30 Years Around The Sun

As soon as February 18, 2019 ended, I was faced with the reality that 2019 was going to be my last year being 20+. I knew then I had to make the best of being Twenty Nine and that I did and that I did *winks* (more on this later).

Last year I wanted to celebrate my birthday at The Strings Hotel Nagoya, Japan (ストリングスホテル名古屋) by having a tea party, however, that idea didn’t go according to plan for various reasons that I mentioned in my birthday blog, Seven Months to Twenty Nine. A year later, I decided to revisit the idea. I took a tour of the location once again (not that I needed to but I’m extra lol) and I was still in love with it just as much as I did the first time I laid my eyes on its beauty. As is the norm for the New York Lounge (the area where they serve afternoon tea), there was a theme for this season. The theme for this winter was Marie Antionette. You know, the “let them eat cake” lady. Anyways, I was pretty excited about this because it meant they would serve colourful pastry with some very flavourful tea.

Frame Just For Me

Now, I needed something to make my birthday afternoon tea a real standout…well more than it already would be. I’ve always wanted one of those Instagram selfie frames that you see people with in photos for different events and thought this would be perfect. I did a quick search and to my surprise, there were quite a number of places in my city that I could seek info. Lord, please let it be inexpensive. One evening, I visited the closest office to the main train station I use to commute to and from work. I was lucky enough that a staff member was able to communicate effectively with me in English. Yes, I’ve been living in Japan for too long to not know Japanese, but that’s the way life goes. After gathering the information I needed about the cost for a specialized frame, I made the choice to make the project a DIY. The end result, perfection.

Who’s Coming To Tea?

I invited two friends to join in this intimate birthday celebration. Unlike last year’s wish for getting dressed up in fancy pastel garb, I opted for a monochromatic theme. When I mentioned this to my friends they were a bit confused at first but were right on board after I explained it to them and what I was going for (I had a vision of an explosion of monochrome, knowing in the back of my mind that I’d still get just a hint of pastel. I wasn’t fully letting go of that fantasy. LOL). The only rule was that they couldn’t wear any of the colours I had in mind to wear for myself. LOL. Even if they didn’t show up in monochrome, I knew I’d be.

Did Someone Say Monochrome?

As with any birthday or event, I needed to choose the perfect outfit for me. Read that again, I needed to choose the perfect outfit for me. I had bought this coat from Zara over the Christmas holidays for about 250USD and I was just dying to wear it. The Strings Hotel Nagoya was the perfect place. The problem though was finding the right shades of the colour I chose to go with to match the theme. I spent days and weeks trying on different pieces of clothing in multiple stores, sometimes the same outfit more than once but I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted. You see, it’s still winter but it’s also almost spring so the stores are in transition between the two seasons. This meant that most of the warm stuff were being phased out. Options that weren’t going to be available when I would finally arrive at a decision. Chidi from The Good Place would be proud. Haha!

Since I wasn’t sure what the actual weather conditions would be like on the day of my party, it was much harder to make a choice. The weather forecast said it would rain but knowing my city, I didn’t know whether it would be heavy or light rain, whether it would also be windy or even what the temperature would be. See my dilemma? Should I wear a sweatshirt? Carduroy pants? Should I risk wearing white sneakers? I pondered these questions and more for several days and I made the choice of buying all that I could, put the looks together in my apartment and return (yes, return) the items I no longer needed. I’m unapologetic when returning items. I ended with a look I was really happy with. A head to toe look with everything from Zara (I won’t tell you how much this costed me. Haha!)

Talk 30 To Me: Happy F-ing Birthday

The day finally arrived. The day I’d celebrate 30 Years Around The Sun. I was beaming with the utmost gratitude for just being alive. The weather forecast said it would rain all day but I didn’t care. It’s not like we were having the event on the outside. I reached out to my guests just to reconfirm the time and place so that we were all still on the same page. I started getting ready while blasting the speakers in my apartment with Troye Sivan’s Dance To This ft. Ariana Grande. I’m really 30. Wow!

I arrived at The Strings Hotel at around 13:31 and was just taken aback by the overwhelming feeling of pure joy. It was an indication that all I was really pleased with what I chose to do. The lounge had more people than I expected and I was definitely all right with that. My first guest arrived shortly after I did and we started the drinking until my other guest showed up. Now, when I say drinking I mean orange juice. LOL. Guest number two showed up and the tea party began. We glanced at the menu to see what we’d be served as the menu was set for afternoon tea. The only choice we’d have was for the different flavoured teas, my fav was the Marco Polo.

Tea Is Served

The Menus

Our waitress brought out a pair of three-tiered trays filled with the sweetest scrumdiddlyumptious desserts, two plates of scones, biscuits with a cold savoury soup an two plates of savoury nibbles. Yum!

The Menus

Let Them Eat Cake

Just like last year, I ordered a special cake from the amazing Trisha Painuyl. I reached out to her at the beginning of the month and explain exactly what I wanted. My cake was a cookie n cream cheesecake with a caramel crust and mirror glazed fondant that was dyed pink. I had to make it match the theme. The only thing we couldn’t do was have our cake and eat it too. LMAO, this so funny cuz it’s true.

The conversation kept flowing. The energy was just right and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I didn’t feel any different than I did at 29 nor 28 nor…well you get the picture. But I suppose I was different or I am now different. Whichever. The hours went by and it was time to leave the venue. Gutted. However, we brought the cake back to another friend’s apartment to cut it and for them to have a taste of what Trisha made. The cake was superb and met my every expectation. Thank you Trisha.

There’s so much more I could say but it wouldn’t be enough. I’m just thankful for this life. At times I thought (and maybe I still do from time to time) that things just don’t ever go right for me but so much has gone right and for that, I am thankful.

30 Years Around The Sun ain’t half bad.

–KEIRN

Standing For What’s Right, Not What’s Popular

We have come to the end of season 4 of The Real Housewives of Dallas (RHOD) and I can’t say that I’m sad to see it finally over the horizon. If Andy himself had given me the heads up about what to expect this past season, I wouldn’t have believed him. See all that transpired on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills last season. LOL.

Here we go…

Ever since the midseason trailer dropped around the end of October last year, the RHOD fanbase has been up in arms, with their virtual pitchforks, ready to burn LeeAnne at the stake for saying “chirpy Mexican” in relation to Kary (the replacement). As I expressed at the time, there was nothing racist about what she said and on that I never wavered. I pointed out on my social media that LeeAnne’s comments were inappropriate and the tone was offensive but what they weren’t, was racist.

“There had to be more to what was said,” I mumbled to myself. As the weeks went on, it was made clear (at least to me).

