8 minutes ago, Cat said:

Wait, what? 😲 She posted a pic mocking the victims?? I missed that. Who thought that was a good idea? 

I was sort of feeling bad for her given how massive these lawsuits are, but if she's mocking victims, and blocking restitution to them, AND doing it all on social media where she thinks her 'fans' will be YASS KWEENing her posts? Then she is cruel, deluded and [!@#$%^&*] stupid.

Even without the earrings this is in poor taste, but with it? Unconscionable. I just wish we could hear her in a meeting with her lawyers because I can’t see them advising her that this is helpful.
 

She hits Twitter usually about once a week with this mess, but of course won’t do an interview because she wants to control the narrative. 

Very off-topic but I thought it was relevant to Housewives, considering how closely we parse character motivations and dynamics on these shows:

 

5 hours ago, Chris B said:

Even without the earrings this is in poor taste, but with it? Unconscionable. I just wish we could hear her in a meeting with her lawyers because I can’t see them advising her that this is helpful.
 

She hits Twitter usually about once a week with this mess, but of course won’t do an interview because she wants to control the narrative. 

Thank you for linking to the post in question, as distasteful as it is. God. EG thinks she is so edgy and meta posting this crappy fan art. The earrings are a particular kick in the gut to anyone filched by Tom Girardi. Imagine having your victimization reduced to trophy-wife earrings in a LQ cartoon? I would be livid.

What is she thinking stirring up mess like this on Twitter? That fans will fall in love with her IDGAF persona? A post like this goes completely counter to the Sad Vulnerable Erika she is attempting to portray on RHOBH. I can't imagine any lawyer advising she stay on social media. Far better to stay silent and the 'enigma' she once claimed to be. 

20 hours ago, Chris B said:

@FrenchBug82Erika is in court fighting to keep the victims from getting Tom’s money so she can get it. I don’t buy anything she’s selling. She also knew about this since 2019 but is claiming on camera this was all a surprise to her. It’s hard for me to feel any sympathy for her when I’ve read the court documents and they prove she’s just plain lying. 

Exactly. The Arizona lawsuit she mentioned this week, which named her as a party, stated that Tom was misappropriating client funds to sustain his (and her) lavish lifestyle. That she's claiming she didn't know what's going on is laughable. She could have Google'd herself. I know I did. 

19 hours ago, Cat said:

@Chris B Danny Pellegrino on his latest podcast has an interview with Bershan herself in the last 20 minutes and it's a good one!

Bershan is a trip in that interview. 

12 hours ago, Chris B said:

But she's literally in court, present day, fighting to prevent some of the victims from getting settlements so she can keep the money for herself. I just don't see how anybody can have sympathy for her. Even if she didn't know, she knows now and is still refusing to work with the legal system in any way. That doesn't sound like a person who is innocent.

You are so right. It doesn't matter if she didn't know. She knows now.

Let me put this simply for Erika: You. Don't. Get. To. Live. Off. The. Proceeds. Of. Crime.

7 hours ago, Chris B said:

Also, people have given her the benefit of the doubt because due to the ongoing lawsuits she may or may not be able to talk about certain things, but she IS talking on Twitter and the show, she just isn't saying anything that would make you particularly sympathetic towards her. Does anybody think it was a good idea for her to post a picture wearing earrings that said "Widows and Orphans?" Like what the hell? She's mocking them.

This tweet I also found particularly egregious and was glad to see Ronald Richards response:

 

It almost feels like she doesn't have a lawyer because I can't imagine any good lawyer telling her that the statements she keeps making on social media are helping her case.

If Erika doesn't have a receipt proving she paid for it with money she generated on her own, then every piece of jewellery should be confiscated and sold at auction and the proceeds delivered to the victims.

1 hour ago, DaytimeFan said:

If Erika doesn't have a receipt proving she paid for it with money she generated on her own, then every piece of jewellery should be confiscated and sold at auction and the proceeds delivered to the victims.

I guess since I tried to nuance the case against her a bit I can afford to be a meaner than I usually would be now:

She probably feels she has earned that jewelry: she has been putting out for that old man.
Where he got the money for it in the first place is irrelevant to her; in her mind she has done the "work" to get it and they are hers. You don't marry for $$$ and then shrug when it might have been all for naught.

30 minutes ago, FrenchBug82 said:

I guess since I tried to nuance the case against her a bit I can afford to be a meaner than I usually would be now:

She probably feels she has earned that jewelry: she has been putting out for that old man.
Where he got the money for it in the first place is irrelevant to her; in her mind she has done the "work" to get it and they are hers. You don't marry for $$$ and then shrug when it might have been all for naught.

I don't doubt you are absolutely right in your view on how she feels. That is probably exactly how she feels. 

But Erika is learning the lesson that how she feels is immaterial. She thought she was hustling Tom Girardi when she married for money, when in fact he hustled her.

She doesn't get to retain his ill gotten gains. Now, she might have gotten smart and turned evidence against her in exchange for an immunity agreement from the prosecutors, but that's not going to help her in the civil cases. She'd be wise to cut deals with the victims so that she can get out of this marriage with some form of financial security, however tenuous it might be. 

