#2805 Crappy Hour 4/14/2025: Reckoning Finds Ammo, Kyle Hides Behind Teddi, RHOA Fallout

Summary

Watch What Crappens Podcast Episode #2805 Summary

Release Date: April 17, 2025
Hosts: Ben Mandelker & Ronnie Karam
Podcast: Watch What Crappens | Wondery

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Introduction

In Episode #2805 titled "Crappy Hour 4/14/2025: Reckoning Finds Ammo, Kyle Hides Behind Teddi, RHOA Fallout," hosts Ben Mandelker and Ronnie Karam dive deep into the latest controversies and drama unfolding across Bravo shows. From intense confrontations on "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" (RHOA) to unexpected moves in "Vanderpump Rules," the duo dissects each event with their signature blend of humor and critique.

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1. The Kyle Incident: A Celebrity Confrontation Gone Viral

The episode kicks off with a discussion about a viral video featuring Kyle, a reality TV personality, being aggressively confronted by a woman with her three dogs. The interaction, captured from a different angle by a passerby, shows Kyle visibly frightened and hiding behind her friend, Teddi.

• Notable Quote:
  • Ben Mandelker [05:07]: “The way she walked those slowly with these dogs towards Kyle. And Kyle just back steps and scared.”

Ronnie Karam humorously labels the woman as a "sturdy lady" who shouldn't be messed with, predicting her intense demeanor.

• Notable Quote:
  • Ronnie Karam [05:31]: “She’s like Karen on Karen… a Karen cage match.”

The hosts express their surprise that Kyle hasn't released her version of the incident, suggesting it might only exacerbate the situation.

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2. Ramona’s Over-FaceTuning: The Quest for Perfection

Next, Ben and Ronnie critique Ramona's excessive use of FaceTune, which has resulted in her appearing unnaturally young beside other cast members. They draw parallels to Gina Keough's previous over-editing, emphasizing the unrealistic beauty standards perpetuated by reality TV stars.

• Notable Quote:
  • Ben Mandelker [12:27]: “Ramona facetuned herself so aggressively that she actually looks like she's 12.”

Ronnie highlights the irony of gay men dealing with reality TV's beauty pressures without resorting to FaceTune themselves.

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3. AI and Bethany Frankel: When Technology Meets Reality TV

The hosts experiment with AI to mimic Bethany Frankel's voice, leading to amusing and surprisingly accurate renditions of her reviewing Pop Tarts.

• Notable Quote:
  • Ronnie Karam [24:47]: “Don't come at me with the frosted strawberry. It's basically a dessert disguised as breakfast.”

Ben marvels at the AI's ability to capture Bethany's critical tone, even concocting a fictional interaction with Glenn Close.

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4. Bethany vs. Raquel: Exploitation and Scandal

Ben and Ronnie delve into the tumultuous relationship between Bethany and Raquel from "Vanderpump Rules." They discuss how Bethany has publicly criticized Raquel, exacerbating the latter's already fragile mental state amidst scandal.

• Notable Quote:
  • Ben Mandelker [42:57]: “Bethany is exploiting Raquel as much as anyone at Bravo exploited Raquel.”

The conversation touches on the ethical responsibilities of Bravo and its executives, questioning the network's role in fostering such toxic environments.

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5. Producer Patrick McDonald's Fallout with Bravo

The duo examines Patrick McDonald's public grievances with Bravo, citing his claims of being "iced out" after starting an OnlyFans account. They debate the validity of his accusations and ponder Bravo's alleged hypocrisy given the network's permissive stance on similar behaviors among other staff.

• Notable Quote:
  • Ronnie Karam [34:02]: “Bravo has a completely toxic work environment.”

Ben remains skeptical, highlighting the lack of comprehensive details and suggesting possible ulterior motives behind Patrick's statements.

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6. Aaron Leechy’s Parenting Police Encounter

Aaron Leechy faces mom-shaming on social media for her baby’s lack of neck support in photos. Ben and Ronnie laugh over the criticisms while brainstorming humorous comebacks Aaron could use to defend herself.

• Notable Quote:
  • Ronnie Karam [47:02]: “My mother was in there because someone said, oh God, babies are made of jelly.”

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7. Southern Charm’s Casting Changes

Updates on "Southern Charm" reveal that Taylor is stepping away from the show, contrary to rumors of her being fired. Ben and Ronnie appreciate the clarification and speculate on the reasons behind her departure.

• Notable Quote:
  • Ronnie Karam [51:09]: “It’s cool that that's actually what she saw, but I told her we would correct it on the show.”

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8. Candace Dillard Bassett’s Potential Return

Speculation arises around Candace Dillard Bassett's return to "Real Housewives of Potomac" or a possible move to "Traders." The hosts discuss her recent activities at NBCUniversal and the mixed reactions from fans.

• Notable Quote:
  • Ben Mandelker [54:35]: “She definitely took a photo. So she's definitely gonna be doing something in the universe. We just don’t really know what it is.”

Ronnie expresses a preference for Candace's potential appearance on "Traders," finding it more intriguing than rehashing old feuds in "Potomac."

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9. Kenya's YouTube Controversy and Portia’s Accusations

Kenya launches her YouTube channel but faces backlash when Portia accuses her of publishing inappropriate photos of a teenager. The hosts discuss the severity of the accusations and the shifting alliances among the cast members.

• Notable Quote:
  • Ronnie Karam [56:44]: “She’s not your enemy here. Listen, I stood up for you even when you posted…”

Ben and Ronnie debate the implications of Kenya's actions and how it affects her relationships within the Bravo community.

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Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, Ben and Ronnie reflect on the ongoing dramas and shifts within Bravo's reality TV landscape. They highlight the complexities of reality television, where personal actions and network policies intertwine, often leading to public controversies and fractured relationships.

• Notable Quote:
  • Ronnie Karam [60:02]: “If someone wants to suck a dick on OnlyFans, that's fine by me.”

Ben adds a final thought on the ethical implications of Bravo's treatment of its cast members, emphasizing the need for transparency and support within the network.

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Final Thoughts

Episode #2805 of Watch What Crappens offers a comprehensive and entertaining analysis of the latest happenings in the Bravo universe. Ben Mandelker and Ronnie Karam provide insightful commentary, blending critical perspectives with humor, making it a must-listen for fans eager to stay updated on their favorite reality TV stars.

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For more exclusive content, bonus episodes, and access to the community Discord server, support Ben and Ronnie at www.patreon.com/watchwhatcrappens. Listen to Watch What Crappens on the Wondery App or your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

I am so excited to go on my first Virgin cruise. You know, the idea of a kid free ship is very appealing to me. And all these menus, it's like definitely a boat made for Ben.

[Ronnie Karam]

It looks like a giant, gorgeous club with fabulous rooms. I cannot wait to go book [e-mail] or contact your travel advisor. So I just redid a patio and my patio. Not just any patio, my patio. And I thought, this is going to be so hard to get all these different pieces. But it wasn't because I went to Wayfair. I got all of my tables, all of my chairs, space heaters. I mean, I got everything right from Wayfair and it's all top quality, fantastic stuff.

[Ben Mandelker]

That's because it's home project season, Ronnie. And Wayfair is the best kept secret for all things renovation and beautifying.

[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

I use Whole Foods all the time for little parties that I have to get, you know, little charcuterie plates put together. They have the best ingredients. I just love this place.

