Saturday, July 31, 2010
Bethenny/Ramona And Mario Fishing
Pics./Tweets from Ramona.
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| Getting fresh caught tuna to take home with @Bethenny and he's fileting it for me how great?!?! |
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| With @Bethenny and Mario with a fresh caught stripe bass I luv fish don't you?!? |
Tareq Salahi Throws Wine At Lynda Erkiletia
From Crushable.com.
“The Housewives did not start the fight,” says a source, who pointed the blame at Tareq.
Given the backstage drama, this is gonna be a stellar season.
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| Photo:Wenn |
Call it a Salahi smackdown! Tareq Salahi, one-half of the infamous White House party-crashing couple, threw a glass of wine at a Real Housewife during a drunken encounter in Los Angeles last night.
It all went down around midnight at Trader Vic’s at the Beverly Hilton. Tareq and wife Michaele was sitting with their castmates from Bravo’s upcoming DC edition of Real Housewives when the conversation escalated. In a fit of rage, he threw a glass of wine at DC housewife Lynda Erkiletia, who then threw water back at his face.
The Salahis stormed off in a huff, and the remaining castmates consoled Lynda, whose aqua-blue dress was ruined. No cameras were rolling; the whole cast had been promoting the show at the Television Critics Association press tour earlier in the day. Fortunately, Crushable was at Trader Vic’s to witness!
Given the backstage drama, this is gonna be a stellar season.
Teresa Guidice or Ali Fedotowsky?
Do you want to see Teresa or Ali on Dancing With The Stars? Click HERE to make your pick on People.com.
Alex And Simon Talk To Hamptons.com
Click HERE to see a 15 minute video of Alex and Simon being interviewed by Nicole B. Brewer for Hamptons.com, Main Street Series.
Teresa Outsells All The Other Housewives
Article from Chicago Now.
By Jenn Sale
I was hoping to go a whole week without a Teresa story, but no, we have one. Actually this is.a good story about Teresa after a few weeks of horrible things going on. She is now the Housewife with the biggest selling book in the history of Housewives actually writing books.
This can only mean the end of days are upon us. Because only in a crazy mixed up world about to end does a person that says things like, 're-enovate' 'cleavelage' and 'prostitution whore' become a literary giant. Especially with a cookbook after going on national TV and telling the world she uses frozen pizza dough, when the entire contents of Chapter 8 in Skinny Italian is devoted to...yes...homemade pizza.
Kind of a slap in the face to actual chef and cookbook writer "Skinny Girl" Bethenny Frankel, yes? Because as of now, Teresa has outsold her. Bethenny who's whole life is working her fingers to the bone and living a 24/7 infomercial got spanked in book sales by somebody like Teresa. Ouch. That has to smart.
But Skinny Italian had a brilliant ghost writer, Heather MacLean, who has sold a ton of books on her own. Not to mention the backing of a great publishing house.
Teresa has also stuck to mostly east coast signings of the book too, not nationwide tours like Alex McCord, NeNe Leakes, and Jill Zarin.
And of course, Teresa had to be all classy about it and take to her Twitter page to basically say to Bethenny, "nana-nana boo-boo, who's the skinny girl now?", paraphrased of course, but much to that effect. Because obviously the whole lesson in Karma she's having right now wasn't enough of a lesson about the whole trash talking thing.
Is this the best housewives book in terms of quality? Hardly. It's a well written cook book, but it does have some signature crass Teresa gems de classe. Like 'Danielle's Puttenesca Sauce'. Ha! Get it? So funny I forgot to laugh.
No I think as far as quality goes, Bethenny Frankel, Alex McCord (Simon too, I guess) and Vicki Gunvalson win as far as an actual good book. The rest is pretty much ghost written fluff.
Yes, quit laughing and judging me for actually reading all of these books. I have to for research purposes, of course!I'm a hard hitting journalist and stuff. Oh now you're really laughing, aren't you.
So yays and cheers to Teresa. I'm sure we'll hear all about it on The View this Monday when she's on. And it won't be long until we get 'Skinny Italian 2: How to open a jar of Ragu...
By Jenn Sale
I was hoping to go a whole week without a Teresa story, but no, we have one. Actually this is.a good story about Teresa after a few weeks of horrible things going on. She is now the Housewife with the biggest selling book in the history of Housewives actually writing books.
This can only mean the end of days are upon us. Because only in a crazy mixed up world about to end does a person that says things like, 're-enovate' 'cleavelage' and 'prostitution whore' become a literary giant. Especially with a cookbook after going on national TV and telling the world she uses frozen pizza dough, when the entire contents of Chapter 8 in Skinny Italian is devoted to...yes...homemade pizza.
But Skinny Italian had a brilliant ghost writer, Heather MacLean, who has sold a ton of books on her own. Not to mention the backing of a great publishing house.
Teresa has also stuck to mostly east coast signings of the book too, not nationwide tours like Alex McCord, NeNe Leakes, and Jill Zarin.
And of course, Teresa had to be all classy about it and take to her Twitter page to basically say to Bethenny, "nana-nana boo-boo, who's the skinny girl now?", paraphrased of course, but much to that effect. Because obviously the whole lesson in Karma she's having right now wasn't enough of a lesson about the whole trash talking thing.
