In August, one Real Housewives of New York fan took to Twitter, accusing Jessel Taank of lying about her upbringing. The fan claimed that Jessel went to an elite private school despite claiming her family struggled with finances.
The fan clarified that the accusation wasn’t to insult Jessel and that they quite enjoyed her presence on RHONY. Indeed, Jessel rapidly became a fan favorite on Season 14. Fans have adored her attitude, and the cheers were loud when she got the first seat at the upcoming reunion.
In the end, Jessel reached out to the fan privately to correct the claim, delegitimizing the fake website from which the claim initially came. The Twitter user posted an update and apology. However, the situation must’ve sat with Jessel as she spoke further on the situation later.
Jessel “was mortified” over private school claims
Jessel went on Two Ts In A Pod to address the private school rumor and the fallout from Twitter. “I think the fees are like $40,000 a year, which by the way is like my entire family’s like, household income at the time, and someone posted it on Twitter, it was a writer.”
She continued, “I went to public school, like, I’m not going to make that sh*t up because it’s everywhere, the internet is a wealth of information and I think being on a reality TV show, you can not say something if it’s a complete opposite of what you are saying. People are going to find out.” Fans love to dig things up. That’s how the rumor started.
Jessel admitted she “was mortified” to address the rumor when it started spreading. She didn’t want fans thinking “She’s defensive.” Jessel feared people might say, “‘Now she’s, you know, lying and she did grow up in a certain way.’ And yeah, I mean I didn’t. I mean, listen, I wish I had the means to go to an amazing elite private school, but I didn’t.”
Real Housewives of New York Season 14 continues Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF JESSEL’S RESPONSE TO THE SITUATION? DO YOU THINK SHE’S A LIAR?
