I actually don’t even have an agent. Well I do have a literary agent for my books, but that’s it. No PR person either. Bravo TV is my PR. – Teresa Giudice, August 20, 2012, ‘For Better or for Worse’
“I think you and the rest of the cast care more about magazine articles than the rest of the planet–they’re really not a big deal. Most people who live in the public eye learn not to read about themselves in tabloids. I mean, it’s like this whole season has been about the cast being angry about magazine articles–I don’t get it. Just stop reading them! Most of them are all garbage and lack any credibility anyway.” – gohomelefty, August 29, 2012, Jacqueline’s Bravo Blog
“Teresa already admitted she made money on the pictures. She has no control over the content of the articles. Everyone knows this about these gossip mags, except everyone on your show apparently.” – onesmartcookie39, August 29, 2012, Jacqueline’s Bravo Blog
Here is a letter to Caroline about the tabloids, which was sent to famewhorgas with a request to publish (it was first published on RHONJ’s Facebook page):
ATTN: CAROLINE MANZO
As promised (in spite of a hectic day). I’ll break this down in the simplest of terms since you’re an uneducated woman of limited intellect.
THE TABLOIDS AND THE COOKBOOK COMMENTS ARE A RUSE. You and your cohorts are using these issues to:
1 – Confuse Teresa because you know she gets flustered under pressure, and
2 – Distract the audience with your semantics long enough to allow you to pull off this con. Your goal: “To get rid of (Teresa) once and for all” (S4, E17).
You know exactly how the tabloids work. After all, who are the ‘INSIDE SOURCES’ who regularly “put out” all the disparaging articles about Teresa and Joe?
In case the audience had any doubts, you went so far as to confirm their suspicions. As you RELISHED in your prediction of the Giudice family’s utter demise, you reminded viewers to remember they’d “heard it here first” (S4, E13). Unfortunately for you, the story had already surfaced in Us Weekly, the publication in which you and your band of bullies regularly appear (“Exclusive: Teresa Giudice Wants Her Own Show on Bravo,” May 29, 2012).
You criticize Teresa because she has accepted compensation to shoot cover photos for In Touch. When the magazine decides to publish a story, which usually depicts Teresa and Joe in a negative light (as confirmed by Jacqueline Laurita’s blog of August 27, 2012), Teresa receives a request for comment (“to get the truth out,” as she stated in S4, E17).
You very well know these negative stories will appear with or without Teresa commenting or accepting compensation for use of her photograph.You should, especially since the elusive ‘inside sources’ are the same individuals responsible for SELLING THESE MALICIOUS STORIES. You also know Teresa has no control over how the author decides to twist her statements.
You claim Teresa made negative comments about you and your cohorts in these articles, yet you speak in generalities when Andy Cohen asks you for Teresa’s specific quotes. In fact, the snippets in the text that refer to you are derived from episodes of the show; they are your OWN quotes!
Your brother, Chris, made the most telling remark in season 4 episode 17 when he stated that Jacqueline had been approached to sell a story about TERESA to a tabloid for $50,000 (S4, E17). THIS IS THE CRUX OF THE MATTER. Millions of people want to watch TERESA, read about TERESA, and spend their money on TERESA’S BOOKS, WINE and OTHER PRODUCTS. No one gives a damn about the Manzo and Laurita families. They simply play a supporting role on THE TERESA SHOW, just like the others.
That’s why you decided to work with Melissa and Kathy to get rid of Teresa. (By the way, none of you should attempt to pursue acting careers after this stint ends. I won’t even bother commenting on Melissa’s future in Karaoke.)
As far as the cookbook is concerned, it’s simply more of your “smoke and mirrors.” To turn on a friend of 15+ years with the ruthlessness you exhibited over two innocuous jokes appears absolutely ludicrous to any reasonable person. (Especially since the one-sixteenth “Olive Garden Italian” quip was written by a staff member on the Rachel Ray Show for your meatball contest, and the “stripper car wash” was part of the first season’s storyline.)
I had a long, busy day so I won’t waste my time getting into you and your family’s exploitation of Autism and potentially fraudulent claims, but if you and your cohorts decide to hide behind this sensitive subject to escape culpability going forward, I’ll be sure to set aside some time out of my schedule to share my thoughts.
GOOD LUCK AT THE REUNION.