Is this the best housewives book in terms of quality? Hardly. It's a well written cook book, but it does have some signature crass Teresa gems de classe. Like 'Danielle's Puttenesca Sauce'. Ha! Get it? So funny I forgot to laugh.
No I think as far as quality goes, Bethenny Frankel, Alex McCord (Simon too, I guess) and Vicki Gunvalson win as far as an actual good book. The rest is pretty much ghost written fluff.
Yes, quit laughing and judging me for actually reading all of these books. I have to for research purposes, of course!I'm a hard hitting journalist and stuff. Oh now you're really laughing, aren't you.
So yays and cheers to Teresa. I'm sure we'll hear all about it on The View this Monday when she's on. And it won't be long until we get 'Skinny Italian 2: How to open a jar of Ragu...
Teresa-RHONJ On The View Monday
Check out Teresa appearing on The View Monday at 10am/Pacific on ABC.
Teresa's Auction Generates Global Buzz
Post from the WSJ.
By Dawn Wotapka
By Dawn Wotapka
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| Photo: A.J. Willner Auctions |
We recently wrote about the upcoming auction involving “Real Housewives of New Jersey” personalities Teresa and Joe Giudice: The contents of their lavish 10,000-square-foot New Jersey mansion are scheduled for auction on Aug. 22.
It was originally a local affair. Auction house A.J. Willner says it received so many inquiries from around the world, it decided to add an online component.
Potential bidders can register at Proxibid, a website that does as many as 800 auctions a month and reports bidders from 175 countries. (Zimbabwe hasn’t been active lately.) Items involving celebrities - or, in this case, reality-TV personalities - can command a premium, says Bruce Hoberman, Proxibid’s president. A $750 silk Mets jacket once owned by convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff commanded $14,500 in November.
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| Photo: A.J. Willner Auctions |
The suit of armor is expected to be one of the more popular items.In this case, it is unclear exactly what will be up for grabs. The Giudices, who filed for bankruptcy protection, formally objected to the auction, says Mike Sklar, a partner with A.J. Willner. A hearing is planned Aug. 16. The couple-who could not be reached because their phone is disconnected–says some of the items scheduled for auction were purchased after the bankruptcy petition, while others belong to relatives, Mr. Sklar says. Such objections are typical, he adds.
If a judge allows the auction to proceed, Mr. Sklar says he’ll rush to inventory the Towaco, N.J., mansion and what’s left of its fancy contents. Items possibly up for grabs include a grand piano–expected to be popular –a suit of armor, snow plow and foosball table.
Mr. Sklar says he hadn’t seen the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” show until recently. “I have no idea who these people are but obviously other people do,” he says. “I’m not really a reality TV person. It’s not my cup of tea.
JJ Reviews Bethenny Getting Married?
Article from the JJ.
Bethenny Frankel Blows Her Shot At Redemption
Posted by Ilana Angel
I write a very honest look at this show. I do not get sucked in to all the silliness of thinking that this woman is somehow my friend, just because I’ve seen her pee. I watch her on television because in the beginning, she was a breathe of fresh air, and very entertaining.
Each week, as we watch Bethenny’s dreams come true, I am hopeful she will return to being the person she was. The girl who made us fall in love with her by simply being herself. She was bold, honest, funny, and vulnerable. We were routing for her to succeed in business and love.
You’ve got to give it her for trying. She had a difficult childhood, and although the reality of her upbringing is questioned by many, and may not be as bad as she would like us to believe, it was difficult for her. Her memories are her own, and for her it was horrible, so let’s give her that.
I have a reputation of not liking Bethenny, and that is simply not the case. My opinion of her has nothing to do with whether I like her or not. I don’t know her. What I know, is that with each episode, my opinion is not gauged by how much I like her, but by how much I believe her.
This week was all about bringing her baby home. Within the first five minutes it became clear that while I may like her, I don’t trust her. That feeling of distrust translates into her being a hot mess of insincerity. She managed to make an episode I was looking forward to, rather unappealing.
She’s in the hospital, just having had the baby, and her in-laws, who drove immediately to be with her and see their first grandchild, arrive. They walk in the room, and before they even turn the corner, she is telling them to be careful because she has stitches. Seriously bitchy I think.
Before she makes her big announcement about having a girl and calling her Bryn, after the son they lost, she is telling them to close the door. Really? You have a camera crew in your hospital room, but you need to shut the door for privacy? Bethenny seems to think she is Lady Diana.
She announces the baby like it’s all for television, and not for these people who have dreamed of this day for longer than she did. Then that’s it. We never see Jason’s parents again. She won. She chose the baby nurse over the grandparents, and that speaks volumes about Bethenny.
She talks about how traumatized she is by her childhood, and lack of love from her mother, yet, when given the opportunity to have Jason’s mom there, loving her and the baby, she opts to have a baby nurse. Bethenny is a diva, and the whoring of Bryn Hoppy has begun.
This could have been Bethenny’s moment of redemption. All her lies, mean spirited comments, exaggerations, and missteps, would have been forgiven is she had embraced Jason’s parents, and had them for a week, and then the baby nurse. She was so close, and in the end, she blew it.
They walk out of the hospital and you see a flash of disappointment as Bethenny realizes there are no paparazzi. It’s a sad moment, and I found myself feeling sad for her. I wish she had thought it out better and had Carol with her for a couple of weeks. It would have healed her.
