’s her daughter that grew up to be beautiful, no backup there. This is just sad.”

Other fans defended Gorga and agreed that Gia shouldn’t have been at the meeting.

“With all due respect– Gia hasn’t really ever been very publicly nice about her. 🤷🏼‍♀️,” one commenter wrote. “And I really don’t think Melissa’s comment was about Gia. Specifically, it was about having someone there as backup. It just happened to be Gia. Which, is kind of odd? She’s not a part of the cast, she’s not a part of the friend group.”

Gorga has been vocal about her thoughts on Gia getting involved in the RHONJ cast’s business. In the season 14 episode  titled “Behind Frenemy Lines,”  she described her grown niece as a “child” who shouldn’t be involved  in “adult conversations.”  Gorga added that it was “weird” that Gia was involved in drama with the RHONJ cast members.

Gia has admitted that she sometimes “hops in” scenes with her mom. “I mean, in filming aspects, I’m always, like, my mom’s right-hand man,” she told Us Weekly in a 2023 interview.

Teresa Giudice Said Some of Her Co-Stars Are Jealous of Gia

BravoTHE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY — Season:13 — Pictured: (l-r) Rachel Fuda, Margaret Josephs, Melissa Gorga, Dolores Catania, Teresa Giudice, Jennifer Aydin, Danielle Cabral

While Giudice did not call out Gorga by name, she recently said some of her RHONJ co-stars are “jealous” of her eldest daughter.

During a July 2024 interview on the “Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa” podcast,  Host Kelly Ripa asked Giudice if she hopes Gia will become even “more prominent in the show” next season. “I would love for her to,” Giudice replied.

She added, “She has grown up on the show. I mean, some people get jealous on the show that she’s around, like some of my cast members. And it’s like, who cares? And they call her a kid and she’s not a kid. She’s 23, she’s an adult.”

Gia does not speak to Gorga.  In a 2023 episode of Giudice’s podcast “Namaste B$tches,” the Rutgers University grad claimed that her aunt blocked her on Instagram. “I’m blocked on my Aunt Melissa’s page. She blocked me on my public account, my private account and my clothing line account,” Gia alleged. “It was just weird.”

As of this writing, Gorga only appears to be following one of her Giudice nieces, Gabriella, on Instagram.

As far as the relationship between Gorga’s three kids and their Giudice cousins, Melissa Gorga appeared on “Watch What Happens Live” in June and told host Andy Cohen that her kids “do text” their cousins on birthdays but they don’t “hang out” with them.