[Ben Mandelker]

Save on the best of spring. With great everyday prices at Whole Foods Markets, who cares what happens?

[Ronnie Karam]

Well, hello and welcome to crappy hour live. Alive.

[Ben Mandelker]

Alive.

[Ronnie Karam]

Ronnie, that's Ben over there. Hi, Ben.

[Ben Mandelker]

Hi. How are you?

[Ronnie Karam]

Good. I'm having trouble figuring out lighting because it's a different time of day now and it's going to be dark, so I need the yellow lighting and. But now I look like I have jaundice.

[Ben Mandelker]

Wow. I. I would normally have a lot of sympathy for you except for the fact that I'm broadcasting from my childhood bedro. I am basically in sepia tone at the moment. And so whatever lighting is going on in your place, that's problem problematic. Multiply it by 10 for me. Over here in Katona, New York. And as you can see, the old the bonnet is on the air conditioner. So childhood home. It's good to be back.

[Ronnie Karam]

Good to see you, buddy. All right, everybody. Well, welcome to the show tonight. This is a show, an episode. We talk shit about Bravo news. Okay. What kind of problem news you want to talk about today, Ben?

[Ben Mandelker]

I mean, there's so much good stuff. I feel like we'll. Let's work our way up. Should we work our way up to that little video or do you want to start off with that one?

[Ronnie Karam]

Let's. Let's start off with it. I think that'll be fun to start with.

[Ben Mandelker]

Well, we talked about at our. One of our live shows this weekend, we talked about this video of Kyle being yelled at by a lady on the street with her little three dogs, which, of course, the dogs have little bows in them and everything. And we couldn't hear anything thing. But of course, over the weekend, a second view of this whole Thing came out, by the way, Kyle's version has not come out, even though Kyle was recording the whole thing. So someone else recorded this.

[Ronnie Karam]

In the LGBTQ+ community, we do not make people say their private videos.

[Ben Mandelker]

That, like, was like, really devastating to me. So someone else recorded this interaction and they were from a different angle and they were closer and they've definitely picked up some of the audio. So I just. Yes.

[Ronnie Karam]

I just want to say before you press play on that, just to remind people, in case. Or for people who didn't listen to the Beverly Hills Live in Boston recap, we did discuss this, as Ben said, and we had some predictions on what was being said in this video. We both agreed that this was one sturdy woman who I would not fuck with. Listen, I'm not going to pull out my phone around this woman. I'm going to tell you that right now, ever, not to even talk to anybody because I'd be terrified that her energy would seep into the phone. But this sturdy lady, my prediction was she talked like this. You wanna with me? You wanna with me? Okay. That was my prediction. And I'm just putting that out there to remind everyone that I'm a very psychic gay. Okay.

[Ben Mandelker]

Right. I. I can't. I'm in. I've heard her voice, so I can't be in. I can't remember what I thought it sounded like, but when I heard her voice, it was exactly what I thought it would sound like, if that makes sense. You know, basically something in the Vicki Gunvalson range. Okay, so here we go. I'm gonna add it to the stage.

[Ronnie Karam]

This is her talking to the cop with all that.

[Ben Mandelker]

So I it threaten me that you're gonna take away my animals.

[Ronnie Karam]

The little pig. What have I ever done to my dogs? What? Shut the up, bitch. She's telling Kyle.

[Ben Mandelker]

The way she walks those slowly with these dogs towards Kyle. And Kyle just back steps and scared.

[Ronnie Karam]

Well, thank God the assistant was there to stand up for her because Kyle is hiding behind Teddy, her friend with stage four cancer.

[Ben Mandelker]

Yes.

[Ronnie Karam]

Oh, wow.

[Ben Mandelker]

She just said just because you your own dogs doesn't mean.

[Ronnie Karam]

Shut the up. I might not make a wild animal, but you're worser than I am. You're worser than I am. That's probably enough, right? But how. How shocked are you that she says worser?

[Ben Mandelker]

Not shocked at all. Someone says Abby from Dance Moms. That's actually probably even more accurate. That is exactly who it is. It is Abby. Abby Lee Miller, walking dogs, screaming. She's like, kyle is not at the top of the pyramid this week.

[Ronnie Karam]

Yes. Well, what this video did not show was this lady pulling the dogs up on the curb, which I guess is what Kyle was seeing. I mean, I don't know who took the first video, but the first video was this lady dragging her dogs by the leash and they're little dogs and one couldn't get up the curb and she just kind of dragged it up there, like, so. Yeah, I mean, this lady wasn't great to her dogs. It's not like, hey, you know, this lady's a hero or anything. This lady sucks. But, God, if you have a shitty person, do us all a favor. If you're not gonna institutionalize them, aim them towards Kyle.

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah, and it's just funny because why is Kyle still dealing with, like, why is she still recording this woman and talking to her? Just keep walking. Like, why would you. Like, if this woman is obviously gonna have an explosive reaction. You're a celebrity. Just keep it moving. But instead, that Kyle, like, bust out her camera and antagonizes her more and then hides behind Teddy and her assistant. There's just no good way that this can come out of it. The only way Kyla could win this is if she releases the video. And I was like, look at this. You know, I just am shocked that she hasn't released a video. I mean, that's just taking up space on her phone at this point.

[Ronnie Karam]

Well, I love when the Karen. It makes a Karen video. It's like Karen on Karen, you know, which I like. It's a death match. What do they call. It's a cage match. It's a Karen cage match, you know, because you've got Kyle thinking she's making a video of a Karen, but Kyle's being a Karen by making the.

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah, it's kind of like this. Like a. It's like a vortex. It's like a Mobius strip of Karen, right? Yeah.

[Ronnie Karam]

So I don't know what that means, but I'm gonna go with it. So infinity. In some other news, let's see here, Kyle, speaking of Kyle, Kyle is also in the Lincoln Lawyer Season 4, which means that is the fourth season in a row I will not be watching that show. So congrats, though. That's cool.

[Ben Mandelker]

I did see some of that because my parents visited, so of course, my dad was like, lincoln Lawyer it is. So. So they watched all of it and my friend was in it, so I was happy to. Two of my friends were in it, so I was happy to support. But I don't think I Would have naturally supported without my parents being there.

[Ronnie Karam]

Yeah, I hope they make Kyle's lines like, kyle, like, what are you talking about, ma'am? We caught you breaking into a house.

[Ben Mandelker]

You are.

[Ronnie Karam]

You broke into a house. What about that time you ignored me at lunch?

[Ben Mandelker]

I hope they make her, like. Like a meth queen or something like that. Like, she has to answer the door. Being like, things are, like, really hard right now. Like, you want to come in? You want to have something? Eat? What do you want? What do you want?

[Ronnie Karam]

So upset.

[Ben Mandelker]

I was like, now that I say that out loud, that make them too close to home. That would be not a great choice.

[Ronnie Karam]

Because Kim's done that work already in Black Snake Moan. So Kyle better not steal her work.

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah, but yet that's exactly how Kyle would operate.

[Ronnie Karam]

A hundred percent. Okay, so let's see what else happened this week. Ramona Facetune. Ramona Face tuning herself even catches the news. How does Ramona keep catching herself in the news all the time?

