Cat

LOL watching Dame Karen walk away from the fight clutching her handbag, like 'I can do no more here' was Good opener episode. I, too, am stunned by the sudden 'friendship' between Candiace and Gizelle. Clearly both are out to get Monique. I imagine Candiace craves the money and lifestyle Monique has and hates playing second fiddle. It's also the reason she invited Charrisse to her party. On Gizelle's side, Frosty has exhausted her alliance with Ashley (to go after Karen) so she has settled on hothead Candiace who is easier to manipulate. Gizelle lecturing Monique in the flash-forward at the beginning of the show -- you could tell she has been waiting YEARS to deliver that sermon and lord it over her rival. Damn, when your kids don't want you getting back with your husband and call him a fake on camera! That's what this entire Gizelle-Jamal reboot seems like to me: FAKE. Either Ev-Uh-Ry Hue is making no money, or Jamal is cutting back on alimony -- those are the only two reasons I could see Giz getting back with her ex for real. That, or faking a relationship for SL purposes. It is actually quite sad because it doesn't seem as if Gizelle has ever been with a guy for love. Just for money/security. Erika Liles should be on this show given how much Giz mentions her and her husband. Juan ducking and diving over when he and Robyn are getting married! Never change, Juan. I am wondering if Karen and Ray have already agreed to separate, if Karen is bringing those troubles to camera.

Oh, getting rid of Heather was a bad move for the series, which Bravo still probably does not fully realise. The show lost a mostly positive Alpha influence who had lots going on and was running her own (intetesting) company. But what Skinnygirl wants, Skinnygirl gets. Heather was too much competition for Bethenny. B also completely marginalised Kristen that season. I loved the mix of OGs with the Sober group -- then again, I loved that dynamic in S5 and S6. The mix actually lightened the show and prevented it from getting too inward-looking and toxic. And the episode in London between Carole and 'Doris' was moving, honest and intimate. I still tear up when watching. It also cemented a real friendship. IMO S8 and S9 were the two seasons i found toxic and hard to watch (excluding the great trip to Mexico of S9). The targeting of Luann (and Jules) was really awful. I never warmed to Bethenny and Carole after that.

Sonja was the worst I've ever seen her. But what else could it have been other than tons of alcohol? They literally JUST landed in Cancun! Ramona must have known what she was on, but she acted like nothing to see here. Crazy. I loved the spa day and those ladies getting pampered and fussed over! I also, weirdly, liked Dorinda in her brunette wig. I know BH got the money-shot episode this week, but the RHONY women fill me with warmth. Despite everything, there is love between those crazy broads. I believe Dorinda when she told Leah she was crazy about her. Leah talking about her bipolar disorder, being open and matter of fact about it, she really went a small way towards destigmatising that mental health issue. I cannot wait next week for the recreation of one of my favourite RHONY moments EVER--

DListed giving me life in the Very Important Discussion that is 'Who Did Brandi Glanville Bang Next?' https://dlisted.com/2020/07/30/denise-richards-says-that-brandi-glanville-claims-to-have-banged-one-of-the-other-beverly-hills-housewives/ LOL Nene is over here shouting in a megaphoned. Meanwhile, everybody in the western world is like "OMG DO YOU THINK BRANDI IS LYING ABOUT SLEEPING WITH DENISE OR WHAT?" Even Ramona was watching BH Wednesday night while quarantining! Congrats beeyotches! Happy 2001st page! I truly love posting with you guys.

Thinking about the scene where Sutton called out Teddi, Denise had tears in her eyes which she basically hid behind her glass. After Sutton said her piece, Denise gave a half smile and like a little toast with her glass. I don't know why that part stood out to me, but I liked it. Changing the subject... lol, Camille channeling her roots:

Ally she is not. I wondered why Brandi made a point of singling out Denise's remarks about Tiara in the previous episode. It's because she, Vyle and Mellencamp knew that railroading Denise with the sex gossip alone would come across as baiting and homophobic AF. So they conflated 'you've been talking behind Terri's back' with 'As we suspected, you're a ho sleeping with women on the downlow.' The Boring One was actually pretending she was giving Denise a 'heads up' about the rumors! Isnt this why Sutton asked Teddi if she was more concerned with her issue or with Denise's? She was pointing out that the Teddi comments were merely a lead-in to the more important, salacious gossip. OMG!! Too bad reunion already happened! Not that these women would ever mention this on camera.

Holy [!@#$%^&*] Potomac!!!!!

All these names you guys have for the Boring One -- Terri, Tara, Tasha, RococoPreggers (!)

