Yesterday, The Huffington Post reported that four prominent cast members from The Real Housewives of New York City were being let go before the next season of the Bravo series. Jill Zarin, Alex McCord and Kelly Bensimon were all reported to be cut and Cindy Barshop’s fate was dangling on a thread. This would leave Countess LuAnn de Lesseps and Ramona Singer, but these cuts seemed pretty unlikely. Who would watch a show without the other ladies?
Well, Real Housewives fans, you can breathe easy(er) for now. Both Zarin and McCord released statements alleging that their contracts are not kaput, but that they are in limbo. Perhaps all this back and forth between “inside sources” claiming they’re out and their reps claiming it’s not so is part of a paycheck negotiation game a la Jennifer Lopez’s little dance with American Idol. The “talent” wants more money and hesitates on inking a deal, so the “insiders” “leak” a story saying the “talent” was axed. Boom: publicity and a little bit of the fear necessary to keep these ladies from demanding more cash lest they lose it all. Or it could just be that the source was mistaken or misinformed or someone’s angry secretary looking to stir the pot. Whatever the case, the point is that no one is axed yet.
The cast’s fate is up in the air, but the series has yet to clean house — and let’s face it, they may get rid of one or two ladies, but slashing half the cast would be a misadvised move. So don’t go out back and burn your copies of “Money Can’t Buy You Class” just yet, okay?
