Real Housewives trashy?

Article from The Daily Beast.

by Anna David
Of course she has no love for them, either. On Dina Manzo's recently shown departure from Real Housewives of New Jersey, which Dina told Us Weekly was “99.9 percent … because of Danielle,” Danielle asks rhetorically, “Like she was such a big part of it? It’s like, ‘Dina, nobody missed you. Your own husband won’t do any show with you.’”

Adding none too subtly to the rumors about Dina’s custody battles, Staub says, “You know how my daughters are legally allowed to do the show? Because my ex signed a contract saying that they could.” (When I ask whether she knew for a fact that Dina’s ex had refused to sign such a contract, a Bravo rep that was on the line chimed in that the topic was off-limits.)

Clearly, caring about what topics others feel are off-limits is not a concern of Staub’s. Of the two Kims—boutique owner Kim D. and pot stirrer Kim G. (both seemingly batty, both seemingly devoted to betraying Staub, both seemingly doing everything in their power to land regular roles on the show): “They’re meaningless. They’re insignificant to me. They’re opportunists.” On Jacqueline Laurita and her tweet that Staub had leaked her own sex tape: “Here’s what I have to say to her: Why don’t you tweet about your babies instead of focusing on me? Why don’t you pay attention to your kids and stop drinking wine at three in the afternoon and driving drunk? You have a daughter who’s acting out: pay attention to that.”

Staub saves the kind words for others—like her “Real Close” songwriter and rumored lesbian lover Lori Michaels (about that relationship, Staub says, “I’m going to keep people on the edges of their seats about that a little longer”). And for Danny Provenzano, a fellow ex-con she says she met in the last year or two at a Queen Latifah charity softball event, who, on the show, she has brought along as “security” several times because she seemingly sometimes thinks she’s on The Sopranos. She also adores Cohen. “Andy is brilliant!” she raves. “He was very touched by [her “Real Close” performance on WWHL]. He has so much energy but it calmed him to a place where he was really immobilized.”

While one wouldn’t imagine that Staub brings Cohen calmness, immobilization isn’t so difficult to conjure up. Yet he insists that Staub isn’t diminishing the Bravo brand. “She’s certainly unique in terms of the Real Housewives franchise because she’s independent and dominant and has a strong point of view,” he says when I inquire about it. When I ask whether Bravo might have hesitated to cast Staub had they known everything about her ahead of time, Cohen sounds weary. “That would be a total speculation,” he says. “You really can’t tell with hindsight.”