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Home / Entertainment

The Real Housewives has a history of race-based scandals

NZ Herald
23 Sep, 2016 05:30 AM6 mins to read

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Julia Sloane wasn't the first Housewife to cause a racially-charged scene. Photo / Norrie Montgomery.

Julia Sloane wasn't the first Housewife to cause a racially-charged scene. Photo / Norrie Montgomery.

This week's episode of Real Housewives of Auckland turned the entire show on its head after one of the women used a racial slur.

Bravo made the decision to air the episode which, for the entire 45 minutes or so, focused almost entirely on the comment and the reaction to it.

READ MORE:
• Real Housewives of Auckland: Star's husband consults with lawyers in racial stoush fallout
• Opinion: The real problem with the racial stoush on Real Housewives of Auckland

But it's not the first time.

Bravo's Real Housewives franchise is no stranger to the odd racial stoush, and it always manages to get publicity and set tongues wagging amongst viewers.

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These are just a few of the dramas that made headlines:

Real Housewives of Melbourne

The Melbourne version of the Real Housewives - made by Matchbox Entertainment, which is also behind Real Housewives of Auckland - has had more than its fair share of race-based controversy.

Housewife Lydia Schiavello came under fire earlier this year and in previous seasons for her racially charged behaviour and comments.

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Lydia Shiavello. Photo / Bravo
Lydia Shiavello. Photo / Bravo

She visited her housekeeper Johanna's parents - Marina and Dario - during a trip to the Philippines and proceeded to speak to them as loudly and slowly as possible.

She patronisingly enunciated each word as she informed them that: "In Australia, she's MY daughter".

Side note for Real Housewives of Auckland viewers: It sounds like Johanna might be Melbourne's equivalent of Angela Stone's French PA Lea, to whom Stone also speaks to in a painfully slow and patronising manner.

But that's not even the worst part - Schiavello has been known to spout out racial slurs over previous seasons, including telling Johanna: "choong choong, not ching ching", followed by "oh whatever, it all sounds the same to me".

Discover more

Opinion

Smalley: Airing racial slur unjustifiable

20 Sep 08:16 PM
New Zealand

Real Housewives of Auckland fashion re-cap

21 Sep 12:53 AM
Entertainment

How many people watched Real Housewives last night?

21 Sep 03:30 AM
Opinion

Raybon Kan: No excuses for racist slurs

21 Sep 03:24 AM

But Schiavello isn't the only one.

Gina Liano. Photo / Getty Images.
Gina Liano. Photo / Getty Images.

Gina Liano also came under fire for constantly mocking the accent of her fellow Housewife Pettifleur Berenger who also claimed Liano made comments about "my colour".

But then again, when the women were naming shoes after themselves in one episode, Berenger went on to suggest her shoe should be called "black bitch".

To which Liano responded: "For someone who's quite ultra-sensitive about whether people are racist around her... for her to say something like that is pretty severe".

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Brandi Glanville. Photo / Getty Images
Brandi Glanville. Photo / Getty Images

In the hills, Brandi Glanville was trying to get fellow Housewife Joyce Giraud to get in the pool.

When Giraud finally admitted she couldn't swim, Glanville laughed and said: "you're a black person".

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"All my black friends can't swim," she continued.

Joyce Giraud. Photo / Getty Images
Joyce Giraud. Photo / Getty Images

What's maybe worse is that Glanville pulled a Julia Sloane and used all the same excuses she had for calling Michelle Blanchard a "boat n*****".

"It was a joke," she said.

"My black friends would have laughed crazy because they don't go in the pool because they will get their weave f****d up."

Later, she went on to say: "I know what I said was definitely inappropriate, but I say a lot of inappropriate things".

"To be honest with you... my friends joke with each other this way and they're all different backgrounds."

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And the real kicker: "I'm the least racist person of all time. I think the more you defend it, the more you look guilty, so I don't have to say that much more. I'm very sorry [to] whomever I offended."

Real Housewives of New York

Bethenny Frankel. Photo / Getty Images
Bethenny Frankel. Photo / Getty Images

New Yorker Bethenny Frankel's drama was an off-screen incident, in which she went on a Twitter rant about Latino employees at a Kmart.

She complained about how the store only had two checkouts open while five employees were "standing around and two speak no English whatsoever".

"Shoes are sapatos right?" she wrote, misspelling the Spanish word zapatos.

Wow @Kmart has 2 registers open w 5 other employees standing around & two speak no English whatsoever. Shoes are sapatos right?

— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) January 23, 2016

She went on: "Not even attempting 'kids' snow boots' in Spanish."

Even after Twitter hit back, Frankel refused to apologise, instead saying: "No excuse for being at a retailer and not able to be directed to what you need. [Nothing] to do [with] race. I'll explain but can't understand it for you."

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Real Housewives of Orange County

Kelly Dodd. Photo / Bravo
Kelly Dodd. Photo / Bravo

Kelly Dodd got drunk and decided to tell a rolling camera: "I don't like black guys. I don't even know any black guys".

Once the tape hit the internet, Dodd backed down and issued this official apology:

"I am truly embarrassed. There is no excuse for bad behaviour or comments that offend anyone. That video does not represent who I really am and I apologise for acting irresponsibly."

But then she went ahead and said she wasn't a racist. Why? Because she's Mexican.

"This is so stupid... of course I'm not racist. I repeated the question they asked me and they asked me if I date black guys and I said I don't know any black guys. I'm sick of people pulling the race card. I'm Mexican and I don't pull that crap."

Tamra Barney and her husband Eddie Judge. Photo / Getty Images.
Tamra Barney and her husband Eddie Judge. Photo / Getty Images.

Also in Orange County, Tamra Barney had to do some pre-emptive damage control after she called her Latino partner, Eddie Judge, "a beaner" (a racial slur for those of Mexican heritage).

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"After you watch [Monday's] episode and you feel the need to rip me a new a****** for saying 'Eddie's inner beaner just came out' know this... He calls me 'his cracker or his honky' and I call him 'my beaner,'" she said, making it worse.

"We're weird like that. Not Racist!"

Real Housewives of Potomac

Robyn Dixon. Photo / Bravo
Robyn Dixon. Photo / Bravo

The Potomac Housewives have a reputation for being hung up on colour - being that all the women are black or biracial - and often make comments alluding to the differences between themselves and "white people".

This became particularly apparent when Robyn Dixon asked if Ashley Darby's husband's behaviour was "a white guy thing".

Michael Darby apparently started grabbing other men's behinds at a party and that's when Dixon posed the question.

Ashley Darby. Photo / Bravo
Ashley Darby. Photo / Bravo

She later said her comment "surely was taken too seriously and in this racially sensitive world we are living in today, it needs to be explained".

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"I wasn't trying to create a racial stir by asking if Michael's grabbing of Andrew's butt was a 'white guy thing.' I really was just trying to throw Michael a lifeline, because what other good explanation is there for a straight, married man to grab another man's butt?" she said.

"I was very shocked that Katie got so charged up about my light hearted comment and turned a fun evening into a huge racial attack."

Katie Rost seemed particularly upset by Dixon's comment, and during a fight over it went off on Dixon talking about how she was probably biracial, saying of Dixon's blonde hair and green eyes: "You don't end up looking like this if you're straight out of Africa".

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