Bethenny Frankel recently recruited two power lawyers to her righteous crusade to overthrow Bravo, and they fired off a positively bloodthirsty legal letter to the network alleging that it routinely engages in “grotesque and depraved mistreatment of reality stars and crewmembers.”
Curiously though, Page Six has learned that a mere six months earlier the very same Comrade Frankel pitched Bravo on a new show of her own devising that would follow rich Connecticut families — including, a source pointedly notes, their children.
Perhaps Bravo was substantially less “depraved” circa March 2023.
Or perhaps the Skinnygirl mogul just thought those spoiled brats could use some toughening up.
We’re told the former “Real Housewives of New York” star — who starred in two of her very own spin-offs and a smattering of other shows for the NBCUniversal subsidiary — got the go-ahead from network execs to develop the show, which was set to star Susan Sarandon’s daughter, the actress/blogger Eva Amurri.
But we hear there was some kind of bust-up between Frankel and the production company that she was working with and the project was shelved, though Bravo remained theoretically interested in the comings and goings of Westport’s most delectably nepo-licious residents.
As the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes kicked off earlier in the summer, Frankel began calling for industrial action. “Hollywood is on strike, entertainers are fighting for residuals and no one will promote anything. Why isn’t reality TV on strike?” she said in the social media video.
She added, “Unscripted talent a.k.a. ‘reality stars’ should have a union or simply be treated fairly and valued.”
Later, marquee attorneys Bryan Freedman — who has successfully represented Gabrielle Union against NBCUni — and Mark Geragos joined the campaign, sending a “litigation hold” letter to the company’s general counsel promising that “a day of reckoning” is coming because of the “sordid and dark underbelly” of Bravo’s behavior.
(An NBC rep responded, telling the Hollywood Reporter, “NBCUniversal is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows” and outlining some of its welfare practices.)
Of the Frankel show, a Bravo rep told us. “We don’t comment on shows that were potentially in development. Please reach out to Bethenny’s rep.”
Frankel’s rep declined to comment.