[Ben Mandelker]

Well, you know, it's. Listen, housewives face tuning themselves is nothing new. We saw Gina Keough do it excessively not so long ago, where her daughter had to be like, mom, stop it. But what was so fun with Ramona is that she facetuned herself so aggressively that she actually looks like she's 12. And she's like, next to these guys. And then Ramona keeps on giving up answers as to, like, what happened. She's like, you know what? First. The first caption was like, you know what? Just another great night in Palm beach. Okay? Just be hanging out with Stephen, Larochelle and Moka. Nothing. But then, like, people like Ramona, and she's like, no, I didn't even do anything to it. I didn't even touch it. Just the beautiful gaze. You took the photo did this to me. I don't know. I don't understand anything, okay?

[Ronnie Karam]

This is no filter. I don't know how. You know what? Thanks for gorgeous gay guys, but I don't think the gay guys are face tuned, which cracks me up, because we know how to be when we're with a real Housewife. Like, we've never facetuned ourselves, but I think we've had to FaceTime FaceTune Housewife. They've requested it, you know?

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah, always. But this is like. I mean, there. I feel like sometimes it feels like the people who are, like, most in need of face tuning are the ones who are least capable of using it. And it's like we're just seeing it. Like, Adrian Maloof had a moment also recently where she kind of, like, reduced her face into looking like the Zoloft ball. And it's just. I think it's just Ramona acting like she definitely did not do this. She definitely did not Facetune herself into, like, a little girl face. Like, this is just something that was done to her. Oh, well, okay.

[Ronnie Karam]

You know, I was attacked by Facetune. That's it. And then Facetune responded to her response and said, why are we dragged into this? Which I like. I like that Facebook gets messy on all of these. I. You would think that Real Housewives would be better with Facetune than they are. I mean, Kim Zolciak is still making half of buildings disappear behind her because she's, like, pulling herself in so much.

[Ben Mandelker]

And then all the buildings hourglass.

[Ronnie Karam]

And then Kenya Moore released her new YouTube image because she's doing, like, her own YouTube confessionals, I guess. Or she's doing something. I don't know. I haven't watched it, but she's doing something on YouTube and released a new photo, and she's got an extra finger on there. Like, were you thinning out your hands? Like, are we getting to that point where we're like, you know what? I need to face tune my hands. My. My hands are really having a fat day, guys. Lots sodium face tuna.

[Ben Mandelker]

It's just like, when plastic surgery just sort of, like, showed up on the block. People just went wild with it, and you just have to let the science develop a little bit. And so people are just so desperate that they just hit the face soon, and they go to the max, you know, and they. They. I think what happens is that when you do it, you have, like. It's like a slippery slope. So you have your face, and you do one little adjustment on it, and you're like, oh, that's fun. It's like a fun little tweak. And then you go a little bit further just to see what it looked like, and you're like, well, that looks ridiculous. So then you go back to the one that you just tweaked, and then the tweaked one looks kind of boring now. So, like. Well, maybe a little bit more. So now you go to the one that used to look ridiculous, but now that looks nice compared to what used to be there, and you just keep on doing it, and then suddenly you turn around.

[Ronnie Karam]

What happens?

[Ben Mandelker]

And you're a blurry thumbprint.

[Ronnie Karam]

It's a gateway drug. It's like marijuana leads to heroin, as they used to tell Us growing up or how. It's like gayness, you know, like you accept being gay, and then suddenly you're allowing people to marry goats. You know, it's just like a slee. Sliding. A sliding scale. Or like Botox. Look, I started Botox, and then I did it to the point where I was like, oh, I'm just gonna get a shot or two. I did it to the. Wait, can you see him in this? You see this little horn coming out my Botox horn? Because my muscles in my face don't know what to do. So I have two Botox horns now, you see? It's just a sl. It's a slippery slope, guys. It's a slippery slope. You do one line of cocaine, before you know it, you're snorting gay goats and you have horns.

[Ben Mandelker]

It's just what's going to happen? Okay?

[Ronnie Karam]

You know, that's right, because watch yourself.

[Ben Mandelker]

This is what happens. We're like gorgeous gay men, okay?

[Ronnie Karam]

That's. It scorches gay people. It's homosexuals. So Bethany has had a big week in the news, in the Bravo sphere. First, she got into a fight with Gia because she's like, what, Another person, like, wasting their money? I mean, what, you're not going to be a lawyer? Like, what the hell? Your parents need you? Or whatever. She said to Gia. That's not a quote.

[Ben Mandelker]

It's just right.

[Ronnie Karam]

She said to pay her tax. Well, they started getting into it, because then Gia had a video where she was like, you know what? I'm gonna say this to Bethany. I hope that TikTok thousand dollars was worth it to attack a family. Okay? I hope it was worth it. So now Bethany is shooting back.

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah. This is classic Gia, by the way. Or classic Giudice, that Gia is going to throw the family thing, you know, front and center to shield herself. And you know what? We're not gonna see. We're not gonna deal with it. We don't care. We're not. We're not going to. So Bethany. Bethany fires back, and she's of course, like, oh. Oh, really?

[Ronnie Karam]

Huh? Huh?

[Ben Mandelker]

Really? That's what I say. How about you pay your taxes? Huh? How about you pay your taxes for once? You never pay your taxes, okay? You got to pay tax to get a life and get to get ahead in this world. Okay? So she is. I like, by the way, that monsters and critics is like, the most random feud of the year goes to Gia and Bethany, which I do. I do think that. That that's true. Anyway, Gia thinks that she's Doing something by coming for Bethany. But Bethany, of course, is going to destroy her. And Bethany's like, you know what? I made my first million dollars before I even knew who Gia Giudice was. So forgive me if I'm not taking financial lessons from the daughter of a walking case study.

[Ronnie Karam]

Yeah. She's like, what do I. What do I watch that show? I mean, what is that show? Like? I don't know what that show is. Like, last time I watched a show, they were like, they were fighting at a christening. Okay, like, who does that?

[Ben Mandelker]

When your mom and stepdad owe nearly $3 million to the IRS, the smartest move might be just to stay quiet.

[Ronnie Karam]

Yeah. She said, I don't have a PhD in economics, but I do have a multi million dollar company, clean finance, and the good sense to call a lawyer before I call a stylist. Okay? So if Gia ever needs a mentor, I'm available. If ever I need a blowout, I'll call Gia. Okay. Like eyelash extensions, I'm calling you. Okay, but for taxes.

[Ben Mandelker]

No.

[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

She was not getting the text.

[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[C]

At 24, I lost my narrative. Or rather it was stolen from me, and the Monica Lewinsky that my friends and family knew was usurped by false narratives, callous jokes and politics. I would define reclaiming as to take back what was yours. Something you possess is lost or stolen and ultimately you triumph in finding it again. So I think listeners can expect me to be chatting with folks both recognizable and unrecognizable names about the way that people have navigated roads to triumph. My hope is that people will finish an episode of Reclaiming and feel like they filled their tank up, they connected with the people that I'm talking to, and leave with maybe some nuggets that help them feel a little more hopeful. Follow Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Reclaiming early and ad free right now by joining Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Some people get a wild haircut or book a spontaneous trip when life throws them a curveball. But Molly? Well, she dove headfirst into a world of no strings attached sex, secret rendezvous, forbidden affairs and unforgettable adventures. And together we tell every juicy detail in Dying for Sex. Wondry's award winning podcast that's now streaming on a TV TV near your starring Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate. And to top it off, we're dropping brand new bonus episodes where I sit down with the cast to spill all the spicy secrets, desire, friendship, self discovery and the ultimate bucket list of pleasure. This is a story that had everyone talking. Listen to the original Dying for Sex and brand new episodes on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge the original series before anyone else and completely ad free on Wondri.