The women went to Thailand for their cast trip and all seemed to be going well at first until LeeAnne had the sensibilities to remind Kary that she should take her hat off as they were a foot way from entering the temple. This led Kary to make comments that were extremely elitist and rude comments; that LeeAnne had never traveled outside the US before and she has, so LeeAnne shouldn’t tell her what to do. Like, how can you be mad at someone reminding you to take your hat off before you enter a temple, in someone else’s country? It doesn’t make sense. That just made her seem like those snobby tourists who visit developing countries and treat locals badly. If you go back to my first blog of the season, you’ll recall me saying that I hope Kary’s purpose isn’t just to go after LeeAnne. It was evident, her goal, was to have a go at LeeAnne for everything.

They had a dinner and D’Andra, someone I did love when she joined in season 2, decided it would be funny if she wore LeeAnne‘s dress, L’Infinity by LeeAnne Locken. Why would it be funny to mock someone’s business though, someone you claimed to have wanted to repair a friendship? She and Kary spent a good while laughing at dress in the hotel room then again at the dinner table. The women weren’t really laughing, so they kept going and going like the damn energizer bunny. Even Brandi had to step in and defend LeeAnne in that moment. Probably the most genuine thing she’s ever done for her. I was shocked! LeeAnne walked off and didn’t give them the reaction they expect at the table. Kary of course didn’t like that she was called out by everyone, except for D’Andra, and went on to say LeeAnne loved playing the victim. There was no winning for her LeeAnne. If you’re honest, you’ll admit that up until that point LeeAnne had done nothing to this woman. NONE. But all we’ve seen from Kary (when she wasn’t complaining about money) was her using every opportunity to question LeeAnne about everything. 90% of the time, not really wanting an explanation or to listen, just to find another thing to have a go at her for.

It was here that we heard LeeAnne say to Stephanie, after expressing that Kary kept coming for her sideways, that since Kary‘s so bold, she should do it to her face. This prompted the “come Mexican, I thought you were Mexican and strong…” while she pounded at her chest. I felt badly watching it as I knew I would’ve but understood the frustration. Kary had been goading her all season and she finally snapped. Some may not agree but this bit isn’t an opinion, it’s what happened. Social media lit up. The anger and hatred toward LeeAnne grew. Hardly anyone was willing to listen to what I had to say. I wasn’t anti-LeeAnne so I must’ve agreed with what was said, right? Wrong! I’ve said since the onset that her comments were not appropriate and that people could use whatever verbiage they wanted to describe it, but leave racism out of the dialogue. Attacks came from all over. I was getting beat up on social media and when that wasn’t enough, people took to my blog.

“I hope your dignity is intact”, “You must be racist, too”, “You’re so f&@#ing stupid”, “I bet you don’t like Jews, either” were some of the things said to me. If I was a frail little man, I’d have crumbled. I could only imagine the things said to LeeAnne. I was firm in position because I knew what I had said and what my argument was. For those who wanted to have a discussion, I explained to them the reasons why LeeAnne’s comment cannot be seen as racist because not only is Mexican not a race (it’s a nationality like American is) but anyone from any race can be Mexican. That still didn’t seem to sit well with people because to them I was defending what LeeAnne had said. Still, they couldn’t provide any proof of me doing so. Some said I was focusing on semantics and that it was still offensive and I shouldn’t tell Latin/Hispanic people (any race can be either as this is someone’s ethnicity) that they shouldn’t be. Again, I didn’t. My only contention was having people use the proper terminologies.

The other comment LeeAnne made was after the women went to a ladyboy and ping pong show in the red light district (suggested by Stephanie’s husband). LeeAnne was very vocal about not wanting to go because the area was a bit seedy to her but made the decision to go, so she wouldn’t be seen as a drip. Kary commented that she was from Mexico so she knows what danger was (reinforcing the stereotype that Mexico is a bad place, but no one seems to care about that). Later, LeeAnne was shouting at Kameron (aggression misdirected) that they saw so many sex workers and that she didn’t want to go but (here comes the comment) “the little chirpy Mexican had to have her way.” This was the context of the what she said. Again, this came off offensive and I get anyone being offended as they should be, but it wasn’t racist. LeeAnne’s issue was never that Kary is Mexican (nothing is wrong with that) but that she was annoyed by her constant provocation and was at her limit. Does that make it okay? Of course not! This LeeAnne knows and it’s something many have expressed.

In the finale and like a lot of people usually do, she tried to explain herself at first then she apologized to Kary. Due to how strong cancel culture has become, no one was willing to listen to the apology in the finale, which was filmed around May of 2019. “She can’t be that ignorant, she has to be racist,” Kary said. LeeAnne had also apologized on social media, then she posted a statement as well as on the filmed reunion which finished airing a week ago. Fans (some) would not let up, that wasn’t until a video surfaced of Brandi from about 3 years ago, squinting her eyes, using a stereotypical Southeastern Asian accent. People were outraged and rightfully so. Unlike what LeeAnne did, Brandi (at first) said she would do it again because she likes doing impersonations and thought it as funny. She then offered an apology about 2 ~ 3 days later after NBC wrote about it. Colour me surprised (not really) that this video popped up and that she saw nothing wrong it.

On the show Brandi refused to answer the question of whether or not she thought LeeAnne was racist but at the reunion, she started “tearing up” that she has Latin/Hispanic family members and for LeeAnne to say what she did was racism. It wasn’t. She even got up and took out a chair to single LeeAnne out. I can’t. Stephanie changed her tune from what she said on the show, to she now thought LeeAnne’s comments were racist. Kameron was the only one who stuck to her guns about what she thought. Of course, Kary would say LeeAnne was racist but for D’Andra to say she absolutely believed LeeAnne was a racist had me boggled. The same LeeAnne who was her maid of honor in her wedding, who was friends with her for years. What does that say about D’andra?

It didn’t take long to even point out the hypocrisy from fans and the women as they’ve all (except Kam) been so vocal about what LeeAnne did but have been doubling down and are now saying people should leave Brandi alone because the video was 3 years ago and that she wasn’t being mean where as LeeAnne was. That she was making fun of her own eyes because cast members have said her eyes are small. That may be true of herself but if her cast members told her she had squinty Asian eyes, that is a racist stereotype used to bully the Asians who do have it and they need to check themselves. The two are different. LeeAnne‘s offense was targeted at one person, a white Latina whereas Brandi‘s was aimed at an entire race. Also, Brandi did not apologize 3 years ago because no one saw it, except for one person.

