#Failed platform entitlement gang beasts series#

Mostly, though, she hoped “The Real Housewives” would offer her a chance to let loose after years focused on family and career. Williams, the first Black woman on 'New York,' and Tiffany Moon, the first Asian American woman on 'Dallas,' both faced ignorant, defensive and even hostile behavior from their white co-stars and say they felt forced to provide lessons in cultural sensitivity.Īn accomplished anesthesiologist, the 37-year-old Moon, who immigrated to the United States from China as a child, joined the show in early 2020, eager to boost Asian representation onscreen. 'Dallas' and 'New York' have been much more turbulent. 'As a white woman, this is how we do, and this is how we can change.' (Some viewers were more hostile, particularly to Kung Minkoff, who says she received a slew of hateful messages on social media.) 'That was a conflamma that I learned a lesson from - seriously,' Stracke told The Times last year. Both women have shared uncomfortable but productive conversations about race with their white co-stars, as when Kung Minkoff explained to Sutton Stracke the problem with the old adage 'I don't see color.' She was joined the following season by Crystal Kung Minkoff, 'Beverly Hills'' first Asian American cast member.

Then Garcelle Beauvais was cast on “Beverly Hills,' making her the first Black woman to star in the series. The women of 'Atlanta' and 'Potomac' were often subjected to greater scrutiny for the same outrageous antics - the wine-tossing and hair-pulling - as their white counterparts, and acknowledged the burden of representation they carried because of their race. With few exceptions, editions of 'Real Housewives,' which first launched in 2006, have largely been segregated: 'Atlanta' and 'Potomac' were predominantly Black and biracial, while 'Orange County,' 'New York,' 'New Jersey,' 'Dallas' and 'Beverly Hills' were overwhelmingly white, despite the diversity of the communities in which they are set. 'It feels dishonest, it feels disingenuous and it feels like it's set up to fail.' What they're trying to do is wedge integration into a franchise where it has not been required,' says Kristen Warner, an associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media at the University of Alabama. (The network declined to comment for this story.) This conundrum has plagued other shows at Bravo, including 'Below Deck,' which follows the young, attractive crew aboard a chartered yacht (a white cast member was recently called out for using the N-word), and the 'Beverly Hills' spinoff 'Vanderpump Rules,' which follows the young, attractive staff at a WeHo restaurant (a number of white cast members were fired in 2020 for racist behavior).īut the problems are most acute on 'Real Housewives,' both because of the franchise's durability and the key role it has played in defining Bravo's brand identity as TV's foremost destination for aspirational guilty pleasures. “We’re supposed to support each other.” To anyone aware of the backstory, the irony of Nguyen's comment was as hard to miss as the royal blue rhinestones on her gown.Ĭoming on the heels of similar controversies on 'New York' and 'Dallas,' predominantly white shows that added women of color last year, the messiness on 'Salt Lake City' points to a central crisis within the 'Real Housewives' universe: Can shows predicated on entitlement and endless pot-stirring evolve into entertainment that is over-the-top and meaningfully inclusive at the same time?

“I’m a minority, she’s a minority,” said Nguyen.

The title card didn't elaborate about the nature of the posts: Nguyen was fired in January after offensive memes she shared on Facebook in 2020 resurfaced online.Īt one point, Cohen asked Nguyen about racially insensitive remarks directed at her by Mary Cosby, a Black cast member who had failed to show up at the reunion.

#Failed platform entitlement gang beasts series#

The episode began with a disclaimer noting that it was filmed before social media posts by cast member Jennie Nguyen, who was born in Vietnam and grew up in Long Beach, became public, resulting in her departure from the series after a single season.