Bethenny Frankel says reality stars should take a page out of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes and unionize.
She says she believes reality stars should be earning residual-like payments when their series become hits and are replayed by networks and streamers across multiple platforms.
Frankel shot to fame on the original “Real Housewives of New York.” She says she was paid $7,250 for the first season, but has never received any compensation based on the show’s massive success.
She has a starred in a variety of reality series since “RHONY,” including “Bethenny Getting Married,” “Bethenny and Frederick” and “Bethenny Every After.”
“Just because you can, as a streamer or a network, play the show as much as you want, doesn’t mean you should,” she told me Wednesday. “Meaning, yes, they’re going to get as much milk out of the cows as they could because it’s legal. We signed a contract. Does it mean we should be exploited? It means when you get a ratings bump or something happens, you should share. Networks and streamers have been exploiting people for too long.”
Frankel believes studios and streamers are taking advantage of people who sign on for reality shows because, more often than not, they’re so eager at a shot at fame that they’re not thinking — or more likely, aren’t knowledgeable enough — about what the future earnings could be if their show takes off. Reality contracts don’t include residuals but often allow studios and streamers to earn a cut of any profits a star makes with deals they sign after appearing on a show. “Just because you can exploit young, doe-eyed talent desperate for the platform TV gives them, it doesn’t mean you should,” Frankel said. “They don’t know what they don’t know. I was playing chess, but how do I help the people who may not know the game?”
Frankel admits she’s not exactly sure how one starts a union, but said, “We should just find out what reality shows are in production right now and say, ‘Just stop working. Say you’re not going to work unless they take down all the things you’ve done in the past and then we can negotiate for the future.’”
She first called for a reality show strike in an Instagram post Wednesday.
She said Peacock asked her to be on the “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy,” but she explained, “They can’t afford me.”
Frankel said she wouldn’t do “Girls Trip” for less than $1 million: “That’s my asking price.”
She and Jill Zarin recently made headlines for reuniting after being estranged for 13 years. “I’m sure Bravo would have paid me $100,000 to film it, but why let them have it?” Frankel said.
She also insists her call for a reality guild is not about trying to get more money for herself. “I’m fine. I’m doing just fine,” she said. “This is about the future and getting to control your own content and not accepting these deals anymore.”