It’s funny how those who wanted me to call LeeAnne a racist, have gone silent about Brandi. Unsurprisingly, majority were defending her, no one from the cast (except a now deleted post from Kameron, possibly by producer’s request) have come out to admonish Brandi like they did to LeeAnne. Many have even blamed a video Brandi made on her own and posted to her Instagram on LeeAnne. They’re asking why is the video coming out now? Why try to hurt Brandi? Instead of asking, why was it done ever at all? Even the most genuine and real housewife (as a lot of fans claim), Stephanie, hasn’t. Maybe she also thought it was funny as she finds it hard to actually say Brandi‘s video used a racist stereotype. But the one leading majority of the negativity on the reunion, who came out on his late night talk show to call what LeeAnne did vile and disgusting, has yet to say anything about Brandi’s video. No word from Kary nor D’Andra yet they wasted no shortage of time to publicly label LeeAnne as a racist.

I haven’t and will not label LeeAnne a racist and I will not do the same to Brandi. If anyone cared about the lives of these women and what they did before the show, they’d (hopefully) not be so quick to throw out labels and call for people to be cancelled. To err is human, though some mistakes are grander than others, we should give people a chance to show they’ve grown from the lapse in judgment. It’s also not lost on me that this cast and Andy sat in a room with majority of the same producers, to discuss racism amongst themselves. The tone deafness of it all.

See you next season…if there is one.

The Real Housewives of Dallas aired Wednesdays at 9pm on Bravo.

CHATTERBOX KEIRN

Chirpy Mexican Is Not A Racial Slur

Hey all. I know I said I was going to start blogging about The Real Housewives of Dallas this season but I honestly felt demotivated. I still watch the episodes but I’d be typing the same thing every week and I wasn’t going to do that. All that has happened is LeeAnne getting ready for her wedding, Stephanie and Kameron going at it about their friendship, D’Andra is still complaining about the company and her mother, Brandi is still hating on LeeAnne and Kary has no other storyline than critiquing everything LeeAnne says or does. Oh! And Cary Deuber has popped up to help LeeAnne with her events for the wedding. That’s it. That’s all. Every week! Anyways…

The Real Housewives of Dallas just released its midseason trailer and it has already caused many discussions among the fan base.

The trailer seems to be well edited to be extremely dramatic and we see Kameron is in the thick of it. Brandi reveals to Stephanie that her son’s biological mother is pregnant again and she does know if she’ll be able to adopt another baby. Kary’s mission to make LeeAnne the villain for season 4, as every other person besides Kameron has done, is obviously going to be all she brings to the show. We see her trying to pit Kameron against LeeAnne. Will she succeed? We’ll see.

If we recall last season D’Andra was exposed at the reunion for complaining to Kameron about showing up to the women’s events to support them, while she supposedly doesn’t get the same support. So for D’Andra to have felt that slighted by the women then to purchase LeeAnne‘s multifunctional dress as a means of mocking her, she truly shows who she is. No matter what has transpired, I don’t recall ever seeing LeeAnne talk down anyone’s business. If she has, direct me to the clip. LeeAnne is seen expressing her frustrations to Kameron about Kary. This leads her to say

“but the little chirpy Mexican…”

Kameron decides to take it back to the group. All of this I assume took place in Thailand for the cast trip. This of course blew up and even Kameron’s husband commented (after they got back home) that the group can’t tolerate RACISM. Now this is where I lost it. Then to go on Twitter and seeing people agree, has me boggled.

I noticed that before the season started, media that reports on the housewives and fans, started talking about “finally a Latina is on a housewives show to bring diversity” (completely ignoring the fact that Joyce was on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and we had majority Latinas on The Real Housewives of Miami) which I thought was funny considering The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills just casted their first black wife. Anywho, Kary is 100% Latina, a WHITE Latina. They exist but guess what??? If she had no accent, we wouldn’t have known that.

Side bar: I had a brief discussion with some twitter users a few months back about the Latinx community. A news station revealed their journalists who would be covering the 2020 election. The photo showed about two Asian journalists and the rest, white. I commented that there wasn’t even much difference among the other journalist when someone mentioned that there were about 2 or 3 people from the Latinx community on the list. I then said their names may be Latinx and that may be their identity but that’s not their race and if their names weren’t on the list, no one would be able to tell that those journalist were Latinx. This sparked a whole debate about Latinx people facing discrimination from Caucasians, etc. I then mentioned that may be the case for the non white Latinx people but not for the white ones. Why? Because being Latinx is not a race just like being Mexican isn’t. Being Latinx is related to culture and ethnicity and THAT has no colour. But when you have everyone else being called Latinx, while darker skinned Latinx people have “Afro” before Latino/Latina, no wonder people think it’s a race.

Throughout the season so far, Kary points out every single time that she’s from Mexico. LeeAnne saying “chirpy Mexican” means that Kary talks too much. No! It doesn’t have the same meaning as someone using the N word. Do you want to know why? Because if it did, then Bravo wouldn’t have had it subtitled, written all out. It would’ve been censored. When LeeAnne went on to say “I thought you were all Mexican and strong” that gave the same energy as saying to someone who always says they’re from the Bronx or Compton to “knuck if you buck”. In other words, “get at me and show me why being from Mexico, the Bronx or Compton makes you this badass“.

The women and the fandom that are up in arms about whether or not what LeeAnne said was racist is ridiculous. The producers asking Brandi that question and her pausing that long before she answered is so disgusting. Why? If this cast of white women want to bring up racism, they better be able to say with their chest held high, where their political affiliations lie because at this point, it matters. That’s where we are headed and I’m sure they do not want to enter into that territory.

I’m just completely thrown that this is where they chose to go with the season. I mean, we’ve had LuAnn darken her skin to be Diana Ross for Halloween, we’ve had Heather (I like her) a few seasons back, when she was talking to Ramona, gesture smoking weed in relation to Jamaica (a nation of majority black people), we’ve had Brandi say to Joyce that of course she can’t swim cuz she’s black and people defended them or totally ignored the comments or actions. Heck, Joe Giudice called Danielle’s friend a f#%#%# in season two of The Real Housewives of New Jersey and he apologised. That was a slur, chirpy Mexican isn’t. Stassi, a privileged white girl who has had many things handed to her for being obnoxious on Vanderpump Rules, boldly declared on her podcast that Black people in Hollywood complained too much about representation. What did everyone do? The fans, the all white cast and Andy jumped to her defense on the show and the reunion, instead of pointing out to her that what she said had racist undertones. So, was LeeAnne being a complete a**hole for dissing Kary that she talks too much? YES. But was it a racist comment? NO!

The Real Housewives of Dallas airs Wednesdays at 9pm on Bravo.

CHATTERBOX KEIRN

Saddle Up, Dallas Is Back

Hello my readers! It’s been over a month since my last entry, where I shared my thoughts on Lisa Vanderpump and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. A new month has arrived and with that another series has started. I’ve decided to start blogging on The Real Housewives of Dallas (RHOD) for the first time. Here we go!

Season 4 Episode 1 – Of Friends and Frenemies

As with every season premiere, we got caught up with the cast since we last saw them on the season 3 reunion. The episode was heavily advertised with a Friendtervention for LeeAnne and D’Andra at Stephanie’s home. Before we get into that, here’s what you missed.