Indeed, Bravo said that was the reason when they went on hiatus. I am inclined to believe them. We did speculate a week or so ago (when Rinna bitched about reunion) whether Bravo actually had other, shady motives for the hiatus, like re-editing because of the C+D. But clearly the cease + desist is not stopping Bravo from airing anything! And BH's footage looks very, very good. I can't stand Teddi, but her VT/background shot looks stunning.

Bravo did with Denise's C+D what they did with Adrienne's C+D back in S3. Tweak the bare minimum, keep 99.9% in there so the audience still knows what is going on, and put the ball in Adrienne/Denise's court. This C+D has no teeth, clearly, except that it probably gags Brandi from repeating the insinuation. Hence why she got dis-invited from reunion. In any case, Andy is going to have a one-on-one with Big Mouth herself and Brandi keeps leaking crap on Twitter so, again clearly this C+D is not very airtight. Consequently... Bravo had very little to edit around this Denise-shagged-Brandi SL. This begs the question: why the long break to re-edit the rest of this season? Are we re-editing this SL out of the show? Clearly not. Are certain disliked members of The Coven trying to get a better edit? Possibly. That is speculation on our parts and obviously not confirmed by Bravo. My view on this Did They/Didn't They? mess: I still don't know who to believe. I felt like Denise was caught off guard this episode, and if so, she may be doubling-down on her 'lie'. So why double-down? -She got caught in a lie in the moment. Nobody wants to immediately admit to lying. -Is it because Charlie Sheen is suing her again and she needs to present a good image to the courts? -Does she have some kind of 'good morals' clause in her contract with B&B? Or with Hallmark? -Is she afraid her marriage will crumble because it would constitute as cheating in Aaron's eyes? Is she afraid of Aaron? (I am a little afraid of Aaron tbh!). I don't believe she is 'obsessed with her image.' Who is the b*tch who said that? One of The Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse? The ones who brought glam to Rome to dress up like an 18th century nun (Erika) and a NASCAR driver (Dorit)? Yeah, F that. She is obsessed with protecting her kids, though. But clearly not her image if she openly goes to a strip joint for a steak and a lap dance, as filmed on RHOBH! If what Brandi said was a lie, then that is incredibly cruel, because the aim is to embarrass Denise and affect/ruin her career trajectory. And The Coven all jumped on that train because they wanted to see Denise publicly humiliated. Not least the Boring One who insists this is some kind of exercise in truth-telling. Did you see the way her face dropped the first night when Garcelle and Denise joined the group in Rome? She is just awful and essentially The Coven's butt-monkey. If what Brandi said is the truth, then I don't care that Denise slept with Brandi. I don't care that she had an affair behind Aaron's back! Like Garcelle (Voice of the Audience) said, it's none of my business, but I kind of want to get to the bottom of it, lol. The problem I have is with Brandi making this out to be some kind of grooming/abuse/blackmail situation where she now cowers in fear of Denise. Those situations definitely exist, but I am not sure this is one of them. Does Denise seem like a groomer of a 49 year old woman? She has to manipulate people into sleeping with her? The muu-muu collection shown at the beginning of this season? (Because I'm sure you heard that 'Kyle by Alene Too' shut up shop in late 2018). Yeah, I imagine Kyle's 'management' and lack of work ethic meant that the company released one collection and kept it moving. I thought Erika looked gorgeous last year when she had no glam squad and her makeup was super light and fresh. But the squads are back and now we have half these hoes looking like they are heading out for Halloween. And Erika wheeled out Mikey just so he could point out that they are dressing Erika for a funeral -- DENISE'S FUNERAL. They aren't even bothering to hide the takedown anymore. When Erika told Denise later "Honey, you don't have to explain anything to us" I was like WUT? Wasn't that the whole point of Teddi dropping the bomb at dinner? To embarrass Denise publicly? To catch her in a lie? Have Brandi and Erika ever met? Erika seems like she would be a lacklustre lay. They all turned to look at Rinna, though. My money, weirdly, is on it being Kyle, lol. Because back in 2018 or something, Kyle would have thought this was trendy.

You can see everyone drumming their fingernails on the table, like 'Get to the meaty stuff! Denise and Brandi shagging!' This same Twitter account also posted this I have to say, I like Shannon going on social media and talking about the different symptoms and what it feels like. Also educating everybody about masks, gloves, etc. If that Tweet about Kelly Dodd is true, well, as if I couldn't dislike her any more than I already do! I swear, she better not be an asymptomatic spreader who screams in store employees' faces when they ask her to wear a mask. No clue if any of this is legit but here's some RHONY tea: And here is a Potomac scene preview!

