Bethenny Frankel Returns Hard Jabs At THIS Fellow Housewife

Bethenny Frankel has clapped back at fellow Housewife Jessel Taank for dubbing her the "most overrated 'Housewife.'"

As far as the 52-year-old is concerned, Taank had made that point solely to stay in the spotlight. The dramatic reaction comes soon after Frankel asserted that she isn't pursuing a lawsuit against Bravo over a "toxic environment" but remains committed to advocating for systemic changes in the reality television industry.

Fans of Frankel are no strangers to seeing her speak confidently about several issues, including her occasional drama with other "The Real Housewives of New York" cast members. She most recently got into it with Taank after the latter chose her as the "most overrated 'Housewife'" during an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen."

For her rebuttal, the 2005 "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" runner-up utilized the power of her "ReWives" podcast, saying:

"If you have someone who's on the New York 'Housewives' now in a post-successful era, they're gonna wanna squeeze that sponge for any amount of liquid they can squeeze it for. And you can never blame them. You cannot blame the talent because they need the relevance, the fame — it's why they went on the show."

She then alleged that her former colleague had picked her as the franchise's "most overrated" because the question was "planted and produced." As the mother of one explained:

"The way it works on 'Watch What Happens Live' is in the dressing room, Andy comes in and talks about what he wants to talk about."

Carrying on with her critique of Taank and the "RHONY" reboot, Frankel suggested that the show's viewership had declined significantly, with only a "couple hundred thousand" weekly viewers.

"[The show] needs the press. A woman on that show who's not relevant yet — well, who's new, so by definition, you're not that relevant, and you're on a show that has arced and is on the back end," the "Bethenny" headliner detailed.

She also reiterated her previous comment that Cohen asks "problematic questions" that are "designed just to get someone to trash someone else." The "Bethenny Ever After" alum conclusively expressed that she "really" doesn't "blame the person sitting in the chair," calling "WWHL" a "clickbait environment."

On Monday, Frankel took to her Instagram page to clarify that even though she had sworn to expose the 'systemic rot' behind the scenes of Bravo's hit television series, she had no plans to sue them. "I have not hired lawyers nor am I suing," the New York University alum wrote in the 3-slide post, instead claiming: 

"The reality reckoning, is true, real, and I'll lead by example and evolve for myself and for my daughter. This is not only a reckoning within an industry but one within myself."

The lengthy post had also seen the Skinny Girl mogul declaring that she "did not know what she signed up for" when she joined the "Real Housewives" cast in 2008. However, she admitted that she "would do it again" to avoid being "broke and afraid."

Late last month, the entrepreneur shared a video on her Instagram page, using the phrase "I was the question mark character" to emphasize that she was an unexpected addition to the show.

Recalling how they got into the mix, Frankel disclosed that the show's production company had begun a search for an extra cast member after initially planning for only four wives per Bravo's request.

During this time, she met Jill Zarin at Polo in the Hamptons. She mentioned facing financial challenges and didn't have a spouse then. Zarin and her husband, Bobby, eventually recommended her to the show's producers, who ended up being impressed with her after seeing her on camera.

Despite loving her at first glance, she claimed that "Bravo didn't want me because they didn't want someone who had been on reality TV before." Luckily, a significant person at the production company, Ricochet — which later became Shed — named Jen O'Connor, advocated for her inclusion in the long-running project. 

Wrapping up, Frankel drew a parallel between herself and Jo from the first season of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," pointing out that they were both unmarried and younger than the other cast members when they joined their respective "Real Housewives" series.