Rich had popped the big question to LeeAnne two seasons ago and all of last season the women kept going at her about her wedding plans. By women, I mean Brandi and D’Andra. We learnt that the wedding will be 7 weeks from when they filmed that scene, so in reality tv time and judging by the fact that they went on their cast trip after the wedding, I’ll say at about episode 10 is when we’ll see the wedding. LeeAnne let us know that after the reunion she hadn’t heard from D’Andra after she promised to reach out to her so they could both go to friend counselling (this they had agreed to at the reunion). I’m not too surprised by this.

Speaking of D’Andra, we got 5 scenes in total (flashback included) with her. Of the 5 scenes, only one had nothing to do with the same storyline she’s had since season 2, her skin care company. Firstly, while speaking with her husband (Jeremy) she expressed that after her mother signed over the company to her, she found out that it has approximately 3 months to remain open if they don’t start turning a profit. Basically, she intimated that Momma Dee (Dee) signed over a failing company to her. I truly don’t know what to make of it because D’Andra admitted that she knew they lost money when they stopped advertising on Christian networks but never said why they stopped in the first place. It also doesn’t really make sense to me that D’Andra wouldn’t have known about the company’s financial situation before it was signed over to her because she worked closely with her mom and from what we saw, she would know the ins and outs of the company. She was basically her mother’s right hand, so how could she not have known? Unless, she wasn’t as involved and devoted to the company as she claims. Idk! It just doesn’t add up.

She then confirmed what LeeAnne said by stating they hadn’t spoken since the reunion. D’Andra commented that she thought the idea of friends’ counselling was silly. I bet now that the cameras started rolling, she wouldn’t have objected. I said this because it was revealed on the reunion last season that D’Andra does some stuff, simply because the cameras are there but complains behind the women’s backs about supporting them. She alluded to the fact Rich sent her husband some horrible texts which also caused her to stall reaching out.

We got a little more insight into her family situation when she went to her adopted father’s gravestone with her mom. This is the man who raised her after her biological father committed suicide. She engaged Dee in conversation and told her that she spoke with the accountants and relayed the same information she shared with Jeremy. I’m still trying to understand exactly what Dee’s response meant but said that she doesn’t need much from the company, she just needs to be getting a cheque. D’Andra choked up because she had to take a pay cut and felt lost. They talked about what her dad would want her to do. D’Andra then raised the question of getting access to her trust to help the business and her Dee told her she needs to figure the mess out because won’t get the trust yet. It’s beyond me that D’Andra seems so overwhelmed when all she did was legally take over the company. Like I said, she’s let us believe she worked right along her mother’s side, so a simple legal document couldn’t have caused this much change. At least, I don’t think so.

A Little Bit of Steph and Brandi

Brandi caught us up on her home life and we got to see her son, Bruin, walk. He’s really grown and looks happy. Then again, he’s just a year old. He can’t not be happy. LOL. Her girls are also growing and Brooklyn, the older of the two girls, isn’t the least bit shy and a mini Brandi in the making. She seems like a fun little kid but I could hardly pay attention to Brandi’s scene as both girls kept screaming over of each other. Complete mayhem! I wouldn’t want to be the producer or the 3 camera men in that scene. This gave me flashbacks of Teresa’s kids on The Real Housewives of New Jersey when they were around that age. Yikes! No mention of Bryan…

Stephanie tells us Travis went back to Harvard for more academic experience in the business field. After they finished playing around on the hover boards, she suggested he has a chat with D’Andra since she just took over the company and needs some help. Steph being the kindhearted person she is, wants LeeAnne and D’Andra to get together and squash their beef or at least come to some type of understanding. Travis seemed to think that was a good idea, considering the two had been friends for such a long time and even encouraged Stephanie to invite them to their house. We know Bryan would’ve never said this about LeeAnne. Haha! I love me some LeeAnne but Stephanie has never done wrong in my eyes. The true peacekeeper. The UN could learn a thing or two from her. Haha!

Fun Of Missing Out – FOMO

LoLoLoLoLoLoLoLoL

Why am I laughing? Well, Stephanie gave Kameron a ring to invite her to the friendtervention. Kam had to decline because she was preparing for Spring Break with her family and would be leaving on the day the friendtervention was to be held. In her interview, she exclaimed she had no FOMO about missing the sit down. She went on, “and if you wanna know what FOMO is (to the producers) it’s Fun Of Missing Out”. LoLoLoLoLoLoLoLoL The producers had to tell her that’s not what it stood for. Only Kam! This is why I love her. She’s unintentionally funny and brings a real lightheaded quirk to the show.

Kary for Cary

I’ve been saying since last season that Cary Deuber (former full time cast member) needed to have a reduced role if any at all. I like her but she wasn’t doing much and the show could’ve gone on without her. I guess I was right and Bravo traded Kary for Cary.

Kary is the newest cast member and we were introduced to her through D’Andra. This is the 4th scene with D’Andra. I feel like she’s being set up for some type of redemption since she came off looking really badly last season. We’ll see. Kary also knows Cary and she tells D’Andra that she had a problem with what LeeAnne did to Cary and Mark seasons ago. She’s already annoying me because she’s coming in to take on a storyline that’s over 2 years old, especially when all the parties involved have moved on and are friends. If this is what she’s going to be bringing for the rest of the season, she better get ready for the feedback cuz none of that past stuff is her business.

Friendtervention

Steph welcomed Brandi as she was the first arrive. They chat for a moment in no time, the subjects of the matter (LeeAnne and D’Andra) showed up. I really wanted Kam to be at this sit down because it seems like everyone for that she and D’Andra also didn’t leave the season 3 reunion on a good note. Remember #ATTgate? They sat down to talk. LeeAnne opened the floor by stating that when D’Andra accused Rich of cheating on her, she crossed a line. D’Andra (her 5the scene, the most out of anyone in the premiere) brought up the texts Rich sent both her and Jeremy that he was cheating on her (D’Andra) as some counter to LeeAnne’s issue. She added she didn’t start any rumour and that she was asking LeeAnne as a friend. I’m happy the flashbacks showed that’s not at all what did. It’s important to note that D’Andra brought this cheating rumour about her husband on the season and not LeeAnne.

They went back and forth for a little while longer and agreed that they would move on. Moving on for them meant they wouldn’t bring up anything about the other to anyone but themselves. All the hype and big talk throughout the episode with this soft interaction from two former besties who hasn’t seen each other in 3 months, fell flat.

And here lies my issue with RHOD. The show is okay but it isn’t great. How is it that the whole episode was a build up to this friendtervention yet it was like they were at some book club and having a minor disagreement about characters or plot? I’m not saying they needed to go crazy like the women in Jersey and not every interaction needs to be heated but cmon…this is usually how most of their conversations go, except when LeeAnne turns up.