“Teresa, DO NOT think for one minute that the viewers have changed their minds and turned to the blk side. Bravo stopped printing most of the pro Teresa comments a couple of weeks ago. I hope you realize that none of this hatefest could have been accomplished without the help and clever backing of Ms Andy and producers. I would be suspect of any requests or suggestions by these people. At least for now, Bravo is not your friend. Keep making the money and keep your chin up. If you haven’t filmed the reunion yet, don’t let them get away with those vague generalizations. Half of the stuff in the tabloids was said by them on TV!” – Parkview, August 28, 2012, StoopidHousewives
“Your cousin is beyond belief and I’m sure she didn’t change her personality for the show, so once again, you were right about her. What a phony troublemaker. Unfortunately, I hope she will never be a part of your life. What I wish you did and will do in the future is not take the bait and never engage in a conversation under those circumstances. She wanted to entrap you, and while you didn’t care if you were heard because you had nothing to hide, don’t let someone ever put you in that position. You gave Caroline the opportunity she wanted. She exposed herself as the lunatic she is, but unless you actually want that kind of drama, to be berated and have to defend yourself, don’t do it. Better to have said to Kathy, ‘I don’t want to discuss it with you.’ Take control of the conversation and of yourself, end it when it’s uncomfortable. Walk away. Don’t give them any more ammunition to use against you. Think dignity. They are ALL not worth it. I know you will have to face them at the reunion, you DO NOT have to go overboard defending yourself, your statements, your actions. We have seen everything. You will not convince them, they don’t care, they want you to lose control. I know you are learning and you WILL keep becoming a better person. Think self-respect and role model for your daughters. Let the others be ugly and mean. You’re not. I can’t even get into the horror of your sister-in-law and your former friend. Cowards. One is silent, the other is sleeping. It’s exhausting just to watch. I wish you better friends for your life and another way to support your family. You are very strong, but your energy should be spent on something more worthwhile. Keep writing those books.” – viewer553, August 28, 2012, Teresa’s Bravo Blog
“Those high ratings are why Bravo keeps pushing Tre’s buttons. Bravo knows people like Tre so they keep pushing the drama with her. Ever since she flipped that table Bravo and Mandy have been pushing her buttons, hoping she’ll freak out again. Every move by Bravo is a calculated attempt to infuriate Tre. They want to film her losing her temper again. Sadly, flipping that table is also what got her ALL the attention and made her the star of the show. That’s the reason she got the contracts for the cookbooks, teeth whiting, Bellinis etc. Now, with those ratings, Tre’s is stuck with that sort of story line and she can’t afford to leave the show because of their financial troubles.” – OCwoman, August 29, 2012, StoopidHousewives
During season 4 episode 17, drunk Joe Giudice said Teresa sold stories, but he didn’t identify which ones, probably because he doesn’t know since Teresa is the one who deals with the tabloids. She said she sold the story with her and Jacqueline on the cover after their youngest children were born. She said she sold photos and not ‘stories’ for the In Touch covers.
Sam at LynnFam has an interesting theory on tabloidgate:
“I have a theory regarding why Tre says she only got paid for one cover. Others have said she got a multi-cover contract, and if this contract was like my multi-book contracts, it could easily have given Teresa the impression that she was only being paid for one picture, especially if all of the cover photos were taken in one photo session or in a series of shoots that took place during a compressed time period. [Teresa probably got one check but was committed for more than one cover. For all we know, it could have been struck in the same deal as the one she did with Jac since I am sure they both had different manages negotiating for them.]“
There are rumors on the blogs that Teresa is trying to hide the fact that she is paid because she arranged for payment to go to someone other than herself so that she could avoid giving Bravo their cut. Andy Cohen has asked her on a couple of occasions if she got paid, and she said only for the cover she did with Jacqueline. If the Giudices were trying to be shady, then Joe Giudice is an idiot for outing her (or maybe he was so drunk he forgot to keep his mouth shut), but I think he just doesn’t know how it works. The risk of upsetting Bravo would hardly seem worth the money she would get for the stories. This is nothing but fodder for the blogs, so there’s not much more to say about it.
“What I don’t get is that the articles about Teresa are ABOUT TERESA. Even Jaq acknowledges that… They keep screaming about her bashing them, but the only time I can think of where they got ‘bashed’ was the one where there was a blurb about each other them and the info used is pulled from their own talking heads on the show! I don’t think those bitches even know why they are upset at this point. They are just angry to be angry.” – RHOAmbler, August 27, 2012, AllAboutTRH.com
“I read all the tabloid articles. The magazine printed what Teresa’s castmates said about her on the show. If they said it on camera, why should they have a problem with it printed in a magazine.” – Lee, August 27, 2012, AllAboutTRH.com
“I don’t understand what the big deal is about the magazines. Teresa lies on herself. Why does everyone else care? She doesn’t really mention the other cast members and if the magazines do, they usually mention something they said in their talking head interviews so what’s the big deal.” – ATLnNYC09, August 27, 2012, LynnFam
“Why would Teresa swear on her kids that she ever said a bad word about Caroline if it wasn’t true? I believe she didn’t do it. Tre does talk to magazine but the magazines make things up. Magazines do make things up. I am also sure they can also take statements said in the show — put quotes on it and put it in print and build their own context around them.” – rabblerouser2010R, August 27, 2012, LynnFam
“My writer friend, who I asked about this, works for a newspaper and had only a little knowledge on the subject. Pretty much, what she told me, is in the articles linked below. She did say though, that normally tabloids pay for photos, be it paparazzi types or photo shoots (like a Kardashian wedding or Brangalina baby). They also use pre-exsisting quotes in their articles and present them as if they are part of the story. You can’t do that in newspapers. Had I known the tabloids would have had such a big part in this season I would have kept them! I remember those magazine stories and I know, because I read them, half of those ‘bad quotes’ were things that came straight from the show itself. Meaning, they said it on air. It boggles my mind that they are lying like this. I guess they think we are all too stupid to notice.” – Exit4, August 27, 2012, LynnFam
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/tabloid1.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_2292346_write-tabloid-style-article.html
By MM in OC, Comment at LynnFam
August 27, 2012 at 11:19 am
I believe the tabloid issue is all an argument over semantics. Teresa says that she is paid for photos and she answers a few questions that are asked of her. That’s much different that selling articles, which is something I believe PR people do. Teresa doesn’t know what the tenor of the article will be, what the headline is, etc. As many people have said, most of these articles have quotes directly from the show. Also, I rarely see Teresa quoted directly. This is very different than that article in People about Jax autistic son.
