Kate Chastain has had to make a life on land for herself after quitting Below Deck last season. The original chief stew that regaled us for years with her pithy, dry sarcasm is the queen of Bravo talk shows now. She co-hosts Bravo’s Chat Room with Gizelle Bryant, Porsha Williams, and Hannah Berner. Kate also appeared on Galley Talk with other Below Deck Alums.
Recently, Kate was looking for some new artwork to adorn her wall for the show. She attempted to purchase a piece, but found that her supposed clout from Below Deck did not transfer to negotiating a sale with an in demand artist.
The texts were released by the artist, Jenny Andrews Anderson, on her Instagram in an attempt to make an example of Kate. Jenny also wanted to highlight the plight of fellow artists who have to deal with the, “general dynamics that exist where people of influence or people who *think* they have influence expect others to give out huge discounts or freebies.”
It started with Kate reaching to Jenny to complement her on her blog that she supposedly has followed since 2011. Kate also thanked Jenny for some skincare advice that she found helpful.
Kate then inquired about a particular piece of art and Jenny laid out the initial terms. Jenny was asking for $3,500 for the 48 x 60 painting. Shipping charges would be an additional cost.
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The next response from Kate seems innocent enough, but as the conversation continues, it looks like she subtly bargained her influence from the start.
“Also I’m assuming you’d be okay and sign off on a release form for it to be in the background of my talk show?” Kate said.
Jenny did not take the bait, and continued to discuss invoicing and shipping quotes. At this point, Kate got more direct.
“I’m just going to be honest: I feel like $3500 is a bit high to not include shipping but I respect your craft very much,” Kate replied, “I tried looking at your previously sold pieces for reference but only saw your recent collages. I’m not sure if this is even interesting to you but having your art on my show and social media would increase sales for you. Are you negotiable on price?”
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After finding another comparable piece, Kate sent Jenny a screenshot of that artwork and wrote, “I see this 48 x 48 on canvas was rolled. I’ll pay you $2,000 for the piece I asked about rolled. Let me know.”
Jenny responded that that particular painting was on sale and that, “in my experience the exposure does not always equate sales. Just as you would decline unpaid appearances and opportunities to work for free, respectfully, so do I.”
Kate’s tone changes completely after this exchange.
“I think there might be a misunderstanding as I never would request anything for free just to be clear,” she wrote, “$2,000 is not free. Negotiation costs nothing. No one in business should be offended by a conversation about monetary exchange. I would have paid the $3,500, all you had to say was the price is firm. Your response was insulting and rude. I would have paid $4k even, not now unfortunately, all I see when I look at that painting is ugliness. Be well.”
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Kate could have ended there, but she came back with more responses such as, “do let me know when your corporate decides to have another ‘sale’ where things are marked down $2,000!”
Jenny’s final text read, “nothing about my response was rude. Literally nothing. You didn’t JUST ask me if my price was negotiable. You told me you thought my price was a little high to not include shipping. Which is at the very least the height of disrespect. And you wouldn’t go into a dentists office and wheel and deal your talk show as leverage to get a cheaper filling.”
Former third stew Caroline Bedol was all over this post. After butting heads with Kate, it looks like they never made up since they worked together.
“You handled her flawlessly,” Caroline commented.
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TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT KATE AND JENNY’S CONVERSATION? WAS KATE OUT OF LINE? SHOULD JENNY HAVE HANDLED THE SITUATION DIFFERENTLY?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]