Bethenny Frankel Calls on Fellow REALITY STARS to Join Actors’ Strike ‘We’re Facing Similar Challenges’

Bethenny Frankel Calls on Fellow REALITY STARS to Join Actors’ Strike ‘We’re Facing Similar Challenges’

Bethenny Frankel believes that reality stars need to join the ongoing writers and actors’ strike in solidarity with Hollywood.

The Real Housewives of New York City alum took to Instagram Wednesday to outline her case. 

“Hollywood is on strike. Entertainers are fighting for residuals, and no one will promote anything. Why isn’t reality TV on strike?” the former Bravo star asked.

Bethenny Frankel pointed out that she was paid only $7,250 for her freshman season on RHONY and has not received a penny more from it since, despite viewers watching various seasons over and over. 

“I myself have generated millions and millions of dollars in advertising and online impressions being on reality TV and have never made a single residual,” she explained. “So, either I’m missing something or we’re getting screwed too.”

The SkinnyGirl mogul pointed out that reality stars are the people who “provided all of the entertainment” during the last writers’ strike, which ran from 2007 to 2008.

She added that those who appeared on “The Bachelor” and “The Hills” got paid “peanuts” despite the fact that people can watch old “episodes from years gone by.”

“It’s complete and total bulls—t,” she added. “It just occurred to me, everyone is talking about actors and we don’t get paid s—t.”

Bethenny Frankel encouraged reality TV stars to organize so they could “simply be treated fairly and valued.”

“Critics will say that actors have ‘talent’ which is what studios pay for: in fact, studios pay for advertisers and advertisers pay for the purchasers of the household aka women,” she wrote. “And what gets women? Reality tv.”

The outspoken businesswoman reiterated her point after catching some heat over her remarks in the post’s comment section. 

“To the person who said that it’s already fair because I get to monetize it: Yeah. I got the same opportunity that hundreds of other people have had to monetize it and failed,” she remarked.  

“So through blood sweat and tears I worked my a— off to justify the $7,250 paycheck for multiple episodes in 2008 — episodes that are still being used for monetization in 2023 — where two entities are profiting and I am not.”

Bethenny’s RHONY paycheck jumped substantially during her years on the popular show. The B Strong founder reportedly raked in $1 million per season by the time she made her final exit. The mom of one initially walked away from RHONY to star in a spinoff show in 2011, after her friendship with Jill Zarin imploded. She returned to the series in 2015 and decided to leave for good four years later. 

The current cycle of the Real Housewives of New York City airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on Bravo.

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Olivia Davis is a Staff Writer at All About The Tea. Olivia’s hobbies include binging Netflix series, and watching Housewives on Bravo. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in History.