On the ride home, Jason realizes of how hard it was for his parents to lose a child. When you have your own children, you see your parents differently, and it was touching. It would have been the perfect time for Bethenny to say his parents could stay and help with the baby.
Bethenny is obsessed with the baby nurse. She talks about how the woman is family, and she should treat the home like it’s her own, yet she has never called her by her name, only “Baby Nurse”. Her name is Gina. It’s moments like this that make Bethenny gross, which is a shame.
The stamping of footprints is charming. They are cute and when we see them as new parents, it’s a flashback to Bethenny from the beginning of RHONYC. Bethenny is neurotic, and it’s as if she forgot about the cameras, and was real. She was fabulous during this scene.
As quickly as I found myself loving her, it was gone. Shawn came over to work on the baby shower and Bethenny, the fame monger, was back in full swing. She is abrasive, and controlling, and it’s not cute. In the end you can’t trust her. Is she being real, or working it for the camera?
We then waste 5 minutes watching Max get a number from a woman who clearly has no interest in going out with him. Whatever. We are then in therapy, and Bethenny makes sure to let us know parenthood is scarier for her than for Jason. Dear Lord. Is she kidding right now?
We then get to watch her go through a night of breastfeeding, then watch her complain about how busy she is. Bethenny seems to think that she is the first woman to ever have a baby. We are also reminded, that the thing Bethenny cares about most, is Bethenny.
She complains to Julie that Jason has friends coming to see the abby. God forbid a new father, whose parents were banished, would want to share his baby with his friends. I just don’t get it. Does she not see how the things she says could be perceived as ugly and selfish?
We are out shopping now with Max, Bethenny and Robert Verdi, the stylist. Robert is an ass, Max is useless, and that Bethenny is unable to go buy a dress without a stylist, shows us exactly what we are dealing with. Bethenny has become all the things she says she hated about Jill.
At the end of the day, Bethenny Frankel started out as my favorite housewife, and her husband started out as Prince Charming. Try as I may to get on board the Bethenny love train, it’s hard. I’ve tried, really hard, but it’s not happening. With only one episode left, I’m not sure it will.
Bethenny got married to a wonderful guy and had a baby, which is what she wanted. She got her own show, and the career success she dreamed of. If she can relax and work on going back to being real, she will have it all. I’m not convinced she can do it, but I’m keeping the faith.
Bethenny Frankel Blows Her Shot At Redemption
Posted by Ilana Angel
I write a very honest look at this show. I do not get sucked in to all the silliness of thinking that this woman is somehow my friend, just because I’ve seen her pee. I watch her on television because in the beginning, she was a breathe of fresh air, and very entertaining.
Each week, as we watch Bethenny’s dreams come true, I am hopeful she will return to being the person she was. The girl who made us fall in love with her by simply being herself. She was bold, honest, funny, and vulnerable. We were routing for her to succeed in business and love.
You’ve got to give it her for trying. She had a difficult childhood, and although the reality of her upbringing is questioned by many, and may not be as bad as she would like us to believe, it was difficult for her. Her memories are her own, and for her it was horrible, so let’s give her that.
I have a reputation of not liking Bethenny, and that is simply not the case. My opinion of her has nothing to do with whether I like her or not. I don’t know her. What I know, is that with each episode, my opinion is not gauged by how much I like her, but by how much I believe her.
This week was all about bringing her baby home. Within the first five minutes it became clear that while I may like her, I don’t trust her. That feeling of distrust translates into her being a hot mess of insincerity. She managed to make an episode I was looking forward to, rather unappealing.
She’s in the hospital, just having had the baby, and her in-laws, who drove immediately to be with her and see their first grandchild, arrive. They walk in the room, and before they even turn the corner, she is telling them to be careful because she has stitches. Seriously bitchy I think.
Before she makes her big announcement about having a girl and calling her Bryn, after the son they lost, she is telling them to close the door. Really? You have a camera crew in your hospital room, but you need to shut the door for privacy? Bethenny seems to think she is Lady Diana.
She announces the baby like it’s all for television, and not for these people who have dreamed of this day for longer than she did. Then that’s it. We never see Jason’s parents again. She won. She chose the baby nurse over the grandparents, and that speaks volumes about Bethenny.
She talks about how traumatized she is by her childhood, and lack of love from her mother, yet, when given the opportunity to have Jason’s mom there, loving her and the baby, she opts to have a baby nurse. Bethenny is a diva, and the whoring of Bryn Hoppy has begun.
This could have been Bethenny’s moment of redemption. All her lies, mean spirited comments, exaggerations, and missteps, would have been forgiven is she had embraced Jason’s parents, and had them for a week, and then the baby nurse. She was so close, and in the end, she blew it.
They walk out of the hospital and you see a flash of disappointment as Bethenny realizes there are no paparazzi. It’s a sad moment, and I found myself feeling sad for her. I wish she had thought it out better and had Carol with her for a couple of weeks. It would have healed her.
On the ride home, Jason realizes of how hard it was for his parents to lose a child. When you have your own children, you see your parents differently, and it was touching. It would have been the perfect time for Bethenny to say his parents could stay and help with the baby.
Bethenny is obsessed with the baby nurse. She talks about how the woman is family, and she should treat the home like it’s her own, yet she has never called her by her name, only “Baby Nurse”. Her name is Gina. It’s moments like this that make Bethenny gross, which is a shame.