[Ben Mandelker]

I have to say, when it comes to Bethany, when her energies are pointed in the right direction, she really is pretty excellent. I Mean, like, it was really very satisfying for me to see her just, like, shut you down like that.

[Ronnie Karam]

Well, she's like the crazy lady with the dogs in the street. Like, she needs help. And watching Bethany, like, slowly lose it every year, more and more, every single year, it's sad, you know? And you're like, oh, my God, I wish we could still call. You know, I wish we could still call for help for people, whatever. Like, I saw Asylum. And, you know, some of you hope for that, but then it's best, right? Like, aim the weapon at something good and it's fun, you know? So she went off on her. And at the very end, I'm reading this from Reality Blurb, which is one of our favorite French magazines, Reality Blurb. And they say at the very end, Reality Blurb has not been able to verify the authenticity of this new statement by Bethany. You know why they can't do it? Because these AI are doing too much. You need to. You guys need to stop. Okay? Stop. AI, they put all of these quotes that have nothing to do with what anybody said or, like, a slight bit to do, but they give them these big, flowery, like, paragraphs. Do you ever read them on Facebook? There's, like, huge. There's people, like, fan groups on Facebook that post them. It's like Paige desorbo said in the twilight of my twenties, I never thought possible to feel the emotion. I thought as a tear slowly dropped from my face and I realized the man in my bed wasn't the man I thought he were. Like, the page doesn't talk like that. Where are you getting this? You know?

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Karam]

You got Kim souls yet? Kim Zolciak giving, like, soliloquies about Kim. Kim doesn't know that many words. Come on, AI, you're making. People were worried that AI was going to dumb us down. It's actually making people sound too intelligent.

[Ben Mandelker]

It. Yeah, yeah. It's. It's. It's going the other way around. I am curious to. I wonder if AI, If. If there was a good prompt to see, like, if we could get AI to say something in the style of Bethany Frankel. And how accurate would be, like, maybe something like review. Okay, here. I've got Chat. Chat. GPT. Should I have her. Okay, what's. What's the.

[Ronnie Karam]

What.

[Ben Mandelker]

What.

[Ronnie Karam]

What.

[Ben Mandelker]

What do we want Bethany to comment on Tuna.

[Ronnie Karam]

Have Bethany Frankel review. Give a bad review to Pop Tarts.

[Ben Mandelker]

Okay. Give a bad review to Pop Tarts in the Voice. In the voice of Bethany Frankel. Okay.

[Ronnie Karam]

Okay. Okay.

[Ben Mandelker]

That's Your turn.

[Ronnie Karam]

Okay. Okay. Here, I got one, too.

[Ben Mandelker]

Okay. Oh, honey, don't even get me started on Pop Tarts. I mean, really, who is still eating these cowboy pockets of regret in 2025? It's like if Sadness had a pastry crust, it'd be a Pop Tart. You bite into it and it's just dry sand sugar wrapped in a cry for help. The frosting is this, like, weird little afterthought. Like someone drizzled Elmo's glue and called it. Called it a feature. And don't even talk to me about the filling. It's like molten jam from a dentist nightmare.

[Ronnie Karam]

This is actually good. All right, let's talk about Pop Tarts. Okay, like, first of all, like, what are you. What even are these? It's like someone tried to make a toaster strudel after a wine tasting and gave up halfway through. Like, what are you doing? Like, you've got this cardboard crust situation pretending to be pastry, and then the inside, a blob of mystery jam that tastes like regret and high fructose corn syrups. Cousin from Jersey. Okay, like, don't come at me with the frosted strawberry. It's basically a dessert disguised as a breakfast. This is not food. This is a cry for help. That's good.

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah, it is. It is good. I'm, like, always so impressed with this. I did. I did. Okay, I wrote a prompt. I said, write a one paragraph story where Bethany Frankel meets Glenn Close and talks about Pop Tarts. So this is what? This is the one paragraph? I did one paragraph. Because we can't sit here. You can't. You can't sit here. Listen to me narrate the whole thing. So this is a one paragraph story. Is everyone ready for this chat? GPD storytime. Bethany, Frank. Sorry, the first line already started to make me giggle. Tickly squat. Okay, Bethany Frankel was mid ranch at a Soho charity brunch, her hands slicing the air as she denounced Pop Tarts as the edible equivalent of a bad ex boyfriend. When Glenn Close, elegant in oversized sunglasses and a linen blazer, leaned in from the next table and said, I actually kind of love the brown sugar cinnamon ones. Bethany blinked, momentarily stunned. Glenn, no. You're a national treasure. You cannot be out here defending the toaster cardboard. Glenn smiled, sipping her green tea. They're nostalgic. Like. Like eating your childhood and hating yourself a little. Bethany paused and then nodded slowly. Okay, that's fair. But only if you're eating them ironically and on a private jet. The two women clinked glasses of kombucha and bonded over their shared love of sarcasm, couture and questionable snack choices.

[Ronnie Karam]

Okay, I said, tell me Bethany Frankel's opinion about Lexi Wood and Jesse Solomon's affair. Oh, I guess that's not good because she's. It's actually giving me true things instead of making something up. Oh, well, probably time to give up on AI anyway, but that's pretty good. Bethany, this. The. I have to say, asking AI to mimic Bethany Frankel is the best thing I've ever seen. AI. It's the most accurate AI I've ever seen.

[Ben Mandelker]

It's really. It's actually the most likable way to receive Bethany Frankel is through AI. People are really upset in the chat about us using AI on this.

[Ronnie Karam]

We admitted it was AI Is using up our water. Sorry, I don't think there's going to be AI at this point, you gu. Guys, honestly, like, I just don't think. I don't think anybody's going to be like, you know what we should do now? We should stop using AI. I just. I think the cat's out of the bag. Pandora's box has been opened. We're all going to go thirsty. That is crazy, though. All the stuff that AI uses up. And, you know, I didn't learn about any of it until I read comments on our stuff because we mentioned AI in one podcast in passing, and people were like, how dare you? It's killing the earth. Which I didn't know. So I guess we contributed. Sorry. Hopefully it was worth it for a good pop tart review. And again, you know what else?

[Ben Mandelker]

You know what's also killing the Earth? Humans.

[Ronnie Karam]

Seriously. How about you get off my AI ass and stop having babies? How about we do that? I'm kidding.

[Ben Mandelker]

Okay, so we understand the ethical implications.

[Ronnie Karam]

So Bethany. Speaking of Bethany, Bethany's week continued to go on. This is information I am getting mostly from Vanderpod, recaps over on Instagram, who we all know. I read religiously, love her work. It started as Patrick, Patrick McDonald, producer, we've all seen many, many times on Real Housewives, chasing housewives around, trying to keep them out of fights, etc. Etc. He came out with his own Instagram video, which I thought, this is cool. I wonder what Patrick's doing. And I clicked on that. And it was the longest Instagram video. It was two parts. And he just went and went, went and went and went and went. And I know that this would sound completely hypocritical coming from me, but I'm the president of the Hippocrat Party. So I'm gonna say it anyway. Brevity. Brevity.