The cast is likeable and there doesn’t need to be down in the gutter drama but they’re on season 4 and are still playing it safe. It was a good premiere and I see many fans complaining via Twitter that they don’t know why RHOD doesn’t have high ratings and that it’s the “best”, it’s “better” than The Real Housewives of Potomac (RHOP), etc. BUT the cast is missing a true socialite. RHOD started off with charities and is trying to find a proper footing. They’re almost there but they need someone who really puts their money where their mouth is.

The Real Housewives of Dallas airs Wednesdays at 9pm on Bravo.

CHATTERBOX KEIRN

In Beverly Hills, Vanderpump Rules

Hello readers, we’ve made it to the very end. Thank you for the support you’ve shown me over these past 24 weeks. How Bravo managed to keep me watching all season, I’ll never know but it’s finally over. Part 3 of reunion was aired and nothing new was uncovered. I don’t know what Bravo will do but they definitely should not jump straight into filming with the same cast. At this point, the audience has caught on to producer manipulation and if all the women are “friends” and won’t probe each other about their lives, then what’s the point? The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills isn’t above talking about what’s in the press about themselves as they didn’t hesitate to choose the one article, they all probably had a hand in, to castigate Lisa Vanderpump (LVP).

As the sun sets on what was the most talked about season and not for good reasons, I can’t help but wonder how the ladies truly feel. You know, when they’re in their homes, unencumbered by social media and the press, looking themselves in the mirror. I wonder… They spent an entire season diverting the cameras away from what was truly going on in their lives, no matter what they may have claimed, and focused on an issue that only involved two people (LVP and Dorit). This issue wasn’t even brought to the group by LVP. Dorit told Erika and due to the busybodies that both Teddi and Kyle were, they inserted themselves and so the rest of the season played out through their manipulation of events with the help of production. When LVP decided she had had enough and took herself from the equation, they had nothing else left so they turned on Camille. Still, there was no proof that LVP did anything wrong this season. Not saying she’s perfect but…

Who Is Lisa Vanderpump?

When season 1 aired, LVP was the first cast member we met. Looking back, production probably chose her to pull us in because she represented everything they wanted in a housewife from the 90210 zip code. It could also be because Andy Cohen himself said there wouldn’t have been a show without her. The mom, wife to Ken Todd, restaurateur, philanthropist, activist and friend opened up her life along with five other women for us to take a peek. If I’m being completely honest and I hope you are too, I was intrigued but LVP wasn’t necessarily involved in a lot of drama her first season and though she was as glamorous as ever, I liked Adrienne and Kyle more. Boy, how things have changed! In this season, LVP played more of a supportive role as Kyle’s friend, always having her back in every situation she had with Kim Richards and Camille. I mean she was closer to Kyle than she was to the other ladies even though she lived across the street from Adrienne. This was the first sign of how loyal she was to those she called her friends. A characteristic of hers which was shown throughout her nine seasons, sometimes to her detriment as displayed over the years.

By the time season 2 started airing and as the weeks passed by, I grew more fond of LVP. In fact, I recall the exact moment she became my favourite, removing Adrienne and Kyle from the position. Can you? I’ve spoken about this episode on Twitter multiple times but Episode 11 – Tempest in a Tea Party was the catalyst that opened my eyes. I realised then that when the season started, LVP was being set up to seem like she was going around talking badly about Taylor when all she ever said was that they weren’t the best of friends but if she needed help, Taylor shouldn’t hesitate to reach out. It was also revealed in that episode that Kyle was badmouthing LVP to the other women, saying her ego was getting out of control. We came to find out that LVP was getting a spin off, Vanderpump Rules (now I get what her tagline meant), and the women weren’t happy about that (according to rumours).

The rest of this season showed LVP in all her glory as Pandora, her daughter, was getting married. Multiple events were held in her honour. We saw the fabulous engagement party Mohamed threw for Pandora, the amazing bachelorette party and the most beautiful wedding during that time. No matter what accusations were hurled at her, she never went below the belt and kept her dignity in tact. I made the right decision to stan.

Over the course of the next seven seasons, we saw LVP open three more restaurants, PUMP, Tom Tom and Vanderpump Cocktail Garden as well as Vanderpump Dog Center, which is a rescue center for dogs. Through this she helped to draft a bill which was passed in congress. House Resolution 401 urges all nations to ban the dog and cat meat trade that is prevalent in China. All this was not without conflict as she was made the villain in season 4 and season 6 for something she didn’t do. Accusations came from people she thought were her friends and none of what they said was backed up by truth or evidence. In fact, they later told on themselves which begs one to really look at what comes out of these women’s mouths. Their major contention was that LVP persuaded them to bring up topics on the show. Last I checked, this was a show about their lives and they’re supposed to be open. We saw this in season 4 when Brandi, who we met in season 2 through Adrienne, decided out of the blue that LVP always tried to throw Scheana in her face, wasn’t being a good friend and that LVP wanted her to bring a magazine about Mauricio cheating on Kyle to Palm Springs. At that time and even now, I found this so ridiculous. Kyle believed Brandi without question, when they weren’t even close and only “mended” their relationship in Palm Springs like the week before. Correct me if I’m wrong but weren’t Brandi and Cedric friends when she joined the show? Didn’t she know what Cedric did to LVP? This also meant she knew Scheana worked for LVP but she still pursued a friendship with her. Who was using who? LVP still gave her a chance and had her back but the need to stir up drama was far greater.

LVP has shown us through not only her words but her actions, why she is so loved by many fans of the show and why many thought this season was orchestrated to make her look bad. It’s funny to me how the same accusations that have been hurled at LVP since season 2 have one thing in common, Kyle.

When season 9 started, we were expected to see LVP be this mastermind behind what was dubbed #puppygate but instead we saw everyone else try to bring up the issue. At no point did Teddi, the main accuser, speak to LVP about any plans to expose what Dorit did but with the help of Kyle, she was given a free pass and the blame was passed on to LVP. Any logical person could see that this made no sense. But here’s the thing, the women were counting on the fact that since LVP had been accused of similar acts in the past, if they all came together with the same story, then the audience would believe it. As I’ve stated before in previous blogs, no one asked LVP for her side. They didn’t care to because if they gave her a chance to speak, their plans would’ve been soiled. That’s why #puppygate turned into another #tabloidgate because they never expected LVP to see the text messages between Blizzard and Teddi. That threw wrench in their plans because the evidence was quite clear who the culprit was. Sadly, friendships were ruined for a convoluted story which was sorted by the parties involved but was made into something bigger by the duplicity in the cast members’ actions because they were unwilling to showcase their real lives. LVP is her own storyline and she had never needed to fake anything for the sake of making a show. Like she’s stated multiple times, the cameras follow her life.

