Sonja Morgan is setting the record straight about Bethenny Frankel’s shocking claim she was nearly fired from The Real Housewives of New York City!
Perez Hilton reported Bethenny’s claim first in an exclusive clip… while watching RHONY’s season 3 “Scary Island” episode on her ReWives with Bethenny Frankel podcast, the 52-year-old television personality spilled that she saved Sonja and Alex McCord from almost being axed from the Bravo reality series. She claimed in the podcast premiere:
“The producers will back it up 1,000 percent. Alex was going to be fired that season and Sonja was going to be fired later.”
Speaking about Alex, the Skinnygirl founder said the 49-year-old had been “too sound of mind” for the show and would have been let go if she didn’t have a “big moment” with Jill Zarin:
“She was going to be fired, and I told her to deliver that message that they’re discussing. She was, I guess, in makeup that they thought looked like kabuki makeup … Someone had told me [that she was going to be fired], and I said to her to tell that message to Jill, because I knew it would be a big moment.”
Bethenny then recalled years after the season three episode, she overheard “one of the producers” share they wanted to “let Sonja go” because “she was just a disaster.” Ouch! She added:
“It was all about the bidet and the lingerie, it was on the loop and all this stuff.”
Bethenny then claimed that she managed to stop Sonja from getting the boot by igniting “a match about her and Tinsley [Mortimer]” during a dinner at a sushi restaurant:
“I said something to stir that up, and it lit up Sonja and she launched and she did not get let go. That was an absolute fact. I have the receipts. … I went in and said to the producer in the car, ‘Give me one night.’ And that was the night that Sonja resurrected herself. I forgot that, I don’t even think Sonja knows that.”
Whoa… Sonja went on to grace our television screens for 10 more seasons — before Bravo recast the show for season 14. But was her job ever really in jeopardy?
In a statement with Entertainment Tonight on Friday, Sonja finally spoke out, confirming some of the moments in RHONY Bethenny mentioned on the podcast, saying:
“Washing the lingerie in my bidet was one of the biggest memes ever for me. And also when I said, ‘I used to be classy and now I’m trashy’ to one of my interns in the bathroom on film it was huge.”
However, when it came to the claims that she was almost fired until Bethenny came to her rescue, Sonja told the outlet that was BS! She says the big executives at the network never had a problem with what she brought to the show, explaining:
“I love Bethenny and she always has my back. That’s for sure. However, the top executives, meaning not the producers on the ground, always told me that they could count on me to get epic material at the townhouse with #TeamSonja.”
The 58-year-old added:
“They said they could always get gold filming me even just talking to my poodle not even having to have a conversation with a person.”
Clearly, the Bravo higher-ups love Sonja now — since they’re giving her and Luann de Lesseps a spinoff show, Luann and Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake. Perhaps, the execs and producers were having a difference of opinion about kicking Sonja off? Or they were telling cast members different things to stir up drama… Who knows! But it’s safe to say Sonja won’t be going anywhere anytime soon now! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below!
[Image via Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen/YouTube]
The post Sonja Morgan Addresses Bethenny Frankel’s Claim She Was Going To Be Fired From <i>RHONY</i>! appeared first on Perez Hilton.