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Karam]

But he. He went off on Bravo basically claiming. Well, a lot basically claiming that he was iced out because he had an only fans, and which we've been watching his journey not through only fans, but on Instagram. He's. He's always posing with a gay porn star, and it looks like he's been le into that territory. So I guess he finally did his only fans and did that, and I guess he got iced out for doing it, which seems kind of unfair, but. And then turned on Bravo and has now been giving up the scoop. Yeah.

[Ben Mandelker]

I wonder what the full story is here, because it just. It does seem strange to me because it's not like. It's not like he was working at, like, you know, JP Morgan, you know, and then they're like, whoa, whoa, whoa. One of our bankers is doing only fans? I feel like it's surprising to me that Bravo would ice him out. I mean, you know, trust victims, all that stuff. But, like, I don't know. Like, it's. It's like, I feel like there's more to this story than we're receiving. And I know this sounds totally vapid of me, but if you're spending. If it takes, like, two really long Instagram stories or posts or whatever to explain the situation, I feel like that's wild. Like, can it. Isn't it just as simple as, like. Yeah, I was a producer on the show for, like, five years, did all these different shows. I was held in well. I kept on getting jobs. People liked me, people like to work with me. I started doing only fans. They stopped hiring me, and that's fucked up. I feel like that's all it. All it requires. So the fact that it's like this big, long thing. I'm like, did you just talk too much at the job? Do people just get bored listening to you?

[Ronnie Karam]

Well, this is what happens when you're always behind the camera and then somebody finally asks you your opinion. It's like it never ends. You know, you've had to stay quiet for so long that it just goes on and on. But, yeah, he talks a lot. But basically, Vanderpod Recaps did a recap of him on Just Be With Bethany Frankel herself. So she's like, all right, what are the moral dilemmas that you had reviewing Pop Tarts for your first time and also doing reality television? What were the moments where you questioned your own integrity? And he says, you know, I don't know if it was questioning my own integrity, but questioning what it is we're all doing as a whole. I don't think it was a singular moment. I think it's been a journey, a journey of getting me there. You know, I mentioned in the video that I made. Oh, God, don't even reference that. I think in the beginning, the first couple of years, I was blinded to the toxic environment by my excitement to just be there. I was a Housewives fan, blah, blah, blah. And it was fun, you know, to be like, oh, shit, I'm going in there. We've got shit between Candy and Sheree. You know, it's really fun. And then as time goes on, you're like, wow, this is really taking a toll on the woman here. You know, like, this absolutely spent, my colleagues were. And barely even being able to stay awake at times on these cast trips because they're so exhausted. So then it basically turns into Bravo being a completely toxic work environment.

[Ben Mandelker]

Here's what I don't understand. And this is not me being critical of him or whatever, but this is, like, the second time now. Well, we see this with, like, Brandy, we see this with Leah. Now we're seeing it with him, which is like, I tried to get my job. I was. I was trying to get hired again. I couldn't get hired again. So, by the way, this place is super toxic and awful. What they do to the people is terrible. I'm like, so you were upset that you couldn't go back to do that? Like, you were upset. Like, you're like, oh, God, what they do to people is terrible. You know, the way they treat all these various sensitive topics is terrible. And I tried to get a job doing it, and they couldn't get hired. So, no, I'm so outraged. I'm like, I kind of feel like it has to be one or the other. It's like, they seemed like they were great. They treat everyone well. But then when it turns out that as soon as I started doing extracurriculars, doing only fans, suddenly I was iced out. And then it's like, oh, that sucks. They're. They're fake. They're full of shit. But, like, if they are a terrible, terrible, terrible organization, and I'm not saying that they aren't, but they are, then, like, I don't know. I guess it just doesn't land as hard for me of like. But you're. You're saying you're. You're basically saying you're upset that you were iced out with the implication being like. Like, I should have my job there. I should have more employment there at this place. That's really terrible. Like, I should be out there exploiting people. And I'm not allowed to exploit people right now.

[Ronnie Karam]

Right. Like, I was a part of this machine exploiting people. But now that I've been fired, it's a terrible machine. And that's kind of. That's, you know, look, I mean, there's the whole. First of all, there's a whole perfect victim thing, right? Like, you don't have to be a perfect victim. Both things can be true. You know, he could have been a part of it, but also not felt great about it and still been a victim. Victim of whatever. And I believe that he is a victim. If he really did get iced out for doing only fans, I think that's, you know, some people would say, well, they're a part of jobs where you're higher up. That. That is not allowed, you know? But this is Bravo, and I don't want to hear any moral preaching from Bravo, okay? If someone wants to suck a dick on the only fans, that's fine by me. So.

[Ben Mandelker]

And they have porn stars. They just had Raheem in the clubhouse and things like that. So they're very happy to play around with this and to talk about it on Denise Richards and her Wild Things.

[Ronnie Karam]

But I think where a lot of this. A lot of this with all of the people who've gone against Bravo is you don't get a hero at it when you come through with all of this stuff after you've been fired, if someone quits and they're like, I'm quitting this because this is. And this is how they treated me, and this is how they treat all women and all people who come on this show. And that's crap. That would be one thing. I think that people would listen a lot more to that than someone like, you know, Aaliyah who's like, oh, well, I got fired. So these people, I'm gonna burn the house down and sue them and blame alcoholism and all of this other stuff, which I'm not saying is necessarily what he's doing, because the stuff that I've read that he said really isn't even that bad. I mean, he basically says it's long hours, it's toxic. That's a non union gig, right?

[Ben Mandelker]

Definitely. And he. And he. At one point, I read one. One of the articles was he said, yeah, Bravo doesn't like it when people get sober. They kind of like roll their eyes because they're like, ugh, it's so much. It's. It's more boring. They incentivize you staying drunk. And I'm like. Like, I know that sounds terrible, but at the same time, like, have you seen the Bravo audiences? We, like, do we act excited when people are sober? Generally not. I mean, we want them to be sober for their own health, but, like, we're like, we can't. Like, I just don't think it's like a bombshell that, like, oh, this person who was, like, wildly entertaining whenever they got drunk, they've decided that they were going to become sober and they're not going to go out as much, and they're going to go. They're going to go to sleep early. Like, I kind of get it if an executive is like, oh, oh, well, what's good for them? Kind of bad for us. Like, I get it. Like, I kind of. I just feel like that's not a super strong point. Like, you know, still gotta make a show.

[Ronnie Karam]

So he goes into the Rachel, Raquel, Rachel slash Raquel stuff from Vanderpump Rules, and he was a producer on her last two seasons, and so he's talking about how he did the last season. And they're trying to make her a big hero, stepping away from James and all that stuff. And then the Vander Vander scandal happened, the Vander skull, I was gonna call it the Scandal thing happens. And he's like, you know, like, I understand this was a very upsetting thing, and I have empathy for what Ariana went through on that show and all the pain she experienced. Absolutely. But Ariana had the entire world rallying around her, you know, so in that moment, that's a lot of support, and that kind of can soften the blow of this really painful experience. But then on the flip side, you have Rachel and Tom Sandoval, who are suddenly like, the most hated people in America. And so for weeks, you're building up to this, like, amping it up, amping it up, amping it up, this vitriol towards them. And then we get to this reunion where they specifically get Rachel annihilated. You know, so I spent that entire day with her, which we saw, you know, on the show. He was featured a lot on that reunion, and he's like, we weren't filming when all that happened, so I hadn't seen her in a minute. So we were catching up. And I could only imagine what she felt like that day. Being slut shamed by the entire world is something I Don't think many people can understand. I get that too. And I mean, look, we felt a little. I mean, I felt empathy for, or sympathy, I guess I should say, for Raquel that whole season because they were being so mean to her. Yeah, that whole, especially KT was being so evil to her that whole season. And then when the Scandal ball stuff happened, it was like, okay, it's justified, so let's, you know, let's her up. And I felt for that because she's a young person. But I would just like to correct. She's not really being slut shame. She was being like having an affair with your best friend shame, you know. Yeah, being like shamed for betraying the person who kind of kept her on that show by being one of the only people who would shoot with her and bring her into group scenes and stuff like that. So, yeah, I do think that there.

