Bethenny Frankel must have been watching videos of Fran Drescher going after Hollywood bigwigs and felt inspired. If you’re going to be inspired by anything, it might as well be fighting for appropriate compensation for your work.
Beth has taken it upon herself to be the Norma Rae of unscripted television. She has strong feelings about the current strike in the entertainment industry and is trying to rally reality talent to take part. But first, she has advice for Vanderpump Rules star, Raquel Rachel Leviss. ET has the full scoop.
Beth wants Rachel to hold the line
When Bethenny was chatting with ET, the convo drifted to Rachel’s ordeal on Pump Rules. And not for nothing, what Bethenny has to say is pretty on point. According to the businesswoman, Rachel should stay put until she has a new deal with Bravo.
As VPR fans know, the core cast returned to filming. The only person who hasn’t shown up yet is Rachel, but she is officially out of treatment. In Bethenny’s opinion, despite her contract, Rachel should negotiate with terrorists until both sides are satisfied.
She said, “She’s not the first person in the world that’s had an affair and, you know, bullying or beating someone down for a tragic error that, yes, everybody has, like, Lord of the Flies grabbed and ripped the meat off the carcass. Great.” This is a valid opinion. The reality is Rachel deserves a spot on the show, but who ultimately pays for their own actions? Bravo or Rachel?
Bethenny continued, “You were wrong, you slept with someone’s boyfriend. It happens. You work in a bar on a reality television show, the most toxic environment in history. I didn’t think it was a big deal but, of course, the media gods came through and were marketing it like it was the friggin’ election.” Also, let us not forget the Emmy nod!
Negotiate that deal!
“So, the girl was a punching bag for everybody on every talk show in the entertainment industry. So you get beaten up. Like Erika Jayne did get paid,” she added. “You’re gonna put me in a ring with [Mike] Tyson, I’m gonna get paid. So, yeah, she should not be shooting. She should be negotiating a contract that says … ‘I got dragged through the streets and I was abused mentally.’ That is a good example of what reality television is about, that’s a perfect example.” Some would argue people sign up for this.
Furthermore, Bethenny absolutely doesn’t think Rachel should come back if it would continue deteriorating her mental health. “Absolutely not. The drug is too strong, the drug of the game. The drug of the relevance, the drug of the money.”
Lots of drugs here, “The drug of always chasing the dragon and wanting to go back the next season and get that hit and show that you’re really not the terrible person that they all think.”
“That’s a producer’s talent, when you’ve been beaten down and everyone hates you, you gotta go back next season. You can’t end on this note,” Bethenny said.
Let’s see if Rachel listens to Bethenny’s words of advice.
TELL US – DO YOU AGREE WITH BETHENNY? IS IT TIME FOR REALITY STARS TO UNIONIZE?