Regardless, the whole argument is stupid. What really makes me mad is that Chucky keeps saying that Kathy and Melissa are such nice people and she doesn’t give any credence to Teresa’s main issue – that they came on the show to create drama with the family.
The main issues seem to be jealously over Teresa’s opportunities and the dominican republic vacation where the favored sons got into a brawl and were arrested.
Finally, I think I’m the only one that couldn’t stand Carowhine’s mob mentality from the start. Her treatment of Danielle has shifted to Teresa. A hater through and through – does anyone think Caro is in a better and happy place???
By I Need A Housewives’ Detox Program, Comment at LynnFam
August 27, 2012
The things with those magazines is this, they take pix and recycle quotes and manipulate pix and take things said on the show, etc., etc.
Teresa is NOT lying about there being NUMEROUS negative stories about her and her family. Is SHE putting them out there? Jac and the rest of the gang are trying to say that Teresa is putting them out there to make people feel sorry for her. I’ve read some of those negative stories. They don’t make me feel sorry for Teresa. They make her sound like an a*shole (which leads me to believe they were put out by BRAVO or one of her castmates who also wanted to make a buck or two).
The way Teresa passionately and adamantly kept telling Caroline that she NEVER said one negative thing about her in any magazine….I don’t know. I’m sorry, but I think she was telling the truth. On WWHL, when Andy kept pressing Caroline to tell him exactly WHAT Teresa said in the mags that was so offensive to HER in particular, Caroline, in my opinion, could not really come up with anything so egregious that it justified her absolutely horrible behavior to Teresa all season.
MONTHS BEFORE Caroline gleefully made her prediction about Joe going off to jail, Teresa leaving him and writing a book about it, that same article with those exact same predictions was in Us Magazine (I know because I read it for free while I was standing in the grocery store. What? You think I was going to pay for that sh*t?!). Isn’t it funny that months later, Caroline makes that exact same prediction on the show? So, it seems like Caroline was the more likely culprit to have sold that story to Us Magazine — NOT Teresa.
At this point, with the way Caroline is behaving, the way she’s saying she wants Teresa gone, the way it was KILLING her to see Teresa getting along with her family and having a good time on the trip, the way it is KILLING her that Teresa and Dina are still friends, I would not put it past Caroline to have a hand, along with BRAVO producers, in setting it up at the end to make it look like Teresa tried to out Melissa as a former stripper. This is simply MY opinion. No offense.
Of all the cast, Teresa needs a PR agent more than any other, and it shouldn’t be Bravo TV… WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE! If her performance on WWHL on August 26, 2012 (the 1 on 1 interview with Andy Cohen) is an indication of what she plans to say at the reunion, she will turn off viewers — she has been repeating the same things over and over again all season to take on the insane clown posse, and she is starting to sound disingenuous (Caroline doesn’t sound any better, but she is good at spinning things and speaking in riddles to hide her deception, plus she will have the rest of the cast backing her).
You can’t argue with liars…they just cover one lie with another and another until you begin to question your own memory and then your own sanity…you can never resolve an issue with a liar. The best thing for Teresa to do is ignore them and not respond to their lies… if she constantly defends herself against their false accusations, she eventually will become consistently shrill and defensive.
Teresa would be better off saying nothing than to keep repeating herself like she did on WWHL. She needs to show a little humility; the others certainly won’t. Just let them attack and don’t attack back: say nothing but ‘I’m sorry I hurt you,’ give them hugs, and move on to the next topic. And she needs to stop making it seem like she has a perfect marriage… no one is buying it!
don’t care who believes me or doesn’t, this is how I feel.