[Ben Mandelker]

Was a good amount of, like, people were angry at Raquel, but I think it's. It's like you said, I think it was more grounded in the fact that like, Ariana had taken her in and had always propped her up and had rallied for her. And then Raquel went and was sleeping with Sandoval, which is felt extremely cruel. But I think we all saw that this was not a. This was, this was a fragile person. And, and I think that, like, as much as we. We sort of like relish in the craziness of Scandal, there was always a fear that, like, this is a woman who may break. And that's very scary. And I think that, like, you know, like, that was. I think that a lot of listeners, you know, felt that way. I mean, there were, or viewers of Vanderpump rules felt that way. There were definitely some people who were very harsh and cruel, but I think that, like, we saved most of our, most of our vitriol really, for Tom Sandoval. I would hope, I would hope, looking back, that that's true.

[Ronnie Karam]

Oh, she. Well, on that reunion, she got plenty of it from, you know, Katie and Ariana and everyone really lala. And, you know, everybody on that show was like, really going hard for her in that show, which I can understand to a degree. But as he points out here, he says, so you, you know, we're all day. And first of all, she had to sit in the green room and watch it. She had to watch. What did he want?

[Ben Mandelker]

Bravo all question is.

[Ronnie Karam]

And then he says, well, let me read what he says. So he says, you know, I'm sorry, but to be called subhuman and Be told that you should be by a cheese grater, like on national television. I think that's pretty unacceptable and disgusting. But, you know, like 10 years from now, when we look back and watch that, I think people will look at that with a. With a different set of eyes.

[Ben Mandelker]

Probably. I don't know. Yeah, probably. I don't. I guess. I guess my question is this is Bravo's. Like, how is the Bravo's fault, I guess, is what I'm saying this is more of, like the fault of people who are maybe more to pre, like people, maybe because Bravo put these people on tv, I guess.

[Ronnie Karam]

Well, I think just letting it go that. But I mean, he's not necessarily saying it's Bravo's fault. I think he's talking about any moral objections he had while he was doing it. Like, when did he ever feel moral objections in what he was doing? I think was the initial question. He just talks a lot, so it's like pages of his answer. But it's pretty interesting hearing the backstage stuff, you know, And Bethany says, so what responsibility do you think Andy and Lisa have? Because Andy's a figurehead at the network and he used to be a producer and he's a figurehead. And then he and Lisa Vanderpump, who is an executive producer, like, what responsibility do they hold? You know, and also in asking her about her meds and then. Wait, asking her about her meds? Hold on. It just cut off. It's like someone's bleeding on the side of the road and no one said anything. So does anyone bear that responsibility or do they all air that responsibility? I mean, not a bad question.

[Ben Mandelker]

Andy had a one on one. I mean, Andy had a one on one with Raquel and. And he. I actually do think that Andy was trying to get. Create a safe space for Raquel with her one on one. Etc.

[Ronnie Karam]

I mean, not about question from Bethany, but we just. We just recapped a classic episode of New York where Bethany eviscerates Countess Luan and calls her a slut. And a. And everything else under the sun, literally for an entire hour. It never stopped. It never stopped. And that was how she rolled. So I think out of all of this, my takeaway is still, like, Bethany, of all people to be coming against it is just like, what have you seen yourself on the television, ma'am?

[Ben Mandelker]

Bethany is exploiting Raquel as much as anyone at Bravo exploited Raquel. You know, Raquel went. Raquel in many ways was chewed up and spat out by. By the machine. She did some of the chewing Herself. And that's not me trying to be. Not me trying to be risque. Like, she literally, you know, I'm saying that she wasn't like an innocent, totally innocent victim. She was an active participant of this scandal. But Bethany had then swooped right in and was happy to put Raquel front and center and, and squeeze that, that, that lemon for all its juice and use that for her for her podcast network. So, you know, to me, Bethany is. Is complicit, not to the same degree, but like, she's happy. Like, I think we all recognize after Raquel, after scandal happened, if we're really concerned about Raquel's mental health and we're concerned about her and how her well being is, the best thing for her is to move out of this entire space. And I think for Bethany to sort of bring her back on and be like, no, now she's going to have her side. It's like, don't let. Just let it end, let it die. And I think that Bethany is also.

[Ronnie Karam]

She's also profiting from it. Yeah, yeah, so she says. So it's almost like a big corporation is making all this money, but then the people out there are getting cancer by being exposed to the radiation. Yeah, but, but you're, like, selling pamphlets on what the radiation does to you. You know what I mean? So, like, you're part. You're part of it. And so he's like, yeah, you know, it's all coming at someone's expense, these salacious events. And so she asked him, has he heard from Bravo or anyone from production since he posted the video? And he says, no, he hasn't heard directly from them. He did get a call from someone that was trying to steer me in the opposite direction, and that was from Lisa Vanderpump herself. And it's like, oh, interesting, that slut. So do you have a relationship with her? And he says, well, I worked with her two years, I produced two seasons, and we always had a really great working relationship. We weren't super close, but always had a great relationship. And I hadn't spoken to her since we wrapped, but she was calling to manipulate me. And she was calling to extract information from me, to see what I was going to do next and to give me names, specific names, and discourage me from speaking out on this. Unfortunately, she was trying to exploit my good relationship with her and take advantage of our good working relationship to get information from me on behalf of someone, either at the production company or the.

[Ben Mandelker]

Network even, I guess, was. I guess Lisa was not able to help him get a job initially, before all this happened. Did he, I wonder if he talked about that about, like, I guess it sounds like. Not.

[Ronnie Karam]

I don't know.

[Ben Mandelker]

I don't know.

[Ronnie Karam]

I don't know. But it goes on and on and on. There's a lot. He was disappointed in Vanderpump for this, for the call, and, you know, it's like five pages of him talking. But, yeah, he was trying. She was trying to produce me. He said she was trying to produce me. You know, well, you know, how's that medicine? So overall, like, I, from everything we've heard from people that produce reality television and from my extensive knowledge of watching Unreal Deal, a fantastic TV show, that job looks like hell. I mean, that job really does look like hell. But I think his, his timing, with how he wants to come out with everything, I mean, it's revenge. But I guess, I mean, I'll talk the most aft about a job after I've been fired too, right? So maybe is that natural?

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah, I understand being bitter about a place that, like, rejected you, but it's just, I don't know, like, again, I, I, I, I'm, I'm waiting for all the details. If he got fired or if he got stonewalled because he started doing only fans content. That's, like, massively hypocritical of Bravo. And it's also, it's ridiculous, you know, but, you know, I'm, I'm waiting. I, I do kind of feel like I would not be surprised if we start getting some blind items from people who are like, actually, you know, whatever. I just, I want to hear the whole story. Maybe that's not fair there. Maybe, like, maybe that's not the correct response after someone is like, yeah, this happened to me at this job, and they were terrible. And you say, I'm awaiting for the whole story. That might be actually a pretty cruel response on my part, but I just think it's the, that that combination of, like, this place was shitty, and I was trying to get a job back there, and I couldn't get a job back there. So now I'm gonna say how it's shitty and like, that always when people do that, I always think that's very curious.

