Bethenny Frankel Calls On Reality TV Stars To Join Ongoing SAG Strike Over Lack Of 'Residuals'

Bethenny Frankel supports the ongoing Hollywood Writers and SAG strike and thinks reality TV stars should join. The former "Real Housewives of New York" star made a post asking why other reality stars are silent. Frankel said that reality stars get poorly treated by Hollywood, despite their impact during the last WGA strike.

When fans criticized Frankel for placing reality TV stars with actors and writers, she made another video. She talked about all the "blood, sweat, and tears" she put into "RHONY" and the minimal amount she's earned from the show. 

Keep on reading to learn more.

Frankel recently took to Instagram to question why reality TV stars have yet to join the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. The former "Real Housewives of New York" star made an Instagram post on Wednesday talking about the strike, which has shut down production on hundreds of films and shows in Hollywood.

She wrote, "Hollywood is on strike. Entertainers are fighting for residuals, and no one will promote anything. Why isn't reality TV on strike?" Frankel spoke about how reality TV stars are also exploited and used her situation with RHONY as an example. She claimed to have only made $7,250 for her first season on the show and has received nothing since.

She said, "I myself have generated millions and millions of dollars in advertising and online impressions being on reality TV and have never made a single residual. So, either I'm missing something or we're getting screwed too."

In her post, Frankel wrote about how reality TV stars get treated negatively in Hollywood. Despite their significant impact, she said they're seen as the "losers" of the entertainment industry. Frankel claimed that reality TV stars "provided all of the entertainment" when writers had their previous strike in 2007/2008.

The SkinnyGirl founder also gave examples of stars from hit reality shows like "The Bachelor" and "The Hills" who still receive "peanuts" in payment. This is despite people still watching "episodes from years gone by." She added, "It's complete and total bullsh*t. It just occurred to me, everyone is talking about actors, and we don't get paid sh*t."

In her Instagram post, Frankel urged her fellow reality celebrities to form their union and fight for fair treatment and value in the industry. In the post's caption, she wrote, "Critics will say that actors have 'talent' which is what studios pay for: in fact, studios pay for advertisers and advertisers pay for the purchasers of the household aka women. And what gets women? Reality tv."

After Frankel shared her thoughts on the strike, fans criticized her in the comments, saying she should not have placed reality TV stars on the same pedestal as actors and film writers. They pointed out that reality TV celebrities have opportunities to monetize their appearance on the shows, but actors and writers survive on what the studios pay.

Frankel made another video in response to the comments, in which she emphasized her previous point. She said, "To the person who said that it's already fair because I get to monetize it: Yeah. I got the same opportunity that hundreds of other people have had to monetize it and failed."

Frankel further said, "So through blood sweat and tears I worked my a** off to justify the $7,250 paycheck for multiple episodes in 2008. Episodes that are still being used for monetization in 2023 — where two entities are profiting and I am not."

Despite making "peanuts" from her appearance on the first season of "RHONY," Frankel's salary quickly rose. By the time she left the reality TV show, she was reportedly earning $1 million for each season, which is a pretty big number.

Frankel first exited the show in 2011 after a big feud with co-star Jill Zarin and returned in 2015. She stayed for the next four years but finally confirmed that she'd left the show permanently in 2019. During an interview with Variety after her exit, Frankel spoke about her reason for leaving the series.

She said, "Everyone thinks I left because of money. I wasn't leaving because of money, I was staying because of money. It no longer became this platform to promote my business, because I had done that, and there was more promoting sort of new and questionable businesses than the legitimate ones at this point, if that makes any sense."

Frankel explained that she realized she was tired of the reality TV show and needed an excuse to get out. She added, "I just was looking for a reason. And I just was ready to do it. I didn't want to be there anymore. I didn't want to be there anymore. I mean, honestly — I just didn't."