Bravo Tells Striking ‘Real Housewives of New York’ Cast to Stand Down or You’re Fired (Updated 5/13/2013)
May 11, 2013 149 Comments
UPDATE May 13, 2013: The battle in the Big Apple is over! The women were bitterly fighting all the way to the end, and they still didn’t really get what they wanted. “These ladies were really trying to get more money out of Bravo but they were desperate to stay on the show,” a source close to the situation explained. “No one wanted to leave and they felt like they were strong-armed by Bravo. The Housewives really thought if they all stuck together they would get a huge bump in their salaries, but it didn’t work and instead they were told to either take the small increase or leave the show, and leaving wasn’t an option.” Aviva was one of the lucky women, getting a bump from $60,000 to $100,000, but the source said all of the women had all hoped for larger increases. “It costs a lot of money to keep up the lifestyle that the show wants these women to portray and they tried to get Bravo to up their salaries, but when they tried to play tough the network had more leverage in the end.” Now that the Housewives have new contracts, they’re going to have to really step up their game the source said. “The women have to do more than just throw wine at each other, there has to be some excitement in the season or else the network might just get rid of them once and for all.” [RadarOnline, May 13, 2013]
Erica @EricaCooper
@CaroleRadziwill @GraceIn2013 I could see your point if U were on Jersey. THAT is a war zone! LOL! I hope it works out.Carole Radziwill @CaroleRadziwill
@EricaCooper @GraceIn2013 Haha! Thats true. This is harder than war.Carole Radziwill @CaroleRadziwill
@plainviewsue @bravo Comcast…the parent company announced record earnings 1.4billion in first quarter. Wow. #wagegapLive, Laugh, Love @GraceIn2013
@CaroleRadziwill Wow. I used to work in production so I know that must be low. Doesn’t make sense since they doubled R & L’s salary last yr.Carole Radziwill @CaroleRadziwill
@GraceIn2013 I was paid more at ABC as an associate producer and that was in the 90s!Erica @EricaCooper
@CaroleRadziwill @GraceIn2013 Everyone got paid more in the 90s! (Plus didn’t you go to war zones?)Seth Bowling @sethtbowling
@CaroleRadziwill you shouldn’t turn down a PAYING job that only increases your exposure to make MORE money #RichPeopleProblemsCarole Radziwill @CaroleRadziwill
@sethtbowling your’e an idiot. getting my picture taken doesn’t pay my bills. people should get paid a fair wage for a job done well. duh.Seth Bowling @sethtbowling
@CaroleRadziwill it’s a recession and its an EASY job. Thanks for saying I’m an idiot, but if I had opportunities to SHINE on TV I WOULD!MIKE @holler82
@CaroleRadziwill we want u back Carole! Real & not down w/ the fake BS!
TheWrap reported on May 11, 2013, that Bravo told striking ‘Real Housewives of New York’ cast to stand down or you’re fired. The following is their story:
Negotiations between Bravo and the cast of “The Real Housewives of New York” for Season 6 are at a standstill. The women have delayed production by banding together in “Friends-Style” negotiations for higher paychecks.
But, Bravo isn’t about to be manipulated by the striking cast members.
And contrary to other reports, it never considered canceling the series over the salary standoff, individuals close to the production told TheWrap. The network is determined to call the women’s bluff and not give in to their demands.
“They’re getting greedy and feeling entitled,” one insider said about firing the entire cast if they don’t stand down. “They are all replaceable.”
The four women (Ramona Singer, Heather Thomson, Carole Radziwill and Aviva Drescher) who received offer letters had already been given raises over last season’s salaries, which have been reported to range from $175,000 to $500,000 a season.
Additionally, the women are able to augment their salaries by marketing their other business ventures and products on the show. So, the network has no intention of giving them any more money.
Clearly, the women banding together is the worst case scenario, especially since it has delayed the start of production this week. But, Bravo won’t allow the alliance to win and risk having the casts of its other series doing the same type of group negotiation.
Bravo has at least three possible replacements waiting in the wings in case negotiations didn’t go well with any of last season’s cast members. And the network has no doubt that it could find more New York City ladies to fill the other roles.
It should also be noted that the aforementioned four housewives were the only cast members officially invited back. That means that Sonja Morgan and LuAnn DeLesseps have very little bargaining leverage.
Providing further perspective on the negotiations, a former New York cast member told TheWrap:
“No woman really leaves ‘Real Housewives’ by choice.”
The cast members have too much to lose when they’re no longer able to leverage their exposure for promoting their products, getting media attention for their charities, etc.
Moving on with a totally different cast does have its risks. After replacing four women on Season 5, the season became the series second-lowest rated of its run. So, of course, there’s some worry inside the company over whether ratings will suffer if it replaces the entire cast.
The insiders told us that the network is willing to take the risk of totally recasting “RHONY” to make sure that it sends a strong message to the casts of its other shows.
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