Bethenny Frankel says Andy Cohen, Bravo ‘despise’ her for union efforts: ‘They have to protect the realm’

Reality TV

Bethenny Frankel isn’t making any friends at Bravo.

The “Real Housewives of New York” alum, 52, said her efforts to unionize the reality TV industry have made execs at the network “despise” her.

“I can tell you with great certainty that everyone at Bravo likely despises me, including Andy Cohen, because it’s very personal and because they have to protect the realm,” she said on Team Coco’s “Literally! With Rob Lowe” podcast Monday.

Her comments come one month after Frankel confirmed she was trying to organize a union for reality TV performers, amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

She also sent Bravo and its parent company, NBCUniversal, a legal letter containing bombshell claims that reality stars are manipulated, plied with booze and are the victims of revenge porn.


Bethenny Frankel
Bethenny Frankel claimed execs at Bravo, including Andy Cohen, “despise” her.
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Andy Cohen
“It’s very personal … they have to protect the realm,” she said of the network bosses.
Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images

“I have come out on top, made all this money, been the shining example of being successful on reality TV with all these other casualties whose lives have been destroyed,” the Skinnygirl founder told actor Rob Lowe on his podcast.

“And instead of just counting my money and not pissing anybody off, I chose to, you know, shake that whole thing up and burn bridges and torch the kingdom Khaleesi style,” she went on, referencing the “Game of Thrones” character.

Elsewhere in the interview, she claimed reality stars would be exploited for “cheap labor” amid the Hollywood strikes, which have brought most of the industry to a stand-still.


Bethenny Frankel
Frankel’s efforts to unionize the reality TV industry began last month.
bethennyfrankel/Instagram

“SAG AFTRA reached out to me. And while we’re talking about a union and what that would look like, they also want to know in the short term what they could do to help,” Frankel said.

“And I was saying there should be some language, some contract language that goes into these contracts that everybody in reality knows to include. Like they can’t just exploit people with these unrealistic NDAs,” she continued.

“So it’s a very complicated thing I walked myself into whilst also burning bridges and seeming like I’m biting the hand that fed me, but I fed myself. There are a lot of people who didn’t get fed.”


Bethenny Frankel
The “RHONY” alum said she would “burn bridges and torch the kingdom.”
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Frankel also said the “most scary” thing about her anti-reality TV crusade was that she’s not a “disgruntled” former employee.

“As a person who’s been on more reality television than anyone who could speak on this topic, that’s what’s the most scary about me, I’m not disgruntled,” she said.

“I wasn’t fired. I was asked back multiple times. I made millions of dollars. I left twice. So I am allowed to speak on this.”


RHONY Season 11
The Skinnygirl mogul said she was a threat to the network because she’s not “disgruntled.”
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Bethenny Frankel
“I have come out on top, made all this money, been the shining example of being successful on reality TV,” she said.
Instagram/@bethennyfrankel

Earlier this month, Page Six reported that Frankel had enlisted around 80 reality show cast members in her fight against the TV giant.


For more Page Six you love ...


Her lawyer, Hollywood heavyweight Bryan Freedman, declined to name names, however he told us, “NBC, Bravo and its agents have wrongfully silenced even the most famous of these reality performers and continue to do so today.”


bethenny frankel
She is believed to have enlisted about 80 Bravo cast members.
bethennyfrankel/Instagram

“Their stories are horrific and in due time will be made public,” he went on.

A source familiar with the suit also told Page Six the stars joining Frankel were well-known personalities.

“You will definitely know their names,” the insider said.


Bethenny Frankel with RHONY cast
“Their stories are horrific and in due time will be made public,” her lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told Page Six.
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Meanwhile, NBCUniversal hit back after Freedman accused the company of refusing to allow its stars to break their nondisclosure agreements after experiencing alleged mistreatment.

A spokesperson for Bravo told Page Six that current and former cast members are “free to discuss and disclose any allegedly unlawful acts in the workplace, such as harassment or discrimination, or any other conduct they have reason to believe is inappropriate.”

The Bravo rep also emphasized that the network requires the third-party production companies it hires to offer cast and crew multiple channels to report workplace misconduct.

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