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Okay, let’s talk about the Robyn Dixon situation.
(If you don’t watch “The Real Housewives of Potomac,” first of all, what are you doing? Second of all, you can keep scrolling for a bunch of other non-”RHOP” stuff.)
At the beginning of this week, Robyn and Gizelle released an episode of their podcast in which Robyn admitted that Juan, despite both of them vehemently denying during the season he’d been involved with another woman again, actually did probably cheat on her last year. (If you need a more detailed explainer on what happened, The Daily Beast has a great one here.) For more details on what went down, she said, sign up for a paid subscription to the “Reasonably Shady” Patreon! Please.
This explains a lot of things, namely why Robyn suddenly came into this season being the most engaged, locked in and proactive in driving storylines involving her other cast mates that she’s ever been. Fans had gotten used to (and many had fallen in love with) her laidback nature, but that part of her sensibility all but vanished this season. Even though I found myself disagreeing with her a lot, I did appreciate that after all this time she was leveling up her engagement with the drama on the show. All that being said, now we know that this behavior change was likely born out of her desire to distract from the situation with Juan’s other woman so that she didn’t have to talk about it on the show. Why else would they go so hard for Candiace’s husband, Chris, with very little actually backing it up? Why else would she so intently fan the flames of Wendy and Mia’s feud? Why else would she wait until after the reunion aired to admit all of this completely on her own terms?
Robyn withholding information from filming isn’t something new. All Housewives do this to some degree — we don’t see or know every single detail about their lives, and reading between the lines about what they’re sharing and why adds an intriguing meta layer to these shows that I actually love. But this feels different in that, because Juan’s cheating became a plot point on the show, Robyn and Gizelle’s deliberate withholding of their knowledge and subsequent empty deflection onto others makes the audience (and likely the production and network) feel duped. Played. Made fools of. While Bravo viewers have never been stupid, you could’ve maybe gotten away with this behavior in the past. Now, though? We’ve never been more astute, and the ‘Wives should know this.
Former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” producer Carlos King released a lengthy YouTube video addressing the matter and, while I don’t agree with how much he put “RHOP” down, he made some solid points in it. The most notable being that this whole thing sort of forces you to question what happened in past seasons of this show, who was driving what storylines and why in a way that threatens (but doesn’t dismantle, I’d argue) some of the show’s credibility. In the words of Candiace, “It tarnishes the integrity of the premise of our show. It tap dances on the intelligence of the viewership that champion our stories and discover their own parallels in our lives. And when it’s not that deep, it simply occludes amusement.” Or, as Karen Huger put it, “foolish plots” never succeed.
Contrary to what some people online seem to be calling for, no, I don’t want Robyn to be fired, and I don’t think she should be. While her unreasonably shady behavior is frustrating, it can ultimately serve as an incredible set up for next season. Even Karen, who brought up Juan’s cheating rumors on the show to begin with, admitted so on her YouTube channel. Season 8 will be about taking Robyn to task over giving us all the runaround. It will test Gizelle and Robyn’s united front, with all of their co-stars armed with leverage that they’ll need to answer for.
Robyn is on “Watch What Happens Live!” on Sunday in a pre-taped episode alongside former “RHONY” star Eboni K. Williams. I heard we can expect Andy to be hard on her, but we shouldn’t expect much of an explanation from her.
See below for more recommendations from this week!
Read
RELATED: “The New Rules of Tipping” (Grub Street)
“How Beyoncé, Drake and Taylor Swift Landed on Pop’s Permanent A-List” by Chris Richards (The Washington Post)
“The Promise of Pyer Moss: Kerby-Jean Raymond was one of fashion’s most celebrated young designers. Then what happened?” by Tahirah Hairston (The Cut)
“Reality Check: The Boom — or Glut — in Television Documentaries Has Sparked A Reckoning Among Filmmakers and Their Subjects” by Reeves Wiedeman (Vulture)
“Who Is The Celebrity Documentary For?” by Israel Daramola (Defector)
“Why Is Country Music Underrepresented at The Grammys?” by Melinda Newman (Billboard)
“The Big Dissolve: They Blew Out Their Faces, Now They’re Melting Them Down” by Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz (The Cut)
Listen
“Corinna and The King”
If you’re fiending for more royals drama now that the Harry and Meghan headlines have cooled down (for now, at least), this podcast is for you. Over the course of eight quick episodes, hear the story of the affair that rocked Spain and resulted in King Carlos I to abdicate the throne in 2014 after 40 years in power. Listen to it here.