[Ronnie Karam]

And now I'm coming forward to save people and promote my only fans, which I'm on, so come check it out.

[Ben Mandelker]

But I mean, we'll see. But I mean, I'm, Again, we, we do. I mean, it's reality tv, so I imagine there is definitely a certain degree of shadiness that just happens at any reality.

[Ronnie Karam]

I don't feel like anything that he said was a lie.

[Ben Mandelker]

I just don't know.

[Ronnie Karam]

I don't feel like this is like a lying situation. So it's not like that. It's not that I don't believe anything that he said. I think part of me was like, well, but you. You did it. So it's like the first. The first person who confesses gets a better deal. I mean, I don't. All right, let's move on to some other stuff. What do you say? Because that was a lot.

[Ben Mandelker]

Sounds great.

[Ronnie Karam]

Can we get to something? Some of my happiest news of the week, Ben.

[Ben Mandelker]

I would love to do that.

[Ronnie Karam]

Aaron. Leechy getting mom shamed.

[Ben Mandelker]

Loved it. I loved it.

[Ronnie Karam]

So Aaron is. Has a new little baby. Congratulations. And she was shaking this baby all over her Instagram or whatever. And she's holding. I mean, this baby is like the bit as big as a thumb. And she's like, well, my baby, you know, the baby's hanging over. So she got mom shamed. And the article is from Page Six and it says Aaron isn't losing any sleep over the parenting police. She clapped back at Tick Tock. Some fans called her out for the little one's lack of neck support as she mouthed the words to Diamond Donda's she's back on Wednesday.

[Ben Mandelker]

The pictures on this are just so hilarious because you do really see this poor little baby, his head, like just dangling off the side of her arm. And she's like, hey, yo. Like, this is kind of giving me like, like flashbacks to Whitney on Secret Wives of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives doing that, like that Tick Tock dance for whatever. Whatever the, the illness or baby had. And like the intensive care unit. I forgot what it's what it's called, but it's like one of those things where you're like, could you pay attention to that child for a second, please, ma'am?

[Ronnie Karam]

So somebody said, what about the baby's neck support? And Li replied, it looks worse than it is. Promise. Lol. So I love. That's her clap, her clapping back. And she also said that haters should stop. And some of the. I read a lot of the comments on this and was cracking up just because I love reading like mom fights and stuff. And I swear to God, my mother was in there because someone said, oh God, babies are made of jelly. Who cares? Baby's fine.

[Ben Mandelker]

When you think about what babies went through for all those decades before modern takes on neck support came around, babies were like Flung around on lassos and strapped to the side of a horse.

[Ronnie Karam]

My mom actually said that one time. I was like, you know, there were certain things as a baby. Like, I remember you sitting me on the ironing board while you were on the phone chain smoking inside the house. And she went, ronnie, cavemen had babies. Okay. Do you think that was safe? They didn't have cribs. They don't have high chairs. They didn't have mushy food for you. Okay? They squatted out. The baby fell on a rock. Okay, Was that safe? People survived.

[Ben Mandelker]

It's a good point on that ironing board. Rsv. Thank you, Nikia. RSV is what Whitney's baby had. Yeah, that's like. That's. It is hilarious. Well, my hope from this is that Aaron says, while due to the staggering amount of criticism that I faced when I had a totally benign video of me making a martini with my baby, I have decided I shall no longer put my baby on the Internet. And that's what I hope she says, because then it's just one less baby video we have to watch on Instagram.

[Ronnie Karam]

That's all you want out of this.

[Ben Mandelker]

Let's just shame the baby off the gram.

[Ronnie Karam]

Did we mention a couple of Southern Charm things? I think we mentioned that Leva was leaving last time, and we actually got a message from Leva that was like, excuse me, you guys, why am I hearing that you're telling everybody that I was fired from Southern Charm? That is absolutely not true. And I said, well, because we just kind of assumed you were. I mean, every. Most people who leave Bravo are fired from Bravo. I mean, we didn't say we had news about it. We just. That was our guess. And she said, I'm not. Not. I'm not reading the actual message, but she said, I wasn't fired. I just got sick of, like, being the nag of that show. It's really a buzzkill. And I was like, oh, well, that's. That's great. Okay, well, because that must be a buzz. It's a buzz kill for me. So it's. It's. It's cool that that's actually what she saw, but I told her we would correct it on the show. So there you have it. You have been. I've been corrected. And now Taylor has left, and she leaves a very long, Patrick McDonald inspired message. I'm like, girl, this needed to be a sentence. You know what I mean?

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah, like. Like. Like everything else you say, it could have just been a few monosyllabic words and Like a sigh. But she says, hi, everyone. A bittersweet announcement, but after a lot of conversations and thought this past year, it is with a heavy but peaceful heart to announce that I will be stepping away from Southern Charm Charm next year.

[Ronnie Karam]

I'm exhausted, and that's just a part of it. And it does not get. It does not get more interesting from there. It's not like it started off slow and then it gets better, you know, like some movies or whatever. It's just bad. It's bad the whole way through.

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah, she talks. Yeah, she's been. I can't believe she's been on the show for five years or she's been around for five years. But, yeah, she's done. We kind of sense that she was very. She's very much in the sidelines. And now that she's no longer really attached to the Shep storyline, you know, the Gastone thing didn't really have much legs, so. Yeah, could see that one coming from a mile away. Taylor is out now. In terms of other casting news, there's been a lot of scuttlebutt about Candace Dillard Bassett. Candice Dillard Bassett. Candace Bassett. No. Candice Dillard Bassett. Well, first of all, it was so interesting. I was out and about with the lovely Christina Arielle from Critical Role and other places, and she tapped me on the shoulder when we were out and about, singing karaoke, no less. And she was like, oh, my God. And she showed me a tweet, and it was Candace saying. It was a very succinct tweet where Candace was like, what's good, everyone? And then Christina turned to me and said, does this mean that Candace is coming back to Real Housewives of Potomac now? I personally was just like, I think she's just saying hi. But people started speculating immediately. Candace is coming back. Candace is coming back. Well, I didn't think much of it. And then a week later, Candace posted a photo on Twitter of her at NBCUniversal. It looked like she had just signed something. So now the speculation is running in two different directions. Either she's going to be on the Traders, which I think it's too early to sign those contracts for the Traders. I think that's going to be like an August or. I don't know. It's too early. The other speculation that is really gaining some legs is that Candace is in and Mia is out on Potomac, but don't know if it's true. Some, I guess Candace was also seen filming with the Potomac cast a little bit but people are really speculating that Candace is back on the show. What do you think, Ronnie?

[Ronnie Karam]

I don't think they're filming, are they? I don't. I haven't heard that they're back in. Not that that means. And I don't have, like, a solid old queen in a bar on that one, but I haven't heard that they're back shooting yet. I heard that that was kind of on hold to see what happens with Karen, even though Karen has a long sentence. But look at Jen's Shaw. She's gonna be out probably in five minutes, so who knows? Someone said not too early. They just finished Traitors casting, which would actually line up with what you're.

