According to Bethenny Frankel, she has tried very hard to get women of color on the set of The Real Housewives of New York City, but to no avail. Page Six picked up on an interview on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in which Frankel touched on diversity and why she hasn’t been able to get black women on the series.
The Skinnygirl mogul said to the host this week that she has recommended a number of African-American women but they never made the cut, for whatever reason. The 49-year-old reality star went on to praise Andy, saying how she loved what he has been doing lately.
Cohen agreed that Bethenny had submitted a new member a number of times, including Aviva Drescher, but he didn’t have a lot to say when she mentioned hiring women of color. Currently, rumor has it that Bravo may cast Bershan Shaw which would mark the first time a black woman appeared on RHONY.
Not long after the episode aired, one of Frankel’s Twitter followers shouted out to the reality star for recommending black women on Real Housewives of New York City. The user added that there are plenty of “black millionaire housewives.”
On her account, Frankel responded by claiming she has been trying to get black women on the show for many years, but it has never happened yet. As most know, Frankel is one of the original members, and she was on the cast when it first came out in 2008.
Over the years, she has appeared intermittently on 8 different seasons. She did have her own show, however, Bethenny Ever After. The series followed her marriage to Jason Hoppy, which wound up not working out in the end.
Cohen then asked Bethenny if she would ever star on the program again, and Frankel jokingly responded that if she was given a “Brink’s truck full of a lot of cash,” she would do it. Frankel joked that it’s all about the “Benjamins.”