The stamping of footprints is charming. They are cute and when we see them as new parents, it’s a flashback to Bethenny from the beginning of RHONYC. Bethenny is neurotic, and it’s as if she forgot about the cameras, and was real. She was fabulous during this scene.
As quickly as I found myself loving her, it was gone. Shawn came over to work on the baby shower and Bethenny, the fame monger, was back in full swing. She is abrasive, and controlling, and it’s not cute. In the end you can’t trust her. Is she being real, or working it for the camera?
We then waste 5 minutes watching Max get a number from a woman who clearly has no interest in going out with him. Whatever. We are then in therapy, and Bethenny makes sure to let us know parenthood is scarier for her than for Jason. Dear Lord. Is she kidding right now?
We then get to watch her go through a night of breastfeeding, then watch her complain about how busy she is. Bethenny seems to think that she is the first woman to ever have a baby. We are also reminded, that the thing Bethenny cares about most, is Bethenny.
She complains to Julie that Jason has friends coming to see the abby. God forbid a new father, whose parents were banished, would want to share his baby with his friends. I just don’t get it. Does she not see how the things she says could be perceived as ugly and selfish?
We are out shopping now with Max, Bethenny and Robert Verdi, the stylist. Robert is an ass, Max is useless, and that Bethenny is unable to go buy a dress without a stylist, shows us exactly what we are dealing with. Bethenny has become all the things she says she hated about Jill.
At the end of the day, Bethenny Frankel started out as my favorite housewife, and her husband started out as Prince Charming. Try as I may to get on board the Bethenny love train, it’s hard. I’ve tried, really hard, but it’s not happening. With only one episode left, I’m not sure it will.
Bethenny got married to a wonderful guy and had a baby, which is what she wanted. She got her own show, and the career success she dreamed of. If she can relax and work on going back to being real, she will have it all. I’m not convinced she can do it, but I’m keeping the faith.
Salahi's Snubbed
From the Sioux City Journal.
Press Tour: Meet Tareq and Michaele Salahi
By: Bruce Miller
At a party Friday night for the stars of new NBC shows, the Salahis showed up.
You remember them — they’re the Washington couple accused of crashing the Obamas’ first state dinner.
“I’ve known them for years,” said Lynda Erkiletian, the co-star who calls their polo club a “goat rodeo.” “They aren’t necessarily close to everyone on the show.”Indeed, said Mary Schmidt Amons, a granddaughter of Arthur Godfrey, “I’m the only one who is friends with everyone on the show.”
That means the claws can come out at any time and, apparently, do.
When I got to speak to the couple, Michaele instantly gave me a big hug, Tareq patted me on the back and both admitted a book about the “incident” would be coming out and it would explain everything in terms favorable to the Salahis.
“I’ve always believed you have to rise above the people who try to tear you down,” Michaele said. “And that’s what I’m going to do.”
Meanwhile, the others gave her and her husband a pretty cold shoulder.
The “incident”? “We had no idea it had happened until after it was in the news,” Amons said. “It was really unfortunate because it really put our show in a different light.”
The dinner, in fact, came near the end of filming season one.
To get a glimpse of the hoopla, tune into the “Real Housewives of D.C.” It premieres Thursday on Bravo and, yup, it’s in keeping with the other installments in the franchise.
Press Tour: Meet Tareq and Michaele Salahi
By: Bruce Miller
At a party Friday night for the stars of new NBC shows, the Salahis showed up.
You remember them — they’re the Washington couple accused of crashing the Obamas’ first state dinner.
Michaele and Tareq are featured in Bravo’s new reality series, “The Real Housewives of D.C.” and, true to form, they’re not exactly loved by their fellow Washingtonians. Just feet away from the couple — who worked the room better than more tested stars like Jimmy Smits and Sharon Gless — Michaele’s co-stars admitted it was “very unfortunate” that the Salahis’ situation had to cast a pall on their new series.
“I’ve known them for years,” said Lynda Erkiletian, the co-star who calls their polo club a “goat rodeo.” “They aren’t necessarily close to everyone on the show.”That means the claws can come out at any time and, apparently, do.
When I got to speak to the couple, Michaele instantly gave me a big hug, Tareq patted me on the back and both admitted a book about the “incident” would be coming out and it would explain everything in terms favorable to the Salahis.
“I’ve always believed you have to rise above the people who try to tear you down,” Michaele said. “And that’s what I’m going to do.”
Meanwhile, the others gave her and her husband a pretty cold shoulder.
The “incident”? “We had no idea it had happened until after it was in the news,” Amons said. “It was really unfortunate because it really put our show in a different light.”
The dinner, in fact, came near the end of filming season one.
To get a glimpse of the hoopla, tune into the “Real Housewives of D.C.” It premieres Thursday on Bravo and, yup, it’s in keeping with the other installments in the franchise.
Bethenny To Appear On Fresh Food Fast
Article from OK magazine.
Bethenny’s Baby Will Eat Butternut Squash
Author: Valerie Nome
When Bethenny Frankel stops by to guest on Emeril Lagasse’s Cooking Channel show Fresh Food Fast, she’s already had a busy morning that includes breastfeeding two-month-old daughter Bryn and filling in on The View.
