Mending fences. After a rocky introduction during season 11 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Crystal Minkoff opened up about her surprising friendship with Sutton Stracke.
“I’m friends with everyone. I talk to Sutton a lot. We talk a lot,” the reality star, 36, exclusively told Us Weekly at the 30th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party on Sunday, March 27.
Crystal noted that the pair have made a lot of progress since their first season together on RHOBH, adding, “She grows on some, but she grew on me.”
Viewers saw Crystal and Sutton, 50, struggle to get on the same page following a group conversation about racial stereotypes. During a May 2021 episode, the Real Coco founder attempted to make a point about “painful” stereotypes after becoming the first Asian-American Housewife on the hit Bravo series.
Sutton, for her part, interrupted her costar, saying, “Do you wanna talk about when I see dumbass rednecks on the TV and that’s supposed to be me? I also have a stereotype, but I don’t want to bring it up!”
After the episode aired, the Georgia native took to social media to apologize to Crystal for silencing her. “Despite Crystal and my strained relationship at the time, it was disrespectful to interrupt her and not listen to her express her truth,” Sutton wrote via Instagram at the time. “My life is blessed by the diversity of my relationships and I am committed to become a better listener to understand the painful realities experienced by people of color.
The California native replied to the post, writing, “Thank you, Sutton. Your apology means a lot to me, and I’m sure it means a lot to many others with similar lived experiences. Asian Americans are often expected not to share their opinions, but despite this stereotype, I believe that everyone deserves to be heard. I consciously re-wired myself to be outspoken and share my feelings whenever possible and I encourage my children to do the same.”
Sutton later admitted that the misunderstanding taught her an important lesson moving forward.
“Looking back at the whole season, I had the one regret with Crystal and not listening. That was really hard to watch. But in a way now it’s not become a regret because it’s this opportunity to sort of show people, like, we all need to listen,” she told Us in September 2021. “So, then it becomes not a regret.”
As filming for season 12 continues, Crystal also teased that fans can expect “a lot of shake-ups” when it comes to the cast relationships. The new season will introduce newcomer Diana Jenkins and a new friend of the group Sheree Zampino.
“This year, everyone gets into the mix and at least for me, I felt more comfortable. When you feel more comfortable, you feel more comfortable saying what you don’t like [and] what you do,” Crystal shared with Us on Sunday. “I get why as the girls have been on for a long time that they get more comfortable. There’s a lot of comfort in discomfort.”
With reporting by Hannah Kahn