Will the show be the same now that LVP has decided to leave? Of course it won’t. There really is no one like her. She had it all. The supportive and loving husband, the grounded kids, the pets (all types, it’s like she has a mini petting zoo) the glamour, the quirk, the humour, the philanthropy, the activism, the most fabulous and unique parties, the fabulous friends, the businesses (none have failed) and most of all, her HEART. LVP is a unicorn among all the housewives and her presence will be missed on season 10.

Thank you all for sticking with me. See you next season?

– CHATTERBOX KEIRN

Pump Out, Camille Takes Over

The trip France started off so slow but I didn’t really expect anything more. I mean the five women that went kept shouting to anyone who’d listen that they were all so close this season. If you’ve followed from the beginning, you’ll agree that these five, along with Denise, have all shared one brain cell because they seldom differed or strayed from their target, Lisa Vanderpump (LVP). So let’s finish with the final two episodes. Hope you check out my previous blog here.

Season 9 Episode 20 – Un Petit Hangover

After a “drunken” night, Teddi claimed to not remember the things she said about Erika to Rinna and Kyle felt as though she needed to apologise once more for her part in what happened between her and Erika the night before. They headed outside for some artery, with Erika still looking pissed off, then afterwards Teddi apologised to her. Erika brushed it off and accepted her apology and they all basically kumbayah back to Beverly Hills. This was the most boring cast trip in history, with the most scripted drama possible. We’ve come to know that a cast trip has to have drama. All season long these five women have stuck to their guns, having no issues with each other, separate from when Dorit told Teddi to let her speak to Kyle alone, but suddenly on the cast trip there was “drama”? This is as believable as that story Kyle told about how she heard that LVP took a lie detector test.

Back in Beverly Hills, we saw Denise checking on her rented home (nothing is wrong with renting) after the fire. There weren’t any physical damages to the property but her entire house was filled with scuttle. We then saw Camille in her home, completely destroyed by the fire. I felt badly that she lost her home but not to the point where I’d say “poor” Camille because that’s just not the case. She has plenty more properties, this was just her mainstay. We then saw Kyle and her friend Faye Resnick talking about the fire and then they switched gears to Kyle wanting a dinner table. I was completely taken aback because the preview for this scene, showed Kyle and Faye talking negatively about Camille but it was cut from the episode. They said that since Camille’s house was destroyed, they hope she becomes nicer. Who says stuff like that? Why did production cut that scene from the main episode as if we didn’t already see the previews? They’ve always given Kyle the best edit out of anyone on the show as she has never been portrayed as the villain. Now that LVP wasn’t around for Kyle to hide her mean girls ways behind her, no matter how much they edited this season, it still showed.

Rinna organised a dinner for Denise since they hadn’t done anything for her after that rushed wedding. Some of the women brought little care packages for both Camille and Denise to the dinner. When Camille walked in, she hugged Dorit and told her that she’s glad she got to know her a little better and that she liked her because she didn’t fully trust her initially. Everyone wanted to bring up what they had already planned to do to Camille if she had made it to France but because they didn’t want to seem like they were beating up on someone in a vulnerable situation, they held off. This is hilarious given they had no problems taunting LVP for months. During this time Kyle and Rinna had already made appearances on various talk shows, like Ellen, to talk about the season while filming and they went about the season being filled with lies and deception. Dorit informed the women about her display at a Kitson store and extended an invitation. She went on to say that it was sad that LVP chose to distance herself from the group and not try to work through the issues. The other women chimed in and mentioned they invited her to the events as well. Oh please! Inviting someone to a filmed event for a show isn’t the least bit genuine. They all know her places of work and where she lived. As far we knew, Kyle was the only blocked by her. They could’ve reached out off camera just like Rinna faked with Brandi in hopes of getting an alliance and a spot for next season as her contract is up.

The women all showed up for Dorit’s window reveal at the Kiston store which I have to say was so underwhelming. She used garbage bags as her big reveal which made the whole thing look cheap. Proud of her for continuing her brand but with the lawsuits she’s faced with, I’m not sure how long the charade can be kept up. After that, they went for dinner when Rinna decided to bring up the fact that Camille said some things about Dorit and that she needed to own it. Boy, was that a bad idea as they had no idea what they were in for. Camille admitted she didn’t know where Dorit was getting her money from and brought up the lawsuits she and PK were facing. Everyone’s mouth dropped open with Kyle looking extremely nervous. Maybe she thought that Mauricio’s would be mentioned next. No one told her to stop because they all knew what went down in The Bahamas and wanted to know the details as well. When Camille mentioned that they owed money to her friend and that they were being sued for over a million dollars, that’s when Teddi and Denise chimed in to tell Dorit not to say anything and asked Camille to stop. Denise seemed annoyed that Rinna brought up the subject and that Camille went there. Camille told them she didn’t want to bring it up but Dorit insisted, not knowing the bombs that were going to be dropped. Finally, we got the realest moment on the show since LVP stopped filming with them. Many claimed that Camille shouldn’t have brought it up because it was inappropriate. What a laugh! You’d think the women would’ve known Camille isn’t a coward after the camping trip. They didn’t expect her to say what she told Denise (Teddi’s a know it all and intervenes too much – like she did w/ #PuppyGate) so they should’ve known she’d tell it to Dorit straight.

Season 9 Episode 21 – Hurricane Camille

The final episode of the season. Kyle and Mauricio decided last minute to throw party at the 25th location for Mauricio’s company, The Agency. I thought this was strange when I heard about it last November as they already celebrated the 7 year anniversary of The Agency in September, hence Kyle missing Denise’s wedding. I soon came to realise why. Since Mauricio is being sued for allegedly underselling a property then making double when he resold it as a joint owner, they needed to make it seem that they film at their properties all the time just like the property mentioned in the lawsuit (allegedly). This property was where the gatsby party was held back in season 7. Everyone showed up and Camille came in hot especially because of what her daughter told her Teddi did at the airport in Hawaii.