Duly noted about the data. (I'm still going to stress internally if my RHONY and Potomac don't get a whole lot of ratings love, though. That's just me -- I need mass validation for my exquisite taste in RH franchises). Re: your last sentence. You shady!

WaPo interview with Denise Richards https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/denise-richards-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills/2020/07/22/ae05d542-c7ad-11ea-a99f-3bbdffb1af38_story.html

I did too. Both Dorinda and Luann were there for her even during non filmed/used excursions. They want her to move on without that house weighing her down.

Sonja smashing that mirror with her feet was beyond reality tv. It was performance art. I can't help but enjoy what Leah is bringing to the show. Yes, she is thirsty and sloppy as hell, and I really did NOT need to see multiple closeups of her crotch rubbing up against Luann. However, she is unsettling Ramona and bringing drama. And for a party Ramona spent weeks planning and talking about, that was pretty cheap and basic-looking. When those old biddies all started dancing, though, I was 😄

I loved that moment of lightness. At first Sutton was taken aback, but then her eyes lit up and you could tell she was loving the back-and-forth and the teasing. Given that the coven drone on about each other's outfits ad nauseum, this must have been one conversation Sutton actually secretly enjoyed. After all, it was clear Garcelle was curious and wanted to get to know her better. And that's a compliment! It made me wish we had more Sutton footage on the show. I recall early on this season Sutton bursting into tears as they drive to Teddi's retreat (I feel ya Sutton), simply out of nervous tension. She was already picking up on the attack-dog energy of the group and it was making her anxious. It kind of endeared me to her.

So, my question is, do you all believe Brandi's story? That is the crux of the issue. Is Brandi lying? Or is Denise covering? Having watched the scene, I was convinced by Brandi's story -- that she is bi, and that Denise and her had a fling -- because, as she put it, Denise and Aaron have an open arrangement where he doesn't mind if she goes with women. Where Brandi lost me is, as you said, when she tried to paint herself as victim. Suddenly Aaron at all costs must not know? But I thought Brandi said he was cool with Denise having ONS with women? Suddenly Brandi is feeling awful because her dealbreaker is cheating on somebody? Suddenly Denise is holding stuff over her to keep her in check? Surely Brandi has info to hold over Denise! Brandi also specified explicitly that they had sex. That kind of direct statement made me think, ok, they did. But now with the cease-and-desist, is Brandi backtracking and saying instead they just kissed? The fact that Kyle and Teddi hosted this at Kyle's house made this seem highly pre-scripted. At the same time, I felt Kim was legit supporting Brandi and really believed her story. I didn't think Kim was being phoney about her reactions to what Brandi was saying. There is also a nugget of truth in what Brandi is saying about Aaron. That he is controlling and Denise is desperate for him not to know. Aaron is not coming off great this season, and I have to wonder if Denise isn't a little afraid of him. So basically I don't know what to believe anymore, LOL. Other things: -WTF was Kyle's funky chicken dance and Brandi falling down drunk? MESS. -Brandi has literally morphed into Adrienne in her VTs. -Another nasty reference about how Denise's kids should be 'used to this' cuz Charlie Sheen is their dad! Please leave children out of this discussion. -Teddi is a bore desperate to stay in this circle? Erika has an ice-cold heart? Is any of this news to anybody? -Loved Sutton and Garcelle's chat. Is Sutton going to Rome with the other women? -Did Dorit and Erika even appear in this episode?

Why are these women so pressed if LVP gets a show on this Peacock platform? Did LVP steal their first borns? Is Rinna claiming she came up with a show called Rinna's Pet Shoppe and LVP stole the idea? Good luck paying those lawyers fees with your dwindling QVC money! Damn, Rinna is having a shitty week.

Thank you for clarifying. I totally read 'integrating' as 'consolidating.' IA it is long past due that the franchises mix it up racially and otherwise. I hope Rinna's fall from grace is televised on BH. She is the ultimate survivor, though, so don't feel too bad for her -- she has a way of bouncing back. Still, interesting how she has been burning a lot of bridges recently, including QVC. (Not that I blame her if QVC wanted to gag her politics). If she's not happy about LVP getting a Vanderpump Dogs show, then that is just too damn bad. Rinna wanted LVP off RHOBH so that she could rule the roost. The crown is heavy, darling! Bummed about Elyse -- when are they filming? There may still be time for Bravo to change its mind. Like I said, that Instastory was a game-changer, LOL!