Watch
“Pamela, A Love Story” (Netflix)
This one had a lot of buzz around it, and it delivered on its promise, as far as I’m concerned. Pamela Anderson’s story has always been told by other people, so I found hearing her side of the story — about her stolen sex tape, the resulting implosion of her acting career, her various high-profile relationships — to be powerful. I particularly loved hearing from her two sons and seeing how supportive and nonjudgemental they are of their mother.
RELATED: Pamela Anderson and Ronan Farrow had a conversation that came out in Interview Magazine this week, and it’s a nice companion piece to the documentary. Read that here.
“Poker Face” (Peacock)
I’m really enjoying this show from “Knives Out” filmmaker Rian Johnson. It stars Natasha Lyonne and follows both a central crime as a through-line for the season as well as new crimes in each individual episode. It’s a fun dynamic that ropes you in — I’m relieved that I like this series, too, because Natasha’s last series, “Russian Doll” on Netflix, was decidedly not for me.
Bravo, Bravo, Fucking Bravo
“RHONY: Legacy” in Flux
First Page Six reports that Bravo is no longer interested in the concept, then they report that the show is dead in the water after contract disputes, then Andy Cohen tweets to not believe everything you read, then Luann, Dorinda and Ramona go out to lunch the next day to show us what we’re all missing. It’s hard to keep up drama, but it’s even harder to operate without them on our TVs, TBH. Apparently they’re all blaming Jill Zarin — shocker. This whole thing would make for an incredible TV show in and of itself. Andy and a camera, please!
NeNe Leakes on “The Breakfast Club”
NeNe is the OG of all OGs and the blueprint for all that we love about “Real Housewives.” That being said, I completely disagree with her saying that the franchise is “starless” now. Kandi, Kenya, Teresa, Melissa, Karen, Gizelle, Kyle, Garcelle, Erika… all of them are stars. And I could go on and on and on. That being said, NeNe’s delivery remains unmatched. I just don’t love when stars of any degree bite the hands that fed them.
RELATED: Do yourself a favor and watch some of the clips in the quote tweets of this Twitter prompt asking for the funniest moments in reality TV history. There’s a reason NeNe is in so many of them.
Self-Promotion
“We Should Talk” feat. Harry Jowsey
This week’s episode of my podcast featured an interview with Harry Jowsey, the breakout star from season 1 of Netflix’s “Too Hot To Handle,” which came out at the start of the pandemic. In the years since, he’s been able to sustain his fame mostly through TikTok to a level that very few other people in his position have been able to. Listen to our chat here or watch it here!
New York Things
Go see comedian Sam Morrison’s fantastic show, “Sugar Daddy,” at SoHo Playhouse! It’s playing until 2/17.
Last weekend, I went to Dorothy Wang’s birthday party at Jean’s, a fairly mysterious underground club, in NoHo. She had pillows with her face on them, a cake shaped like a stack of pizza boxes (and a pizza truck parked outside for late-night snacks) and Kathy Hilton’s tequila overflowing. 10/10, no notes.
On Wednesday, I attended the Go Red for Women’s Red Dress Collection Concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center to raise money and awareness for women’s heart health. Rita Ora and Sheryl Crow both performed at the gorgeous venue, and I interviewed Kyle Richards and Chrishell Stause (articles coming next week).
I also had dinner at K’Far, a fantastic Israeli restaurant on the ground floor of the Hoxton Hotel in Williamsburg; dhom, a delicious Southeast Asian small plates restaurant in the East Village; and cocktails at Milady’s, a stalwart that reopened in SoHo last year.
Currently
The Grammy’s are on Sunday night, and I’ll be tuning in to see if the Recording Academy finally awards Beyoncé Album of the Year. While I love awards season, I do hate how often it takes away from my Sunday night “Real Housewives” time.
I’ll also be checking out “Dear Edward” on Apple TV+, a show about a little boy who is the lone survivor of a plane crash. Connie Britton’s on it, and it’s from the producers behind “Friday Night Lights” and “Parenthood.”
Lastly, prayers out to everyone trying to get Beyoncé tickets next week. May the odds be ever in our favor!
Love this newsletter so much!