1 hour ago, DaytimeFan said:

Bershan is a trip in that interview. 

Wasn't it great? DP seemed to really vibe with her, and she was a ball of energy. She has clearly watched RHONY for many years (to the question of which former HW she would bring back, she cited Bethenny... and Jill Zarin), which may be a good or bad thing. Nevertheless, the interview gave me hope for the rest of the season (which sounds better) AND for Bershan's future on the show.

10 minutes ago, DaytimeFan said:

I don't doubt you are absolutely right in your view on how she feels. That is probably exactly how she feels. 

But Erika is learning the lesson that how she feels is immaterial. She thought she was hustling Tom Girardi when she married for money, when in fact he hustled her.

She doesn't get to retain his ill gotten gains. Now, she might have gotten smart and turned evidence against her in exchange for an immunity agreement from the prosecutors, but that's not going to help her in the civil cases. She'd be wise to cut deals with the victims so that she can get out of this marriage with some form of financial security, however tenuous it might be. 

I'd never thought of it that way at all but you are absolutely right. She thought marrying Tom was her Greatest Bamboozlement, but in actual fact he has parked at least 50% of the blame for the fraud at her door. He pulled one on her. And she's bitter about it.

I'd have an ulcer by now thinking about all that debt/lawsuits against me. For peace of mind, a fresh start and no jailtime, I would be looking for a deal to make all this stress go away. For the life of me, I don't understand why she has not. Unless she's gambling on actually winning her case and keeping all 'her' assets? Which is very unlikely to happen.

Mia, girl, you were not bartending at the strip joint.

On 7/18/2021 at 4:09 AM, Chris B said:

Even without the earrings this is in poor taste, but with it? Unconscionable. I just wish we could hear her in a meeting with her lawyers because I can’t see them advising her that this is helpful.
 

She hits Twitter usually about once a week with this mess, but of course won’t do an interview because she wants to control the narrative. 

I knew you would be bringing the receipts.  

But yep. Kinda hard to feel sorry for what you see on TV when you have court documents that can be looked, articles from reliable places like People and Page Six where you can't say aren't reliable, and THEN your social media presence supports the fact that you don't care about anyone, but yourself and only want sympathy for yourself while not giving ANY sympathy for other victims.

 

Again...Facts. And while we do not know everything and may never know everything, there is enough information out there (which can be looked for if it does not pop up) for a person to form their own conclusions and also to not give the benefit of the doubt.

 

Like said above (a nice debate I'll read throughly later) even if she was learning all of this now, how Erika is reacting is...not nice.

 

It is the hand she was dealt and she is playing poorly IMHO. 

I don't share the confidence that we know all there is to know.
We don't know what we don't know.
However:

1 hour ago, Taoboi said:

even if she was learning all of this now, how Erika is reacting is...not nice.

This indeed is what tips the balance in the negative for me at the moment.
It is hard for me to come up with an overall frame that would make some of what she does now OK.
But I like to keep a sense of perspective on the humanity of even wretched people and keep space for compassion and empathy. Because one never knows...

This was sad to watch…nothing was there. They could’ve kept this mid season trailer lol  

 

2 minutes ago, Chris B said:

This was sad to watch…nothing was there. They could’ve kept this mid season trailer lol  

 

 

Damn. This show's in trouble.. 

13 minutes ago, Chris B said:

This was sad to watch…nothing was there. They could’ve kept this mid season trailer lol  

 

 

It's actually a lot more coherent than I thought it would be? Last season's mid-season trailer was pure chaos. But yeah, RHONY is not going to have a BH-style WHO IS LYING? WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH? trailer this year. Honestly, I feel so bad for RHONY with the Covid restrictions. Constantine Maroulis (sp?) shows up in the trailer at some cocktail bar and I was like "Ooooo now we're getting somewhere!" Mostly because... they were in a cocktail bar in Manhattan!

Looking forward to the party where they have to dress up as each other. I also noticed they seem to be terminating with a dinner party which (likely) ends disastrously. This reminds me very much of RHOMelbourne's playbook. The EP over there, Kylie Washington, literally ends every season with a Dinner Party From Hell.

Edited July 19, 20214 yr by Cat

16 minutes ago, Chris B said:

This was sad to watch…nothing was there. They could’ve kept this mid season trailer lol  

 

 

12 minutes ago, Gray Bunny said:

 

Damn. This show's in trouble.. 

Oof. Yes. 

Bershan is in there only once? Twice—heard her voice with the penis comment, then saw her face later.

Edited July 19, 20214 yr by Faulkner

I am hugely in favor of female sexuality being talked a lot more openly on TV but this trailer features a LOT of cheap bawdiness for no real reason. Dumb sex jokes sprinkled over a season would not bother me but piling all that juvenile banter in a 90 second trailer on what's coming up? 
Seems like Leah's being-crass-as-a-substitute-for-a-personality last season strategy has influenced how they are trying to feel the content void.

But say something nice: at least Luanna's Eboni impersonation doesn't seem to feature black-face so... progress!