Something about the onslaught of cast news didn’t bode well to my ears. There was a lot of speculation going on, and even though everything is bigger in Texas, and bigger is always better, it doesn’t mean that a giant heap of conflicting news is. Especially since the cast of the Real Housewives of Dallas was in shambles after Season Five ended.
Did Tiffany Moon really quit? Or was she and bestie D’Andra Simmons teasing her comeback? And was alum Cary Deuber to replace someone else? Kameron Westcott positioned herself to be fired for racially insensitive tweets and Brandi Redmond posted a cryptic message about moving on, though I’m not sure she would have been missed. RHOD viewers could do without her and Stephanie Hollman’s sloppy, sorority style antics after five seasons.
But none of this analysis really matters now, because Page Six broke the news that our beloved RHOD will not be returning for a sixth season. The official statement from Bravo is that, “there are currently no plans to bring ‘The Real Housewives of Dallas’ back next year, and beyond that nothing official has been decided.”
RHOD was plagued with racially insensitive incidents in recent seasons. Viewers thought that the removal of LeeAnne Locken would be the end of it, but Brandi and Kameron’s antics on Season Five caused massive backlash.
An offensive video surfaced of Brandi imitating an Asian female before filming started for Season Five, and paralyzed her with insecurity. Despite Tiffany accepting her apology, Brandi’s guilt had her walking on eggshells around the anesthesiologist and dampened her interactions all season. In February, Page Six ran a story that Brandi might be leaving the show. A source close to Brandi was quoted as saying, “while she is contemplating leaving, nothing has been confirmed.” Maybe her husband, Bryan Redmond’s cheating scandal had something to do with it too.
Team Westcott courted controversy by attacking Tiffany and labeling her anti-racist after the reunion aired. There was speculation that Kameron would be fired for the tweets she, her husband Court Westcott, and brother-in-law Chart Westcott wrote.
At the time, Bravo stood firmly with Tiffany, but did not fire Kameron as expected. “Bravo strongly supports the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community,” the network representatives said, “Anti-Racism is, in fact, not a form of racism and the network stands by Dr. Tiffany Moon and her advocacy against racism and violence.”
Court’s controversial tweet reads as follows, “‘Anti-racism’ is racism. It discriminates by the color of ones skin. They tried that once in Germany, it did not work out well. I don’t understand how many of your patients would be comfortable with you treating them with you open vile racism [sic].”
The post was quickly deleted, but backlash followed. Tiffany’s response was to announce her withdrawal from the show. “Previous Cast Member #RHOD S5,” she wrote. And just like that, Bravo’s attempt at integrating racial minorities into the show backfired.
So perhaps there is no single answer as to why the show is cancelled. There was a core group of ladies ready to move on, and/or perhaps this particular spinoff just wasn’t ready for integrating diverse characters. Certainly some cohesion was missing. If Bravo ever picks Real Housewives of Dallas up again, perhaps it will be best to cast a whole new group of ladies.
TELL US- WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THE NEWS? WHAT DO YOU THINK CAUSED BRAVO TO CANCEL THE SHOW? WHO WOULD BE YOUR DREAM CAST?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]