By:Annie Groer
Michaele Salahi may insist she and husband Tareq really, really, really were invited to that White House state dinner last November. But at least two of her four co-stars in "The Real Housewives of DC" -- Mary "mother of five" Amons and real estate agent Stacie Turner -- consider them crashers.
Both women, however, claim the notorious incident that made worldwide headlines is only a small part of the Bravo network's capital city franchise that premieres Aug. 5.
"I was just shocked that anybody would have the gall to crash a party like that," Turner said via media conference call Thursday. She described her blond cast mate as a friendly, lighthearted "social butterfly."
"It's very clear to us the show is not about the Salahis," added Amons.
Indeed, as if on cue to prove D.C. "Housewives" is heavily about family and charity and local politics and, yes, four other "ladies" in addition to Michaele of the red sari, Amons inexplicably went silent for part of the press conference. "Matt just put a baseball through the living room window," she announced cheerily when she finally rejoined Turner.
Awwwww.
In other "Housewives" news:
At least four of the five have written or are planning memoirs, to cash in on their hoped-for stardom. Amons -- whose kids range from 24 to 12 and who runs two fashion-oriented charities -- presumably will describe a life juggling a "jillion jobs." Turner -- adopted out of foster care when just 6 months old, and who earned a Harvard MBA -- took a TV crew on her search for her birth father. Talk about self-help, feel-good fodder will include her charity that helps young girls in the city's problem-plagued foster system.
The Salahis already have a well-regarded co-author to tell their tales of breaching White House security, running a family vineyard currently mired in litigation, and founding a polo team that raises money for worthy causes.
Catherine "Cat" Ommanney, self-described interior designer whose 20-month marriage to fellow Brit and Newsweek photographer Charles Ommanney couldn't survive the intrusive "Housewives" cameras, has already finished "Inbox Full." It's about her racy days in London and due out this year. No word yet on the literary ambitions of Lynda Erkiletian, who founded a D.C. modeling agency 30 years ago.
One journo asked Amons if there would be "Palin kind of moments" where her kids went totally off the reservation. (Think Sarah Palin's oldest daughter, Bristol, getting pregnant at 17 and having a very public on-and-off-and-on-again romance with baby daddy Levi Johnston).
No, of course not, said Amons. Hers are "good kids," including Lolly, who moved back home after getting herself in a financial hole and discovered she's a talented artist.
As the only cast member of color in a majority-black metropolis that she refers to by its retro "Chocolate City" nickname, Turner said she felt "so much pressure" to perform well. "I can only hope I represent the African-American lifestyle well, being a woman, a mom."
Although the Salahis announced several weeks back they would host a glam Aug. 5 screening party (tickets would cost $20 to $100, but military personnel could attend for free), that fete is not happening.
Instead, there will be a small screening for the cast, their families and friends. I, for one, cannot wait to see all five ladies in the same room.
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