Even though Kelly Bensimon was only on Real Housewives of New York for three seasons, her impact is eternal. No one will ever forget those Scary Island episodes or that infamous scene when she told Bethenny Frankel “I’m up here, you’re down here.” This woman provided us with a lifetime supply of meme and GIF inspiration.
Years later, Kelly is still being asked about Bethenny and she still has new shade to throw. Whether you agree with Kelly’s opinions or not, there’s no denying that she’s entertaining and occasionally offensive.
Kelly had a lot to say during her recent appearance on Tony’s Tea Corner podcast. Spoiler alert: Bethenny’s name came up. A LOT. Before all the Bethenny shade, Kelly explained her perspective on the show. She said, “My role on the show was to put people in their place when people were acting out of line. I was the voice of reason from day one. People were scared because I wasn’t scared. If someone is going to be nasty to me, I’m not going to put up with it.”
Kelly was asked about the impact of being labeled “mentally unstable” by Bethenny. She answered, “I think that first of all when you’re a single parent and you’re a single parent and raising children, to have someone on a television show that’s being paid to engage with you, for them to put that kind of label on you, first of all is a testament to her.” She added, “That was just not kosher and I think that all of the bad things that are happening in her life are a result of her making bad decisions.” Kelly remarked, “It’s really tacky. I wasn’t raised like that and I wasn’t educated like that.”
Kelly declared, “My lifestyle is aspirational. I’m very real. I say it like it is. I don’t need any under eye concealer.” Then she jumped back into the Bethenny chatter, saying, “She’s got her formula and that’s her life formula and there’s a reason why she’s unhappy. People who are happy aren’t running around telling people they’re unstable.”
Kelly Bensimon Blames Scary Island On Cast Jealousy Over Bethenny Frankel’s Spin-Off Show
She revealed, “I’ve reached out to her many, many times.” She even claimed, “I have ten emails with Andy Cohen, the producers on it, just being like ‘Hey I know you have issues in the past. I’m reaching out to see if you want to talk about them so you can clear the air and move forward.’ I’m an adult. I’m a parent. She just never responded because she just couldn’t handle it. She couldn’t handle that I was more adult than her and was mature enough to be like ‘I know you’re having issues. I know you’re trying to build a career, but you don’t have to build it like that.'”
In regard to those infamous episodes, Kelly shared, “I named it Scary Island because I used to, as a kid, watch Fantasy Island.” She tried to put her own spin on it: “It wasn’t a breakdown. It was a breakthrough.” She continued, “They screwed up with the filming. What do you want me to do? I could have been the opposite. I could have been a super bitch.”
Kelly shared, “Even in the reunion, the next day I was on my way to Costa Rica to paint all these schools. It was just so funny because Andy didn’t even want to say anything about me going to Costa Rica and building schools. He didn’t want me to go to Haiti and build wells for children. He didn’t want me to be doing all those things. That was like the opposite of what he wanted me to do. He didn’t like it that I was just so evasive.” In regard to Bethenny and Andy, Kelly said, “I don’t need to be their target. Do you know what I mean?”
The podcast wasn’t all Bethenny bashing. Kelly did have some nice things to say about her, in regard to their perceived similarities. Kelly said, “We have a lot of similarities. We are both very hardworking. We both now now… well she’s not really a single parent. She co-parents. We you know, we are both very, very hardworking people. I consider us both to be mavericks. We are very out of the box. We don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. We really have a really strong work ethic.”
And that might have been a great place to stop so she could end things on a complimentary note, but that’s not what happened. Kelly began, “In terms of the way we parent and see the world, I don’t think we are similar.” Kelly continued, “I would never bash my ex-husband. I think that’s just so tacky. I think that all that stuff needs to be behind closed doors. She knows better. She knows she should take care of the man that’s taking care of her daughter.” She concluded, “She has to be on her own because she just wants to be the victim. Honestly that storyline is just tacky and it’s just boring.”
TELL US- WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO KELLY’S COMMENTS ABOUT BETHENNY? DO YOU WANT KELLY TO RETURN TO REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK?
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