Camille approached Kyle and told her that she felt ganged up on at Dorit’s event and that she was disappointed in her. It’s like Camille finally realised what Kyle had been doing all season. Kyle went on to say that she swears on her life that there was never a plan to gang up on Camille. Right there, is when it became even more obvious to me that an oath mean nothing to these women which is why LVP swearing on her kids’ lives meant nothing to Kyle. We all watched them plan to attack Camille on the trip to France and how eager they were to start going in on her from the Halloween party. Kyle told a bold face lie didn’t even think twice about it. Something she does well. Teddi tried butting in again and Camille shut her down with the utmost swiftness. She then apologised to Dorit for bringing up the lawsuits when Denise piped up, as if to reprimand Camille for what happened at the dinner. Camille told her to back off and rightfully so. Denise did nothing all season and the two times she spoke up about something was when she jumped in on people who were already in a vulnerable state. She’s no better than her bestie. She had y’all fooled. It was time to take on Rinna and let her know that her behaviour wasn’t necessarily nice and Camille let her know that she wasn’t the mean girl, Rinna was. The finale ended with Camille leaving the event after having to defend herself against women who couldn’t care less about the fact that she had just lost her assistant of 22 years and just lost her home, so her emotions were heightened. With friends like those…

Six Months Later

As the season ended with Camille annihilating basically everyone besides Erika cuz at this point she’s a stand in, production got the women to film one final scene. This scene was for the women to get together and discuss their favourite topics, LVP and Camille. As a viewer and fan of the show, I was immensely disappointed in how production handled this final scene. This was not a good look for these women especially since image is everything to them. In the preview, they made it seem like they would show the opening of LVP’s Las Vegas restaurant, Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, as it’s own scene but instead, they showed clips through flashbacks as the women continued to paint a negative picture of her. They all greeted each other and sat down at Kyle’s tea party (the first for Kyle) and in they went. Dorit began mocking LVP’s entrance to the restaurant and how Caesar’s Palace chose to celebrate this partnership. This was hilarious, coming from someone whose big real were garbage bags and is being sued for millions.

Rinna announced that she saw LVP in some parking lot with wet nails, fumbling for change to pay the meter, where she offered her money. I don’t know if I believe this at all but either way, LVP wouldn’t need Rinna’s help when it comes to money. Erika added her bits and decided to mock LVP getting painted nails instead of gel. The level of petty was repulsive. Kyle took her turn but stating she too saw LVP and as you probably already know, she ran to every media outlet to deliver this scoop. She proclaimed their exchange was good and she was now at peace with where things were between them because she was honest with her. Kyle still thinks that what she did at LVP’s home, the day before her birthday, was her being honest. How could she have been honest when she had no proof of anything? She saw Teddi’s texts from day 1 of filming and still to the very end of the season told no one she did. Honesty would have been to tell Teddi that she would inform LVP about the messages since an employee was putting stuff out there to Teddi just like LVP made Eden know back in season 7 that the information she gave her (Rinna saying that Kim was close to death and that Kyle was her enabler) would be shared with Kyle. That is what honesty is. That is what loyalty to a friend, transparency and holding both people accountable looks like. Instead, she knew that Teddi would look badly so she helped her blame this whole thing on LVP, using the one thing they “know” people would “buy” into – LVP manipulated Teddi. So funny when they never spoke about Lucy together.

What took me and many by surprise was when Kyle declared she was more invested in her friendship with LVP than LVP was with her. The nerve of Kyle (whom I like) to even utter such fallacy. Need I remind her and the anti-LVP fans that Bravo could not provide one clip of Kyle ever defending LVP or showing she cared more about the friendship because there weren’t any. The only clip they they tried to pass off as Kyle defending LVP earlier in the season was of Kyle defending Rinna. Kyle didn’t even know who Nanny Kay was until Erika spoke up last season. Nanny Kay had been mentioned from as far back as season 2 at the seance. Like LVP said at last season’s reunion, their friendship was always her listening to Kyle and reassuring her and that was proven to be true. So Kyle spouting this nonsense makes it clear where LVP stood with her all along.

To add insult to injury, Andy Cohen (who has never been a reality tv star but is an executive producer) kept saying the issues were not that deep. He had to have known about the nature of the conversation that the women were going to have because he would have signed off on it. They filmed this scene supposedly before they even knew she wasn’t going to attend the reunion or that she quit. I actually think the scene was filmed right after the reunion based on one hairstyle in particular, Erika’s. It seemed too similar to what she wore in the reunion clips and I presume she didn’t have much time to do any major changes. So in a sense, Andy added to the months of verbal abuse LVP suffered at the hands of her castmates at a time when she was at her most vulnerable. At a time when LVP just recently lost her mother. This scene could have been edited out. There was no need for it because it was filmed all of six months after they wrapped and about two months after Vanderpump Cocktail Garden was open. What was the reason for this, other than to tell LVP thanks but no thanks. I mean, she asked for the season off and her employer told her no, leaving her to a volatile work space. I was never the one to bring Andy into anything but this last scene kinda adds some credence to what has been speculated about the whole season; that Andy helped orchestrate this season of frauds.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Tuesdays at 9pm on Bravo.

CHATTERBOX KEIRN

What Would They Do Without Vanderpump?

Seven weeks! It has been seven weeks since I last wrote anything about this show. After my last blog, I felt drained and demotivated. Many of you expressed understanding while others tried their best to encourage me to keep going BUT how could I? Nothing much was happening and every episode for the past seven weeks were filled with the same thing…NOTHING. However, I’ll give to you a quick recap.

Season 9 Episode 15 – One Wedding and a Polygraph

The episode began where we left off, with Lisa Vanderpump (LVP) getting ready to take the polygraph test to prove she had nothing to do with any plan to expose Dorit, whether it was by Teddi or through Radar Online. I can’t believe this was what she felt compelled to do in order to clear her name. As she had echoed since the beginning of this hashtag: puppygate, she was innocent of the accusations and the polygraph test proved her right. Would this be enough for the women? At that point they’d already made their minds up that the actual truth didn’t matter as nothing she did was going to satisfy their thirst for taking her down.

After we saw Kyle complaining about all she had to do for Camille’s wedding, they finally arrived in Hawaii. They had some fun moments that I really enjoyed it but it didn’t take long before LVP’s was brought. Kyle happened to be the one to announce to the group that LVP took a lie detector test. Instead of showing some type of “relief” that at least they’d get some truth, they started questioning LVP’s reasons for doing the test in the first place. They even said she was taking things too far by doing that. Kyle gave one of the most scripted reasons as to how she found about the test that I’ve ever heard of. I may not be from Beverly Hills but I, like Kyle, know what’s real and what’s fake and that whole story was fake. The producers must really think the viewers are a bunch of empty minded folk to believe Kyle’s ridiculous story.

Camille got married and she looked truly beautiful. I was happy to see her so happy. If only she knew how much negativity Kyle had been spewing about her wedding. I was disgusted.

Season 9 Episode 16 – Meet Rinna Jayne

Ugh! I rolled my eyes so far back as I could when I saw the title for this episode. What a joke! After Camille’s gorgeous wedding, the women headed back to California. While on their way to the airport, Rinna happened to be on her phone and saw an article about an interview Camille did prior to wedding. In the interview, Camille expressed she would have liked LVP to be at her wedding but she understood why she wouldn’t be attending. This is something Camille said to LVP herself when she visited her. The women didn’t like that and thought Camille was being two-faced because she said she understood LVP’s plight, totally ignoring the fact that Camille said to them as well that she would still have liked LVP to attend. This prompted Rinna to mention that Camille had said things behind Dorit’s back in September, basically one month after. I suppose Rinna wouldn’t have said anything if Camille joined in on the bashing of LVP. If I were Dorit, I’d keep Rinna at arms length for keeping this information till it suited her. To quote Erika, “that’s not friendship, that’s bullsh’t”.

