Bethenny Frankel thinks reality TV stars should join the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strike because they, too, are being financially exploited.
“Hollywood is on strike. Artists fight for waste and no one will promote anything. Why aren’t reality shows on strike? asked the former “Real Housewives of New York” star on Instagram Wednesday.
Frankel, 52, said she was only paid $7,250 for her first season of “RHONY,” and hasn’t seen a dime since.
“I myself have generated millions and millions of dollars in advertising and impressions online by being on reality shows and I have never left a single residue,” she explained. “So either I’m missing something or we’re getting screwed too.”
Frankel, who said that reality TV stars are often looked down on as the “losers” of Hollywood, noted that they were the ones who “provided all the entertainment” during the last writers’ strike in 2007-2008.
He then pointed to the stars of “The Bachelor” and “The Hills” who are getting “paid peanuts” even though people can, and still do, watch old “episodes from years gone by.”
“It’s complete and utter nonsense, t,” he added. “It just occurred to me, everyone talks about actors and they don’t pay us shit.”
In her caption, Frankel encouraged reality TV stars to unionize to “just be treated fairly and valued.”
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“Critics will say that actors have ‘talent,’ which is what studios pay for: in fact, studios pay advertisers and advertisers pay homebuyers aka women,” she wrote. “And what do women get? reality tv
After facing backlash in her comments section, the former reality TV star made a follow-up video to further drive home her point.
“To the person who said that it is already fair because I can monetize it: yes. I had the same opportunity that hundreds of other people have had to monetize it and I failed,” she joked.
“So, through blood, sweat, and tears, I worked hard 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 benefiting and I am not.”
While Frankel didn’t earn much during her first season on the hit Bravo series, the Skinnygirl founder was reportedly making $1 million per season when she left.
The opinionated Bravolebrity left the series in 2011 following her feud with Jill Zarin. She finally decided to return in 2015, but ended up leaving the show for good four years later.
Since then, Frankel has delved into many other business ventures, from her Skinnygirl food brand to her Forever Young Rosé to numerous different podcasts.