‘RHONY’ REVELATIONS Castmates continue to react to a lawsuit by former “Real Housewives of New York City” star Leah McSweeney against franchise impresario Andy Cohen and other Bravo executives and related entities, alleging mistreatment and psychological manipulation with alcohol to create onscreen drama.
“I just didn’t understand it at all,” Dorinda Medley, 59, told Us Weekly last week. “I mean, listen, I was there [at Bravo] for six years. … I’ve always worked very well with production in every city. And for me, it was work and I had a lawyer. I read the contract, I signed, I did my work and I left. So, I was very surprised by all that.”
Medley, who currently stars in Peacock’s “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy,” did add she was “not going to live in a fantasy and say” that reality-TV production is “always perfect,” but said she herself “always had a positive ongoing relationship with my production people.”
The suit by fashion entrepreneur McSweeney, 41, filed Feb. 27 in Manhattan, alleges the defendants “discriminated against, tormented, demoralized, demeaned, harassed and retaliated against Ms. McSweeney because she is a woman with disabilities, such as alcohol use disorder and various mental health disorders, all in the name of selling drama.” It describes “a rotted workplace culture that uniquely depended on pressuring its employees to consume alcohol.”
McSweeney concurrently added on social media that “your favorite Bravo shows are run by people who create a dangerous work environment, encourage substance abuse to artificially create drama and cynically prey on the vulnerabilities of their employees.”
A representative for Cohen said in a statement the day after the filing that “the claims against Andy are completely false.”
Fellow former “RHONY” star Luann de Lesseps, of Sag Harbor, who herself is a recovering alcoholic, is among those defending Cohen and Bravo, telling “TMZ Live” in February no one was forced to drink.
A January lawsuit by Caroline Manzo of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” concurs with McSweeney, saying producers “regularly ply the … cast with alcohol, cause them to become severely intoxicated, and then direct, encourage and/or allow them to sexually harass other cast members because that is good for ratings.”
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