The rest of the episode was a build up to a Halloween birthday party Kyle held for her eldest daughter, Farrah. The women dressed in what they deemed to be buzzworthy costumes. What was Dorit even wearing?! As the title suggested, Rinna showed up to Kyle’s dressed as Erika from Coachella. She looked more like Michella Pfeiffer dressed as Harley Quinn. Kyle begged them to not bring up anything to Camille about what was said in the bus on the way to the airport in Hawaii because it was Farrah’s night. Kim Richards showed up and Rinna used this as an opportunity, yet again, to attack Kim by using the costume she wore as an excuse to call Kim’s behaviour toward her “c*nty”. This time, her bestie (Denise) butted in and for the first time in 16 episodes she had something to say. Too bad it was at Kim’s expense. I knew Denise’s down to earth, laid back persona was just a guise for her. Kyle, as we’ve come to know and expect, didn’t stick up for Kim in that moment. Kim and Rinna got a chance to speak and both apologised for things they did. I don’t think Kim owed Rinna any apologies but oh well…

Season 9 Episode 17 – A Double Shot of Brandi

This was truly one of the most boring episodes of the series. As we’ve come to expect every season, the women were due for a cast trip. We spent about 10 minutes of the episode with Kyle calling Chateau Ventoux in Provence, France to finalise dates for the trip, 4 days before they were scheduled to leave, while trying to get one of her dogs to keep quiet. I still don’t know why she didn’t just go into another room or why we had to watch this scene for that long. I now understand why fans were annoyed, watching her clip Mauricio’s toenails. That’s not entertainment.

Kyle met the women for lunch and she filled them in on the plans for the trip. They acted like they didn’t know about this trip before the season started. At this point I’d love for the producers of these shows to stop acting like these trips aren’t planned before the season starts and that they determine who will show up. Rinna mentioned that she would like Camille to be invited so she could tell Dorit what she had said about her. They all started laughing and that they’ll gang up on Camille in France. Since at this point it was evident LVP would no longer be around them, they needed a new target and Camille was it.

Shockingly, well not really, Brandi Glanville showed up to meet Denise for drinks. These new producers really had it out for LVP to bring in Brandi on to further add to lies being told all season. She spent all of 6 minutes bashing LVP, stating that LVP damaged her life, still not taking any accountability for opening her own mouth to try and degrade Joanna Krupa on Watch What Happens Live. I wasn’t even surprised that she had nothing else to talk about than LVP because that’s all she’s been doing since she was fired back in season 5. I had an inkling that she was going to be invited on the trip and I was right. Denise decided to invite her and like the desperate wreck she is, she accepted. Denise really knows how to pick them, huh? Viewers were also angered by this scene because the producers invited Brandi to bash LVP as well a ruse to get her on the trip, all while cutting out LVP’s scene she filmed with The Trevor Project.

Kyle, Teddi and Rinna were then on their way to the airport when they called Denise to see what was up due to the Woolsey Fires. Denise sounded panicked as she exclaimed she had never seen anything like that before and she didn’t know whether her home was safe or not. Wanna know what the “caring” friends said to her? They told her they hope she makes it to the airport for the trip since they would be there till 3pm. UNBELIEVABLE. Camille was next up on the list for them to call and she basically repeated what Denise said and she made it known she wouldn’t make the trip. You’d think that with their friends going through something of that nature that these women would postpone the trip that none of them were paying for but noooo, they still hopped on a plane and to France they went. You know who was there to help the community, LVP.

Season 9 Episode 18 – Pardon Our French

Rinna, Teddi, Dorit, Erika and Kyle made it to Provence. The chateau was beautiful and looked like the perfect place to vacation. Sadly, I couldn’t appreciate its beauty because they still went ahead on a trip knowing full well what was happening back in California. Yes, they’ll claim there was nothing they could’ve done and that the trip was booked in advance for X amount of people but they weren’t footing the bill, at least not all of it. Besides, they’re rich. They can afford to lose whatever money spent for the trip cuz if they could choose the chateau, which amounts to almost $10,000 a night, then money is not a problem, right? Unless you’re Dorit, Erika and Kyle whose husbands are being sued for millions.

They went for some outing in a local market and started talking about eating disorders. Rinna shared a little bit about what her daughter was going through and then Kyle admitted that she, too, had experienced her share of eating disorders. This was the first time she had ever spoken about this on camera in 9 seasons which is really shocking. She mentioned she wants her daughters to love themselves and not yield to societal pressures about a beauty standard. I commended Kyle for sharing this but can’t help thinking how contradictory her speech was given she said on the camping trip that the Kardashians are now the face of body positivity. How could she even say that with a straight face? As usual, they took a shot at LVP by stating they feel better opening up to each other without fear of being judged. Utter rubbish! LVP had never judged any of them, especially Erika as she was the one who made the comment. LVP embraced her from the moment they met while the others looked up her videos and turned up their noses.

Kyle and Teddi then brought up what Rinna did at the Halloween party and asked Erika if she wasn’t angry at Rinna. Sounds familiar? This was the same play they used on LVP in episode 1 at the centre when Kyle got mad that LVP wasn’t showing any anger toward Dorit for giving away Lucy, which caused her to end up in a kill shelter. Erika told them she as fine with it and they kept prodding her, hoping she agreed with them. Erika seemed to have spotted what Kyle and Teddi were up to and shut it down fast like she usually does everything.

Season 9 Episode 19 – Thirst Impressions

They learnt Camille’s house was burned while Denise’s was okay and still didn’t think to cut the trip short. A rose tasting was organised and Erika didn’t seem pleased to even be there at that point. She can’t really hide her annoyance, no matter what she says. They suggested doing impersonations of each other and again, Erika wasn’t having it. Later, Kyle and Teddi decided to bring up the issue again about Rinna dressing like Erika, attacking Kim. Erika stormed off but not before saying that she felt like she was being bullied and being pushed out of the group. This was either one of the most rehearsed dinner arguments ever or…who am I kidding? They needed something to happen on the trip because they literally were a boring quintet.

It is often said that when people drink, they reveal their true selves and Kyle and Teddi showed that they do not like Erika because she doesn’t get involved nor looks like she enjoys being around them. They’re not wrong. I’ve been saying this since she joined in season 6.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Tuesdays at 9pm on Bravo.

CHATTERBOX KEIRN