Bethenny Frankel called out Dorit Kemsley for revealing a “manipulative” text that Kyle Richards sent her prior to filming the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” reunion.
“Wow, Bethenny, wow. I cannot believe a private, personal, emotional, heartfelt, guttural text from Kyle to a friend off-camera when not working, when not filming, was aired. What a violation!” the “Real Housewives of New York City” alum said in a TikTok video Sunday.
Frankel said she could “not imagine what that would feel like” to learn afterward that her on-again, off-again best friend had let the Bravo show display the message.
“Then imagine you’re thinking like, ‘Oh my God, what else have I texted that person? Like, where are the other monsters?'” she said.
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Frankel, 53, argued that text messages between two co-stars should be a “private space,” and she “can’t imagine” not being able to feel safe doing so.
“When you’re working, you’re working, and that’s vile enough. But when you’re not working, and you’re off the clock, are they also going to own your thoughts? That’s a private text. That’s insane! And Kyle is their favorite — imagine how they treat their least favorites, whoa,” she concluded.
Hundreds of fans commented under Frankel’s video with mixed reactions to the video. Some fans argued that Richards, 55, and Kemsley, 47, are both reality TV stars, while others agreed with Frankel.
“It wasn’t some heart wrenching text about her marriage. It was a text to save her a** after deserting her friendship that Dorit thought was a close one,” one person commented.
“Showing reality on a reality show! How dare they!” someone else sarcastically chimed in.
“I mean…. Isn’t it common for housewives to bring literal binders of text messages and ‘receipts’ at the reunion?” another fan pointed out.
“Text was brought up, on camera, at the reunion taping…fair game?” one more argued.
However, other people called Kemsley “nasty” for letting Bravo use her message.
“That was classless. Dorit showed her true colors,” one person commented.
“Dorit will do anything for a storyline. She’s become boring,” another user wrote.
Frankel and the social media users were referring to Kemsley letting “RHOBH” air a screenshot of a message Richards sent her requesting that she not bring up their strained relationship prior to filming the reunion.
“I don’t want to lose someone else in my life over a TV show. They don’t even know we are going through a hard time so I don’t see the need to bring it up there,” Richards wrote in the message.
The “RHOBH” OG explained that her friendship with Kemsley is “more important to me than RHOBH and I don’t feel like ‘bringing it’ for the [sic] at our expense.”
“Anyway, I would like to sit down and talk after we get through tomorrow,” Richards wrote, later adding, “I don’t know how much longer I can do this show. It’s so toxic and creates so much anxiety for me.”
Kemsley brought up the message while showing co-star Erika Jayne and told her how “calculated” it felt to her.
Jayne agreed with Kemsley that she would feel “manipulated” if Richards had sent her the same text, while Kemsley chimed in that “fair is fair” at reunions.
Kemsley and Richards — who have been going through marital woes with their respective spouses — were previously best friends for years, but that took a turn in December 2023.
Around that same time, Kemsley appeared on “Watch What Happens Live” and claimed Richards’ new friendship with country singer Morgan Wade has caused a rift in their relationship.
“She’ll kill me, but I feel like the closer she got with Morgan the further she got from me,” Kemsley said at the time. “But I don’t think I’m the only one. I’m sorry Kyle, I love you. But it’s the truth, it’s how I feel.”
Richards later insinuated that Kemsley’s comments had offended her, as seen in a trailer for the “RHOBH” reunion.
“You knew by saying something like that it was gonna create a bigger problem for me in the media with the whole Morgan situation,” Richards told her, referring to speculation that her relationship with Wade is romantic.
Richards clarified on “WWHL” last week that she was “hurt by some things” Kemsley said, and they still “have some things to work out.”
