Kyle Richards has heard about Bethenny Frankel‘s reality show reckoning — however, she has nothing but praise for Bravo.
“Obviously I know there’s certain things people think about reality television. It has its downside [and] has its upside,” Kyle, 54, exclusively told Us Weekly at BravoCon on Saturday, November 4. “My personal experience has been very good in spite of everything.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star credited the network for her professional success, adding, “I wouldn’t be here for 13 years if it wasn’t [a good experience]. And anything that I’ve done in these 13 years is something I chose to do and I only have myself to blame or answer to. So that’s my take.”
Kyle’s insight comes after her friend Bethenny, 53, made headlines for speaking out about her issues with the reality TV industry. After the WGA and SAG-AFTRA went on strike earlier this summer, Bethenny reflected on the challenges she faced as a TV personality.
“We’ve always been the losers. During the last writers strike, we were providing all the entertainment, and that’s really when the gold rush of reality TV started,” Frankel said in a July Instagram video. “I have never made a single residual. So either I’m missing something or we’re getting screwed too.”
Bethenny, who appeared on eight seasons of The Real Housewives of New York City, continues to push for changes such as unionizing reality TV and receiving residuals. Her demands, however, have not been met with support by everyone in the industry.
“I can tell you with great certainty that everyone at Bravo likely despises me, including Andy Cohen, because it’s very personal and because they have to protect the realm,” Frankel shared on an August episode of Rob Lowe’s “Literally!” podcast. “It’s a very complicated thing I walked myself into whilst also burning bridges and seeming like I’m biting the hand that fed me, but I fed myself. There are a lot of people who didn’t get fed.”
Bravo has not publicly addressed Bethenny’s comments about her time at the network. Amid the drama, Vanity Fair published an exposé with interviews from various Housewives who detailed their negative experiences at Bravo.
Kyle, for her part, has “not read” the article yet. “I’ve had so much going on in my personal life. I’m just trying to stay afloat,” the reality star, who is going through a public split from husband Mauricio Umansky, told Us on Saturday. “I actually only know a little bit about [Bethenny’s reality reckoning], to be honest. I haven’t done the deep dive on that.”
Before BravoCon kicked off in Las Vegas on Friday, November 3, Kyle’s former costar Lisa Vanderpump also praised the network.
“To have an amazing television career, I’m so thankful to NBC and Bravo. They’ve taken so much crap lately from so many people that you know used to work for them, [and] I think it’s a shame,” Lisa, 63, told Us on Thursday, November 2. “You’ve got to also look at what they’ve given you as well.”
She added: “I have great respect for NBC. … So a lot of that a lot of bulls–t, people casting blame. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
