The Real Housewives of New York as we remembered it is no more. The whole series imploded after a disastrous Season 13. Ratings took a nosedive and the reunion was canceled. Some will argue that the show was overdue for a complete overhaul.
Bravo hired a more strategic set of Real Housewives for the revamped series. The former cast members were hoping to be included in RHONY: Legacy. However, after negotiations and arguments over salary, the network reportedly lost interest in the series.
While appearing on Access Hollywood’s Housewives Nightcap, Season 13 cast member Eboni K. Williams was asked to comment on the former RHONY crew. Eboni discussed her “nasty” falling out with Leah McSweeney and what she thinks about the future of the series.
According to RealityBlurb!, Eboni also chatted about Ramona Singer and her tenure on the show. “I think Ramona, if I recall her on-the-record statement, something like, ‘My time has come and gone,’ I think that’s accurate,” Eboni said of the RHONY OG housewife.
Ramona was on the series for over a decade. Viewers saw her marriage to Mario Singer implode, the heartbreaking aftermath, and her return to the dating scene. Ramona remained true to herself and wasn’t one for self-reflection.
Eboni questioned whether Ramona could have been more aware of how society in New York changed in the past decade. She cited a “more globally and culturally diverse and interesting” world that Ramona didn’t embrace.
“Ramona is a woman of a particular age, [but] I’m not just gonna give her an age pass,” Eboni said. “It’s her personality. She’s a woman who understands a very white-centric, Upper East Side New York, and that is the limitation of New York society for her.”
Eboni thinks that Ramona was actually fired. She also insinuated that Ramona needed that Bravo paycheck more than people realize.
When a host suggested the cast isn’t raking in tens of millions, Eboni explained, “[That’s] why she’s so bothered by the disappearance of this $1.whatever check she was getting.”
If she had been fired, Eboni thinks that was the wrong call. She felt that Ramona should have followed Sonja Morgan’s lead and been more socially aware.
The author said, “Sonja stayed Sonja, and Sonja said, ‘It’s time for us to fall back a bit, make a little space for a new era of New York boss b-tches.’ And that’s why it really should’ve went on with me and Sonja and some others,” Eboni declared.
Another cast member that made a favorable impression on Eboni, at least while filming, was Leah. However, problems arose post-production. “Leah and I had an authentic friendship … [But] we were work friends. That’s all it was,” she explained.
Eboni suggested Leah acted in accordance with her best interests. “When I became kind of a hot-button item, you either were a huge fan or really really unhappy with me being on the show. I get it. Leah’s a single mom and this was like, more money than she’d ever seen in her life, and just more opportunity and it is an incredible platform and she said, ‘I wanna cut my losses and I’m going to align myself with what [I] believe [is my] best chance of continuing on the platform,’” Eboni explained.
As for the future of what was the Season 13 cast, Eboni said Bravo could have hired a few more housewives and been “golden.” She added, “I think it could’ve just been a revolution and an expansion of old and new.”
Eboni’s real-time reactions to the episodes caused hostility within the group. “I was expressing how I felt and reacted to the episodes in live time as they aired. Some of my castmates did not take too kindly to that so then it started this really nasty kind of press wars and leaks. It all got so nasty behind-the-scenes post-production, that then it got to a place that anyone, including the network, knew how to bring us back together again,” she said.
So, is Eboni done with reality TV? Maybe not. The bestselling author teased an appearance on Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip. She said, “RHONY and Real Housewives… It’s not the only iteration where we can see amazing personalities and authentic — authentic groups of friends navigate amazing cities like New York so stay tuned. You might see me on a Girls Trip; you might see me on a whole brand new show with a whole brand new branding,” Eboni added.
TELL US- DO YOU THINK RAMONA NEEDS THE BRAVO PAYCHECK? WAS RAMONA’S ATTITUDE PROBLEMATIC? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF EBONI’S FIGHT WITH LEAH? DO YOU WANT TO SEE EBONI AGAIN ON REALITY TV?
[Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo]
