Getty/Bravo Teddi Mellencamp and Sutton Stracke
Teddi Mellencamp slammed her former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” co-star during a recent episode of her podcast.
On her “Teddi’s Tea Pod,” the former Bravo star weighed in on her friend Erika Jayne’s mounting embezzlement lawsuits amid her divorce from onetime power attorney Tom Girardi. Mellencamp revealed that she still has the “Pretty Mess” singer’s back even though she is no longer a cast member on the Bravo reality show, but she called out one co-star who doesn’t seem to feel the same way.
“Erika has always been such a good friend,” Mellencamp said. “She’s the first person to reach out if she knows you’re not feeling well or something’s going on, and she is such a good listener, and she gives great advice. But when it comes to her, she’s just not that open. So we want to be there to support her one million percent.”
Mellencamp then reacted to her former co-star Sutton Stracke’s admission that she wants to distance herself from Jayne and her legal mess and pointed out that Stracke should have known what she was getting into when she agreed to be a Housewife.
“You don’t sign up for a reality television show if you’re worried about your reputation,” Mellencamp said. “You just don’t. Your reputation isn’t going up from being a Housewife.”
Sutton Stracke Said She Wants to ‘Protect’ Herself
YouTube/BravoSutton Stracke
On a recent episode of the Bravo reality show, Stracke and the other Housewives talked about Jayne’s legal woes after reading an exposé in the Los Angeles Times. The story stated that Girardi’s law firm had been accused of stealing from clients that included plane crash victims and cancer patients, per TooFab. But Stracke also zeroed in on a statement that said more than $20 million of the missing money went to “EJ Global,” which was a company set up for Jayne’s music career.
“I am not sure how much I want to be around my friend during this time,” the Sutton boutique owner said during the episode “And I’m not being a fair-weathered friend, I’m protecting myself. I don’t want my name in an article that’s associated with this. Any of it.”
Stracke admitted that she was unsure if Jayne was innocent in the embezzlement scheme and even said she believed the singer had “lied” about some aspects of her divorce story. She added that “Right now, I am way more important than Erika Girardi is to me.”
Stracke later questioned Jayne and told her the “timeline” of some of the events seemed confusing to her. She also revealed that she had spoken to a lawyer about her co-star’s legal drama. Sutton added she just wanted to make sure she’s “also protecting” herself.
Jayne addressed the group and thanked those who still wanted to be her friend.
“And those who it’s too much for, you feel more comfortable away from me, I certainly understand and respect that too,” she added.
Erika Jayne Slammed Stracke’s ‘Small-Town’ Logic
GettyErika Jayne of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
After Jayne was told that Stracke didn’t want any legal or social problems due to being associated with her, the singer fired back.
“How small-town of her,” Jayne said on “RHOBH,” per E! News. “The ‘I don’t want to be associated with you because of what the neighbors may think’ to me is cowardice. ‘I can’t be around you because of my good name.’ It’s like, girl, come on, ‘my reputation? Like, what are we, in small-town Georgia?”
Other Bravo stars have also weighed in on the situation and questioned what Stracke is afraid of. “Vanderpump Rules” star Lala Kent called Stracke a “fair-weather friend,” per Page Six.
“I agree with Erika,” Kent said on “Bravo’s Chat Room”. “It’s like, don’t be a fair-weather friend. At the time your friend needs you the most, you can’t step up to the plate and say, ‘If you need me, I’m here for you?’ How would you be involved?”Let the feds pick up the phone. I have nothing to hide.”
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