[Ben Mandelker]

Okay, so maybe she could be going on. On the Traders, I suppose. But she definitely took a photo. Like, I've seen the photo. I'm sure you saw, too, of her standing there, like, with the big peacock behind her. So she's definitely gonna be doing something in the universe. We just don't really know what it is. And I don't know. I think it's. I. I think I could see Traders being the more realistic thing just because Candace and Giselle had a really deep and bitter feud. So deep and bitter, it seems like they. I don't know if they could ever get past it. What do you think it's more. More likely she did Traders or Potomac or neither?

[Ronnie Karam]

I don't know. I mean, she'll. She'll probably do Traders. I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if they brought her back to Potomac stomach. I don't. I don't really care. I've had a nice year off, though.

[Ben Mandelker]

Okay. All right, well, let's move on.

[Ronnie Karam]

I know that's not a great answer, like, I don't care, but I don't really care about Candace Knees. I don't. I think it would be fun to watch her on the Traders, though. I would rather watch her on the Traders in kind of a new situation because I think her personality can be really fun and funny in certain situations. Like, she had a lot of enjoyable time on Real Housewives of Potomac. It just got to be so much, you know, and it wasn't necessarily her fault. I think it was, like a group effort to make it that much much so I don't know that I want to see them try that again. But Craters would be fun. I'd love her to see if. Read a few new people. That would be. That would be interesting. So I guess I do care. I care enough to make that Much of a statement. The other thing that people are speculating is that Mia has officially moved to Atlanta to be with Ink, her best friend. And we know that she commented on some Instagrams like, oh, I think I'm ready to be part of this Atlanta cast, Wink. But I doubt that'll happen. Sorry, Mia. Sorry.

[Ben Mandelker]

No, they're not going to bring me onto Atlanta. No, no way. No way whatsoever. Is there any new Kenya news that you've encountered, by the way?

[Ronnie Karam]

Just that she has her YouTube and that Porsche started her YouTube. So then we talked about this a little bit on the recap, but just to kind of update you guys here, poor Kenya got all pissed at Portia for not supporting her. And Portia's like, I'm not your enemy here. Listen, I, I stood up for you even when you posted, you know, pictures of a teenager doing stuff. I'm on your, Like, I even went to the network and stood up for you. And so people are like, wait a minute, those pictures were from when Brit was a teenager. Is this child pornography? So that's kind of the big new gossip of that or the new talk that people are doing on that one is like, did she publish child porn? How late into her teens was it? Even if it was when she was 18? That's. You're posting pictures of like some 18 year old girl on that.

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah, I don't know. Gross.

[Ronnie Karam]

Not great. But it's interesting to see who's friends and who's not now because all the ladies are doing interviews and their alliances have already all shifted. Like, Kelly and Brit aren't friends anymore. Brit went on Watch what Happens Live and said, kelly's waffles are soggy. They're only a five out of five. And then Kelly said something about her on some other podcast. And then Portia saying things about Kenya, and Kenya's saying things about Portia. And then apparently Shimmy and Portia aren't friends anymore, so things should be kicking off on that one pretty quick.

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah, I guess we'll have to see. I mean, I, I, I really like the season so far. Even though this week's episode was kind of Dolesville until the very end. But yeah, we'll see. I wonder when Phaedra is going to show up onto the show. I feel like, I seem to remember that the announcement of Phaedra was not like immediate. It wasn't when Kenny was fired that they were like, phaedra's ready. It was like, I think truth. I feel like it was like two or three weeks you know, so we'll see.

[Ronnie Karam]

Carrie, in the comments just pointed out, isn't five out of five good? Yes. So it would have been like a five out of ten, I guess she said. She basically said they were mediocre. But thank you for pointing that out because I did say five out of five.

[Ben Mandelker]

What did you say?

[Ronnie Karam]

Five out A five out of five. What a mean thing to say.

[Ben Mandelker]

Oh, my goodness.

[Ronnie Karam]

Let's see. Let's finish this off with a little pk. So a couple PK and Dorit things. First of all, apparently they paid like $300,000 and got their house out of pre foreclosure, so that's good.

[Ben Mandelker]

Good.

[Ronnie Karam]

So yeah, they have a new. Another few months to not pay their rent, so that's good also. Or they're more mortgage. That's a lot of money. $300,000. How many months do you think that was for?

[Ben Mandelker]

300. They're behind $300,000. I have. I'm. If their rental. Wait, I have to imagine they're. They have like some sort of four figure. I imagine they have a four figure payment on that house monthly. Right. So $300,000 is. That's a good amount of months to not be paying, I have to say.

[Ronnie Karam]

Yeah, it sounds like a lot of months. But anyway, they paid it off. And then PK when the reunion was airing. Now look, I don't think Dorit's being horrible to PK in this reunion. I think she's being pretty nice. I mean, isn't. And correct me if I'm wrong, because I probably am. I usually am. But isn't. Isn't Dorit just being like, you know, this stuff sucks with PK but I kind of want him back. Like, isn't she kind of hinting that this. None of this is her choice? And all of this, I thought she's not being that mean now during the season, calling him an alcoholic and all of that wasn't very nice. A severe alcoholic. But I don't think she's like really trash talking that much. But he posted a picture with an open door. It looks like a hotel room door, I guess at the Beverly Hills hotel. And he's got a door open and he's standing there like giving like this one eyebrow raised to the camera. And the caption is, it's better to admit you walk through the wrong door than to spend your life in the wrong room. Babe, that's cold.

[Ben Mandelker]

Oh, to reach the wrong room.

[Ronnie Karam]

Oh, yeah. The wrong. You're right.

[Ben Mandelker]

Yeah. To reach the wrong room. I mean, I would argue that she might like the implication. Is that the right door to the wrong room, I'm not sure. And also, how can you walk through the wrong door and wind up in the right room? So like if you walk through the wrong door, you're probably in the wrong room too. So if you admit that you walk through the wrong door, guess what? You're in the wrong room.

[Ronnie Karam]

Everything better to be in the wrong hallway than the wrong restroom room.

[Ben Mandelker]

Babe, it's, it's better, it's better to highlight the wrong band from Pretty Woman than to go into the wrong room to the wrong door.

[Ronnie Karam]

Yeah, that guy's still an. So that's basically it for that. Is there anything you wanted to finish off with or is that good for you?

[Ben Mandelker]

No, I think that's good for me. I think that was okay. That was.

[Ronnie Karam]

So now we are going to turn this over to you guys, the listeners over on Listener Party. Okay? So everybody who is just listening on audio, thanks so much for being here. We will talk to you in a couple of weeks at 5:30 Pacific Time. Thanks for being here. Love you guys. Bye.

[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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Savannah Cast a spell with Shannon Spellman let's share with Sharon Eldridge the Bay.

[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ronnie Karam]

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[Ben Mandelker]

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[Ronnie Karam]

Matthew sisters She eases our woes it's Melissa St. Rose we're on the floor with Molly Dorset give him hell. Ms. Noel, there's a chance of meatballs.

[Ben Mandelker]

It's Rebecca Cloud she's the queen bee It's Sarah Lemke Shannon out of a can and Anthony let's take off with.

[Ronnie Karam]

Tamla playing It's always a good time when you're wasting time with Bravo she ain't no shrinking violet Cootard we love you guys. If you like, watch what crappens. You can listen ad free right now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey.