Offscreen drama. Vicki Gunvalson filed a lawsuit against her Real Housewives of Orange County costar Kelly Dodd for allegedly making defamatory statements toward her.
Vicki, 57, initially sued Kelly, 44, and the producers at Bravo and parent company NBCUniversal due to several accusations made by Kelly during filming. Kelly allegedly told her costar: “You prey on older people,” “You are a con woman” and “You engaged in ‘fraud.’”
Vicki claimed in the papers that the allegations were false and the statements could be detrimental to her career if they air on the reality show. She requested that the remarks be removed from upcoming episodes of the Bravo series.
The original Housewife filed the lawsuit under the name “Jane Roe.” She is seeking an injunction on the airing of the episode and damages.
Vicki later requested to dismiss her complaint against Bravo and NBCUniversal, though her suit against Kelly stands.
A source tells Us Weekly exclusively that the season 14 reunion films Friday, November 8. According to the insider, the cast members receive the final episodes to view ahead of the taping so “that’s likely how Vicki saw it was included.”
Kelly declared to Us in August that she will “never, ever, ever” be friends with Vicki after the Coto Insurance CEO accused her of doing cocaine during season 13. “I think that she uses everybody as a story line. She doesn’t really have anything in her life,” Kelly said at the time. “You know, her kids are gone, her grandkids are gone. It’s just her — what are we going to watch her and [fiancé] Steve [Lodge] drink wine on the couch?”
Meanwhile, Vicki claimed that Kelly’s insults stem from boredom. “If Kelly had a job and went to work every day like I do, she wouldn’t have time to constantly throw stones at others,” she told Us in August. “She really needs to worry about herself.”
She added: “Kelly likes to throw as much crap on the wall as she can to see what sticks.”
Vicki was demoted to a “friend” role for season 14. “Obviously I pissed someone off at Bravo,” she claimed to Us in September. “I have no idea who, and no one can say what went wrong. I think they were just looking for some new blood. I love Bravo. I just want them to be proud of me, of the stories that I do.”
Kelly, who joined the show in season 11, told Us of her reaction to the news: “I was, like, jumping for joy!”
