Caroline Manzo is taking legal action against Bravo over an alleged incident involving her and Brandi Glanville during production on season 4 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.
Manzo, 62, filed a lawsuit against the network and its production companies on Friday, January 26. In the lawsuit, obtained by Us Weekly, Manzo claims Bravo would regularly push the show’s stars to drink alcohol to “cause them to become severely intoxicated, and then direct, encourage and/or allow them to sexually harass other cast members because that is for good ratings.”
It was reported in January 2023 that Manzo and Glanville, 51, left Ultimate Girls Trip filming in Morocco early after Glanville allegedly kissed Manzo multiple times without her consent.
The lawsuit provides more details of the alleged encounter, with Manzo claiming that Glanville did not attend a sexual harassment class required of all RHUGT cast members before filming and that Bravo did not reprimand Glanville for allegedly skipping the class. Manzo states that the alleged incident began after she made a “conscious effort to be kind to Glanville” after an argument during filming.
During the evening, Glanville allegedly “spread Manzo’s legs and leaned into Manzo,” after which Manzo moved away from her. “Glanville proceeded to kiss Manzo with a closed mouth. Glanville then kissed Manzo again. Manzo was very uncomfortable,” the docs state. “Glanville then proceeded to mount Manzo on the couch holding Manzo down with her body, forcibly squeezed Manzo’s cheeks together and thrust her tongue in Manzo’s mouth, while humping her.”
The docs state that the alleged assault brought up “dormant and horrific memories” for Manzo of a sexual assault she experienced at age 7, causing her to enter “a state of shock.”
Glanville allegedly pursued Manzo again in the bathroom by pressing “her breasts and vagina against Manzo” until Manzo was able to break free. “Defendants were more focused on the continuation of the show rather than the health and well-being of Manzo after she was sexually abused,” the docs state.
Glanville is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit and previously declared her innocence in a series of December 2023 tweets.
“The producers ask you to do something. And then you get in trouble for it. The producers need to follow the rules,” Glanvilleshe wrote via X at the time. “Producers may not shove the alcohol down our throats, but they sure do encourage it even in Morocco during the day where it’s illegal to drink!” Screenshots of the tweets were featured in the lawsuit docs.
Us Weekly has reached out to Bravo regarding the lawsuit. The network had no comment.
Glanville’s legal team responded to Manzo’s lawsuit in a statement to Us, writing, “Sadly, Brandi had to wake up to yet another lawsuit that includes defamatory, false accusations about her. While filming, Brandi followed what the producers asked of her, and there was no sexual assault. She is innocent of these absurd accusations that have weighed on her mental and physical health for far too long without a word of support from Peacock, Shed or Bravo.”
The statement continued: “This painful storytelling seems endless and needs to stop. She is looking to move on and upward and get her life back.”
In April 2023, Manzo declared that she would “never” return to the Real Housewives franchise following the alleged incident. “It was something that I was done with and happy to be done with it. I walked away for a reason,” she said during an interview on the “Two T’s in a Pod” podcast. “I always said for me to go back, it would have to be a number that was financially irresponsible to walk away from.”
Glanville, meanwhile, was hospitalized after collapsing in her home in October 2023. Earlier this month, she claimed her health issues were caused by the stress she experienced from filming RHUGT season 4 and her drama with Manzo.
Bravo has yet to officially pull the plug on season 4 of RHUGT, which also featured Vicki Gunvalson, Eva Marcille, Phaedra Parks, Camille Meyer, Alex McCord and Gretchen Rossi. Season 5, which was dubbed RHONY: Legacy, however, did start streaming on Peacock after season 3 concluded. At BravoCon in November 2023, Andy Cohen denied that season 4 had been canceled.
“There’s all this speculation about [RHUGT season 4]; Bravo jumped Legacy to the front of the line,” he told The Wrap at the time. “It’s there, it’s done and I hope everyone sees it soon.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
