Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel has been talking a lot lately. Some folks are thinking maybe she needs to keep her mouth shut. As you might know, Beth has taken on the task of unionizing reality television.
She’s also heavily patting herself on the back for an interview with Vanderpump Rules alum Rachel Leviss. While Bethenny talks nonstop about the exploitation of reality stars, she basically shows them how it’s done.
Now Bethenny is railing against the NDAs people have to sign when they join a show on Bravo. And according to Beth, they are nothing but bullsh*t.
Are NDAs forced?
Bravo and its big daddy NBCUniversal are currently involved in a battle against implications their talent is “forced” to sign tight non-disclosure agreements. Hey, you know what, you can opt out of signing ANYTHING and move on with your life. You just might not be on TV if you don’t sign their papers.
Legal eagles Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos communicated to NBCUniversal Exec VP and General Counsel Kimberly D. Harris. They stated NDAs are “are unlawful and unenforceable.” Additionally, they claim NDAs use “fear” as a protection aspect.
Attorney Freedman’s letter read, “In the course of our investigation, we have not only confirmed the veracity of our initial allegations but have also discovered that the breadth and scope of your wrongdoing is greater than previously believed.”
Allow me to interject. Prospective talent may leave if what they read in the contract is not appealing. No one is holding people hostage and forcing them to sign things in blood.
His letter continued, “We are left with the inescapable conclusion that NBC and its production partners are grappling with systemic rot for which sunlight is the first necessary remedial measure.” NOT THE SYSTEMIC ROT.
Bravo released a statement to Deadline. It read, “Confidentiality clauses are standard practice in reality programming to prevent disclosure of storylines prior to air. They are not intended to prevent disclosure by cast and crew of unlawful acts in the workplace, and they have not been enforced in that manner.”
Beth wasn’t buying it
But Beth is calling BS. Actually, she’s calling it fu*king bulls*ht. Have a seat because she’s long-winded af. Our friends at Bravo Snark Side on Insta shared an audio clip of Beth having a moment.
“People have been allegedly threatened that if they speak about anything in any area, including their experience on reality television or just anything, like if they talk about anything that goes on, they will get sued,” Bethenny began.
She continued, “It’s certainly not about storylines because you see storylines because you see storylines discussed everywhere on social media long before they air. So it’s just a bullsh*t response and it’s a way for them to try to protect their reputation and make it like there are no illegal practices and violations behind the scenes.”
Oh did you think she was done? Nope. “Having been on reality television, you definitely don’t feel like you can speak out about anything behind the scenes, and storylines [are] never something that anybody even talks to you about not sharing.”
Bethenny added, “I’ve never once heard of Bravo or anyone saying, ‘Please protect the storyline.’ Because nothing is the same when it’s on camera and all the time storylines get revealed in the media and people never get threatened to be sued but many people have been threatened to be sued by the powers that be for talking about anything that goes on in production.”
“So, that’s just not true but it’s a great f*cking bullsh*t corporate answer,” Beth concluded.
Perhaps one day Bravo will provide an answer that is acceptable to Bethenny, but if it’s not a signature on a check that’s going into her bank account, I doubt it will fly.
TELL US – IS BETHENNY DOING TOO MUCH? DO YOU AGREE WITH BETHENNY ABOUT NDAs?
