What appears to be an attempt to make “The Real Housewives” franchise more harmonious has, perhaps inevitably, produced furious discord among its stars.
Last week, reported that former “Real Housewives of New York City” star Leah McSweeney had filed a lawsuit against the show’s producers, Bravo, and the network’s figurehead, Andy Cohen.
In court papers, she claimed, among other things, that producers had come to view an episode known as “Scary Island” — in which fellow alum Kelly Bensimon appeared erratic and somewhat out-of-touch with reality — as the gold standard for ratings-grabbing TV.
McSweeney claimed in the papers that, knowing she was struggling with a substance problem, and had suffered mental health issues, the producers zeroed in on her as a potential successor to Bensimon, and attempted to destabilize her in an attempt to create scenes as wild as the ones in “Scary Island.”
Now, a peeved Bensimon tells that she wants McSweeney to leave her out of her beef with Bravo.
“I’m not angry,” she told us, “I just like facts. I think people should stick to the facts.”
Bensimon has interpreted the suit as implying that she was under the influence of drugs or going through a mental ill-health episode when the infamous Season 3 scenes were filmed.
She insists she was fine mentally and had only drunk, at most, a little wine with ice in it (her preferred tipple at the time).
She also feels the suit implies that she was, as McSweeney claims to have been, exploited by Bravo or its producers.
“I’m not a victim,” Bensimon told us, “I’m nobody’s victim.”
The former model, who is now a broker for Douglas Elliman, added, “There’s no way I could be as successful as I am in high-end real estate if I could be made a victim.”
“It was me who branded ‘Scary Island,’” she told us, “I gave it that name.” She also told us that she called…
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