Both of these are worrying me with regards to RHONY's future. Elyse earned a spot at reunion for that Leah-assisted Insta story alone! And the word 'reckoning'... yikes. I read that NY's Halloween episode was the lowest rated since S6. I wonder how the Berkshires episodes did? Better, I hope. Jill Zarin gave an interview last week. First of all, she said that she would not even entertain an offer from Bravo about returning to RHONY which... LMAO. I don't believe that BS for one second. She also said that Bravo would be slashing RHONY salaries because now they cannot travel due to Covid, hence curtailed seasons. THAT I can see being true. It made me concerned for the future of these RH shows. Yes, I know they are extremely problematic, misogynistic and worse. However, in these pandemic times, these shows -- and this thread -- have helped me take my mind off things and represented some much-needed escape from grim news. I am not ready to let them go yet. I guess RHONY will get some jujjing after this season. I do like Leah as an addition. I feel like Dale Mercer should have replaced Tinsley mid-season. It would have been seamless. Party at Dale's Palm Beach house! And Elyse should have been incorporated better. But I'm not ready to see the existing cast completely decimated. JMO. As for integrating various series, do they mean like integrating BH with OC? Because that would be a nutty culture clash! I could actually see NY and NJ integrating better (Ramona loves Melissa and snubs Margaret and Dolores on the regular, so the drama is there. Dorinda is also pals with Margaret). It would still be a weird mix, though. How would Teresa fit into a RHONY vibe? LOL.

Katie was hard-done by both Ashley and production. Ashley always plays dirty, so I was so pleased when Karen stick up for Katie and told her that she belonged there just as much as anyone else. But for whatever reason, production wanted Katie out. Shame because I found her a bright spot last season. Yes, she is clearly going through some serious things. Yes, I did wonder if she had dependency issues. But there were other times when she was startlingly lucid and cut straight through the BS, especially with Ashley. It's hard to explain but, she fills a gap in RHOP. I would have loved to see her back this coming season.

... And here is the Potomac trailer for this season again.

Less than 2 weeks until August 2! I am really psyched for Potomac. I love Monique and her whole family. S4 she kind of had to sit stuff out because she was SO preggers, but she still made waves at Katie's hoedown. I'm thinking Candiace has not forgiven getting put in her place, hence why she started something with Monique this year. Candiace is a mess.

Not to sound overdramatic LOL, but Rinna has lost her humanity doing this show. Her scenes with Amelia this season --there was no mistaking her distraction and lack of empathy while her kid tried to talk about her issues. Rinna is more interested in planning her next outfit than any of that sh*t. That's why she and Erika are so tight. She leaped on Amelia's mental issues because she was being blamed for her daughter's struggle with anorexia. Pushing Amelia and the Slow One into being InstaModels prob did not help those body issues. When you are a failed InstaModel? That must do a number on your self-esteem. Designers will only invite the Hamlin girls to sit at their shows -- not to walk in them. Unlike her slow older sister, Amelia seems like she has a functioning braincell and would like to do more with her life. But Rinna stays pushing this InstaModel life. Rinna may be a hustler (so she says -- haven't seen her hustle for a part in a few seasons) but she has no vision for her daughters' future. She stays copying Yolanda Hadid and Kris Jenner but cannot imagine a life for them beyond that. Or for herself for that matter. She seems set on 'Beverly Hills maven' (again, like Kris Jenner or Kathy Hilton) but doesn't seem to have been permitted entry into that circle yet. Rinna's $5,000 bid at Kyle's charity event was meant to make her look boss, but Kris Jenner made a straight $25K donation (knowing that is what Kyle needed to break even) which overshadowed Rinna's. That BH social world is about maintaining relationships, not losing them. And Rinna is currently bashing Denise on Twitter, calling her phoney and narcissistic, so there's that. Keeping Up w the Kardashians has gotten stale, but I can't help but like Kris Jenner for some reason. She reinvented the reality TV game and is now a legit power player. Also, she has maintained the same close friendships for decades and I think that speaks somewhat highly of her. Rinna wishes so hard that she was part of that Faye/Kris/Kathy circle! Rinna is currently going apeshit on Denise on social media, calling her phoney, narcissistic, etc. I hope that means Denise told her a few home truths at reunion about how no one trusts Rinna farther than they can throw her. It's always good to catch up, even with some 'slower' seasons, because it lays a lot of the groundwork about what we are seeing now. Robyn actually liked Monique at first, until Gizelle let it be known that Monique was to be the target. Robyn is a henchwoman who follows orders. She also likes Candiace and Ashley but will go after them if Gizelle gives her the nudge. Weirdly -- and despite Gizelle not caring a fig about her -- Candiace also seems desperate to sell her buddy Monique out to the green-eyed goons. This is totally bewildering to me.