“I’m lucky, I’m happy, it feels like it’s my moment right now,” the Bethenny Getting Married? star, 39, tells me. “It feels like a good moment. I’m grateful, I’m lucky. I’m excited. I’m particularly excited about this Emeril show because I am a chef, and not as good of a chef as Emeril by any stretch of the imagination – not as experienced by every stretch of the imagination, but it will be fun to cook with someone like him. I appreciate his love of food and his love of local food, and real food, and that he’s passionate about it.”
Hmm, has Bethenny served up a special dish for her daughter yet?
“No, she’s not on solid food yet, but the first thing she eats will be my cooking,” she tells me. “It will be pureed butternut squash because I love to make it, I love to eat it, and it’s like baby food.”
Now that Bethenny is a mom, she’s noticed her food cravings have changed.
“I’ve been eating a lot more protein because of breastfeeding. There are times that I’ve gone through when I’ve been vegetarian, and lately I’ve been wanting chicken more. It could be a turkey burger, it could be chicken on a salad. I think my body’s craving protein. I actually need it.”
Still, hubby Jason Hoppy isn’t suffering now that Bethenny has another person to please.
“I created a low-fat enchilada a couple weeks ago that I put in my newsletter, and my husband loves it. Typically Mexican’s really fattening, and this is a low-fat, low calorie enchilada, and it’s as good as any Mexican restaurant. We’re both surprised by it. It’s good.”
Perhaps Emeril will share his tips for making an eclectic eater out of daughter Bryn.
“I try to tell families that it starts from the top, so if dad’s moaning and whining that he doesn’t like broccoli and he doesn’t like brussel sprouts, then that filters down immediately to the kids,” she tells me. “At an early age, you can turn them off without trying or knowing what it is. I try to encourage my kids and their friends, if they have friends over, to experiment. We don’t talk about ‘do you like this?’ or ‘do you like this?’ This is what we’re having for dinner. We’re having Brazillian fish stew, and that’s what we’re having for dinner tonight. There are not a lot of options.”
Pick up the OK! on newsstands now for a behind-the-scenes look at Bethenny and Emeril from his Cooking Channel show Fresh Food Fast. The cover line is “Kourtney Vs. Kim: It’s War Over Scott.” And, watch for Bethenny’s episode of Fresh Food Fast, which will air later this year. For now, catch Bethenny Getting Married?, which airs Thursdays at 10/9C on Bravo.
Bethenny’s Baby Will Eat Butternut Squash
Author: Valerie Nome
When Bethenny Frankel stops by to guest on Emeril Lagasse’s Cooking Channel show Fresh Food Fast, she’s already had a busy morning that includes breastfeeding two-month-old daughter Bryn and filling in on The View.
“I’m lucky, I’m happy, it feels like it’s my moment right now,” the Bethenny Getting Married? star, 39, tells me. “It feels like a good moment. I’m grateful, I’m lucky. I’m excited. I’m particularly excited about this Emeril show because I am a chef, and not as good of a chef as Emeril by any stretch of the imagination – not as experienced by every stretch of the imagination, but it will be fun to cook with someone like him. I appreciate his love of food and his love of local food, and real food, and that he’s passionate about it.”Hmm, has Bethenny served up a special dish for her daughter yet?
“No, she’s not on solid food yet, but the first thing she eats will be my cooking,” she tells me. “It will be pureed butternut squash because I love to make it, I love to eat it, and it’s like baby food.”
Now that Bethenny is a mom, she’s noticed her food cravings have changed.
“I’ve been eating a lot more protein because of breastfeeding. There are times that I’ve gone through when I’ve been vegetarian, and lately I’ve been wanting chicken more. It could be a turkey burger, it could be chicken on a salad. I think my body’s craving protein. I actually need it.”
Still, hubby Jason Hoppy isn’t suffering now that Bethenny has another person to please.
“I created a low-fat enchilada a couple weeks ago that I put in my newsletter, and my husband loves it. Typically Mexican’s really fattening, and this is a low-fat, low calorie enchilada, and it’s as good as any Mexican restaurant. We’re both surprised by it. It’s good.”
Perhaps Emeril will share his tips for making an eclectic eater out of daughter Bryn.
“I try to tell families that it starts from the top, so if dad’s moaning and whining that he doesn’t like broccoli and he doesn’t like brussel sprouts, then that filters down immediately to the kids,” she tells me. “At an early age, you can turn them off without trying or knowing what it is. I try to encourage my kids and their friends, if they have friends over, to experiment. We don’t talk about ‘do you like this?’ or ‘do you like this?’ This is what we’re having for dinner. We’re having Brazillian fish stew, and that’s what we’re having for dinner tonight. There are not a lot of options.”
Pick up the OK! on newsstands now for a behind-the-scenes look at Bethenny and Emeril from his Cooking Channel show Fresh Food Fast. The cover line is “Kourtney Vs. Kim: It’s War Over Scott.” And, watch for Bethenny’s episode of Fresh Food Fast, which will air later this year. For now, catch Bethenny Getting Married?, which airs Thursdays at 10/9C on Bravo.
Gretchen And Slade At Twin Cities Live
Pics./Tweets of Gretchen and Slade with Melissa from Twin Cities Live and Kelly Jordan. Below is a link to see Gretchen's interview.
Click HERE to see Gretchen on Twin Cities Live.
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| Two of the nicest people in Hollywood (@gretchenrossi and @sladesmiley)! Thanks for coming to @twincities_live! |
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| @SladeSmiley @kelly_jordan and @GretchenRossi The @twincities_live audience LOVED her & her new handbags |
Click HERE to see Gretchen on Twin Cities Live.
Reality TV Now Taking Over Gossip Magazines
Article from the Washington Post.
Reality TV is affecting reality, creating a weird world for gossip writers
Drawing lines between reality and reality TV shows
By Amy Argetsinger
What's happened to my beloved gossip rags?
I used to enjoy peering into the private lives of the rich and famous: who was dating whom, who was having babies, who was feuding, who had a stunning new home.
But the famous (if not necessarily rich) these days are reality TV stars, and their private lives are paradoxically public fodder for their shows. That's left the gossip press completely co-opted, pushing stories that are little more than recaps and promos -- advertising, really -- for television programs.
As a reporter who covers the world of celebrity, I probably mourn the declining quality of tabloid trash -- and fear the arrival of "The Real Housewives of D.C." -- more than most of you. Lately, you see, I'm getting constantly getting tripped up by reality-tainted faux gossip.
Tori Spelling's marriage in trouble? Sounds promising when I spot that headline in my People-Us Weekly-TMZ browsing. Should we keep an eye out for a divorce announcement from the '90s kitsch icon? Ah, whaddaya know: Turns out "Tori Spelling's marriage in trouble" is also the story arc of her new reality series. I think she and Dean might make it after all.
The sons of a beloved TV personality open up about their father's recent death -- poignant, no? But what if the TV personality is a reality star, and the interview runs not soon after his death but months later, just as his death episode is set to air? (To record-setting viewership, natch.) I'm sorry for your loss, sons of Captain Phil Harris of Discovery's "Deadliest Catch," but this ain't news anymore.
That's why, much as I hate to write about them, I'll grudgingly give props to the Kardashians, who actually do real-life things (marrying NBA stars, having babies) that might legitimately qualify as "news" even if, theoretically speaking, the sisters were famous for something other than starring in the reality shows on which said blessed events are about to be showcased.
In the age of Balloon Boy and Michaele Salahi, we've all wondered how much reality TV is affecting reality -- how the desire to create good television may steer a wannabe-celeb's behavior. (Poor Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston. An unromantic public immediately assumed that their surprise engagement was a bid for a TV deal.) But it's also created a crazy hall-of-mirrors effect for the media attempting to cover this world.
In some ways this new breed of celebrity -- more raw, less guarded than the Hollywood elite -- has been good for the tabs. The gossip sheets struck gold last year when they turned up evidence that one Mr. Jon Gosselin, at the time best known as the beleaguered Pennsylvania dad of eight kids on TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8," was cruising Wyomissing area nightspots minus Kate. The media frenzy over their breakup spurred epic ratings, and even after viewership subsided, the Gosselin saga remained popular with gossip consumers. The stories about Jon and Kate may now be bigger than their show ever was.
But I'm convinced reality TV comes out way ahead in this unholy partnership. Take "The Bachelor." The looking-for-love show had been lagging in the ratings for years, until 2007, when Brad Womack scandalized viewers by rejecting all the women competing for his heart. The celebrity rags dove in to investigate what's wrong with that guy? And they haven't left the "Bachelor" beat since, expending the same kind of probing energy on the Jason-Molly-Melissa love triangle or the Ed and Jillian infidelity reports that they once devoted to the watershed breakup of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt.
Bravo's "Housewives" franchise is particularly shrewd about crafting plotlines that spin out parallel faux news stories. Last year, some of the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" hinted on-air that one of their own had a scandalous past. Tri-state newspapers quickly exhumed a 1980s kidnapping-extortion case involving cast member Danielle Staub, and New Jersey ended up being the highest-rated "Housewives" season to date. Who knows if producers schemed behind the scenes to make sure the other wives uncovered Staub's obscure secrets -- but did the media get played here, as well? Was this really a valid celebrity news story -- or just an unpaid ad?
So from the time we learned that Bravo was considering Tareq and Michaele Salahi for the D.C. installment, I steeled myself. I knew there were plenty of seamy allegations surrounding these small-time Northern Virginia socialites; we'd reported some of them over the years. But I resolved we'd get ahead of Bravo's PR blitz and reveal the Salahis' travails on our own schedule, spoilers be damned.
But then, for once, the news got ahead of reality TV -- way ahead. The Washington Post broke the story when the Salahis crashed a White House state dinner in November, months before they'd even been confirmed as cast members, and then their controversial business dealings came to light.
For a while, I vainly imagined that The Post had killed "Real Housewives" by exposing its allegedly glamorous stars as bankrupt graspers.
Instead, judging from the previews, producers embraced the saga of the Salahis' disgrace. In the old days, the showbiz establishment promoted its stars as flawless, godlike creatures -- and then the gossip columns and tabloids could revel in dishing the dirt on them. But in the new show business, reality producers are doing both jobs: building up their stars, but also exposing and embarrassing them.
So what's left for us, the gossip writers? These people are celebrities in their own way, and celebrities are my beat. Many readers are interested in these characters (that, of course, is why the celeb mags have gotten trapped in this cycle), so we'll continue to cover them. When I learned that one of the D.C. "Housewives" was the same woman who, under a different name, sold her story of canoodling with Prince Harry to a British tabloid, I reported it out -- same as I would have if it had been any other rising local socialite. (And then I wondered if that was exactly what Bravo wanted me to do.)
And then there are the Salahis. Launched to notoriety by the White House incident, they certainly gave us plenty of other legitimate news to write about -- massive debts, ugly court battles, a bitter family feud over their winery, a state probe of their charity polo match. They declined to talk to The Post during our investigation last winter but sent an e-mail via a rep blaming several other people by name for their financial problems.
One unlikely name jumped out. It was the college-age daughter of one of the other D.C. "Housewives"; the rep claimed she stole from the Salahis. That was intriguing, I thought -- a sign of an ugly rift between these families brought together by Bravo. Couldn't wait to write about that.
And then I saw an extended preview of the new show. The hot tip evaporated: There, on the screen, Tareq Salahi was making the same accusation to the mother's face, in front of the camera, for the nation to hear. The Salahis weren't giving me a story. Just a preview of coming attractions.
Reality TV is affecting reality, creating a weird world for gossip writers
Drawing lines between reality and reality TV shows
By Amy Argetsinger
What's happened to my beloved gossip rags?
I used to enjoy peering into the private lives of the rich and famous: who was dating whom, who was having babies, who was feuding, who had a stunning new home.
But the famous (if not necessarily rich) these days are reality TV stars, and their private lives are paradoxically public fodder for their shows. That's left the gossip press completely co-opted, pushing stories that are little more than recaps and promos -- advertising, really -- for television programs.
As a reporter who covers the world of celebrity, I probably mourn the declining quality of tabloid trash -- and fear the arrival of "The Real Housewives of D.C." -- more than most of you. Lately, you see, I'm getting constantly getting tripped up by reality-tainted faux gossip.
Tori Spelling's marriage in trouble? Sounds promising when I spot that headline in my People-Us Weekly-TMZ browsing. Should we keep an eye out for a divorce announcement from the '90s kitsch icon? Ah, whaddaya know: Turns out "Tori Spelling's marriage in trouble" is also the story arc of her new reality series. I think she and Dean might make it after all.
The sons of a beloved TV personality open up about their father's recent death -- poignant, no? But what if the TV personality is a reality star, and the interview runs not soon after his death but months later, just as his death episode is set to air? (To record-setting viewership, natch.) I'm sorry for your loss, sons of Captain Phil Harris of Discovery's "Deadliest Catch," but this ain't news anymore.
That's why, much as I hate to write about them, I'll grudgingly give props to the Kardashians, who actually do real-life things (marrying NBA stars, having babies) that might legitimately qualify as "news" even if, theoretically speaking, the sisters were famous for something other than starring in the reality shows on which said blessed events are about to be showcased.
In some ways this new breed of celebrity -- more raw, less guarded than the Hollywood elite -- has been good for the tabs. The gossip sheets struck gold last year when they turned up evidence that one Mr. Jon Gosselin, at the time best known as the beleaguered Pennsylvania dad of eight kids on TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8," was cruising Wyomissing area nightspots minus Kate. The media frenzy over their breakup spurred epic ratings, and even after viewership subsided, the Gosselin saga remained popular with gossip consumers. The stories about Jon and Kate may now be bigger than their show ever was.
But I'm convinced reality TV comes out way ahead in this unholy partnership. Take "The Bachelor." The looking-for-love show had been lagging in the ratings for years, until 2007, when Brad Womack scandalized viewers by rejecting all the women competing for his heart. The celebrity rags dove in to investigate what's wrong with that guy? And they haven't left the "Bachelor" beat since, expending the same kind of probing energy on the Jason-Molly-Melissa love triangle or the Ed and Jillian infidelity reports that they once devoted to the watershed breakup of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt.
Bravo's "Housewives" franchise is particularly shrewd about crafting plotlines that spin out parallel faux news stories. Last year, some of the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" hinted on-air that one of their own had a scandalous past. Tri-state newspapers quickly exhumed a 1980s kidnapping-extortion case involving cast member Danielle Staub, and New Jersey ended up being the highest-rated "Housewives" season to date. Who knows if producers schemed behind the scenes to make sure the other wives uncovered Staub's obscure secrets -- but did the media get played here, as well? Was this really a valid celebrity news story -- or just an unpaid ad?
So from the time we learned that Bravo was considering Tareq and Michaele Salahi for the D.C. installment, I steeled myself. I knew there were plenty of seamy allegations surrounding these small-time Northern Virginia socialites; we'd reported some of them over the years. But I resolved we'd get ahead of Bravo's PR blitz and reveal the Salahis' travails on our own schedule, spoilers be damned.
But then, for once, the news got ahead of reality TV -- way ahead. The Washington Post broke the story when the Salahis crashed a White House state dinner in November, months before they'd even been confirmed as cast members, and then their controversial business dealings came to light.
For a while, I vainly imagined that The Post had killed "Real Housewives" by exposing its allegedly glamorous stars as bankrupt graspers.
Instead, judging from the previews, producers embraced the saga of the Salahis' disgrace. In the old days, the showbiz establishment promoted its stars as flawless, godlike creatures -- and then the gossip columns and tabloids could revel in dishing the dirt on them. But in the new show business, reality producers are doing both jobs: building up their stars, but also exposing and embarrassing them.
So what's left for us, the gossip writers? These people are celebrities in their own way, and celebrities are my beat. Many readers are interested in these characters (that, of course, is why the celeb mags have gotten trapped in this cycle), so we'll continue to cover them. When I learned that one of the D.C. "Housewives" was the same woman who, under a different name, sold her story of canoodling with Prince Harry to a British tabloid, I reported it out -- same as I would have if it had been any other rising local socialite. (And then I wondered if that was exactly what Bravo wanted me to do.)
And then there are the Salahis. Launched to notoriety by the White House incident, they certainly gave us plenty of other legitimate news to write about -- massive debts, ugly court battles, a bitter family feud over their winery, a state probe of their charity polo match. They declined to talk to The Post during our investigation last winter but sent an e-mail via a rep blaming several other people by name for their financial problems.
One unlikely name jumped out. It was the college-age daughter of one of the other D.C. "Housewives"; the rep claimed she stole from the Salahis. That was intriguing, I thought -- a sign of an ugly rift between these families brought together by Bravo. Couldn't wait to write about that.
And then I saw an extended preview of the new show. The hot tip evaporated: There, on the screen, Tareq Salahi was making the same accusation to the mother's face, in front of the camera, for the nation to hear. The Salahis weren't giving me a story. Just a preview of coming attractions.
BGM 7-29-10 Recap
Article from The Stir.
'Bethenny Getting Married' Recap: Bryn Hoppy Will Spark Population Explosion
by Julie Ryan Evans
It would be a hard-hearted woman who didn't shed a tear or feel the tiniest little tinge to have a baby after watching Bethenny Getting Married this week. Bryn Hoppy is so adorable that I'm convinced birth rates will rise because of her.
Tears were jerked right off the bat in the emotional episode in which they brought baby Bryn home. Jason's parents' reaction when Bethenny Frankel told them Bryn's name, in honor of their son who was killed at age 19, was incredible; no wonder Jason is such a good guy.
Then there was Bethenny's revelation to Jason about why she wanted a girl so much.
"I wanted to give a girl what I didn't have -- a relationship with her mother that I didn't have."
Jason's breakdown when he realized the magnitude of his parents losing a child when he loved Bryn so much after just a few days was one of the most touching moments I've seen in reality TV.
I cried when they introduced Bryn to the dog, and I even got misty when Bethenny had her first margarita (Skinny Girl, of course).
The most emotional moments, however, came when Bryn got camera time. She is the cutest, sweetest, tiniest little package of perfection. All I could think of was when I brought my own tiny little preemie home.
Thank God there were comedic moments, because I was in need of a sob break. Jason and Bethenny trying -- unsuccessfully -- to get the car seat out of the car definitely lightened things up.
"I went to get-your-baby-out-of-the-car school, and now the baby has to live in the car," Bethenny said before the nurse came and rescued Bryn.
There were also some memorable Max (her assistant) moments, like him making the most awkward date request ever, and a really rude stylist who kept calling him Fraggle Rock (what was that all about?!).
The rest of the episode showed Bethenny experiencing some of the realities of motherhood, like sleep deprivation and fearing for her baby's safety.
All in all, it was a great episode that took me back to my children's newborn days. And while we're done, really done, when it comes to having more children, nothing -- or rather no one -- has made me rethink that stance like little Bryn Hoppy.
How much did you cry while watching Bethenny Getting Married tonight?
'Bethenny Getting Married' Recap: Bryn Hoppy Will Spark Population Explosion
by Julie Ryan Evans
It would be a hard-hearted woman who didn't shed a tear or feel the tiniest little tinge to have a baby after watching Bethenny Getting Married this week. Bryn Hoppy is so adorable that I'm convinced birth rates will rise because of her.
Tears were jerked right off the bat in the emotional episode in which they brought baby Bryn home. Jason's parents' reaction when Bethenny Frankel told them Bryn's name, in honor of their son who was killed at age 19, was incredible; no wonder Jason is such a good guy.
Then there was Bethenny's revelation to Jason about why she wanted a girl so much.
"I wanted to give a girl what I didn't have -- a relationship with her mother that I didn't have."
I cried when they introduced Bryn to the dog, and I even got misty when Bethenny had her first margarita (Skinny Girl, of course).
The most emotional moments, however, came when Bryn got camera time. She is the cutest, sweetest, tiniest little package of perfection. All I could think of was when I brought my own tiny little preemie home.
Thank God there were comedic moments, because I was in need of a sob break. Jason and Bethenny trying -- unsuccessfully -- to get the car seat out of the car definitely lightened things up.
"I went to get-your-baby-out-of-the-car school, and now the baby has to live in the car," Bethenny said before the nurse came and rescued Bryn.
There were also some memorable Max (her assistant) moments, like him making the most awkward date request ever, and a really rude stylist who kept calling him Fraggle Rock (what was that all about?!).
The rest of the episode showed Bethenny experiencing some of the realities of motherhood, like sleep deprivation and fearing for her baby's safety.
All in all, it was a great episode that took me back to my children's newborn days. And while we're done, really done, when it comes to having more children, nothing -- or rather no one -- has made me rethink that stance like little Bryn Hoppy.
How much did you cry while watching Bethenny Getting Married tonight?
Danielle Lover Is A Jacqueline Hater
Tweets from Jacqueline. One to her and One to Danielle by the same dude.
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