Bravo Is Deliberately ‘Playing With Fire’ By Playing Up Carole Radziwill’s Alleged Connections to Jeffrey Epstein, Insider Says
Bravo is making a desperate play to save the flagging Real Housewives of New York City franchise. But the move could backfire in a major way, some say.
Bravo stirs up controversy with Carole Radziwill’s return
In 2023, after a lackluster season 13, the network introduced an entirely new cast for RHONY. But the rebooted show hasn’t been well-received by many Bravo fans, who haven’t warmed to the new cast. So, for season 16, producers are switching things up again, this time by introducing former cast member Carole Radziwill to the current group of Housewives.
But there’s a problem. While Radziwill’s casting appeals to those nostalgic for the old RHONY, it raises some uncomfortable issues because of her former association with Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker who helped groom and recruit girls for financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Radziwill was friends with Maxwell for several years in the early 2000s, and Maxwell even took the author photo for Radziwill’s 2007 memoir, What Remains. But the Bravo star says she knew nothing of Maxwell’s crimes and never met Epstein.
“Imagine knowing someone… and then they turn out to be, like, a monster,” she said in an interview with The New York Times earlier this year.
Bravo is taking a big risk, TV veteran says
Some Bravo fans have questioned Radziwill’s casting and vowed not to watch the new season of RHONY, which premieres September 8. But Bravo execs apparently believe the controversy will reignite interest in the show.
“Nobody accidentally drags Jeffrey Epstein into the promotion of a Housewives show,” a Bravo insider told Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice substack. “They didn’t have to bring Carole back, revisit these connections or make this part of the conversation. They chose every single step.”
One expert says that Bravo’s move may not play out the way it hopes.
“This is playing with fire,” a veteran TV source said. “These were horrific crimes with real victims. Turning even the outer edges of that story into reality-TV intrigue could blow up spectacularly.”
Meanwhile, producer Andy Cohen has promised that Radziwill will not shy away from tough questions about her past.
“[T]hey’re missing out,” Cohen said in a post on Threads in response to the people threatening to boycott RHONY Season 16. “And [Radziwill] answers everything you’d want to know about it on the show.”
The Real Housewives of New York City Season 16 premieres Tuesday, September 8 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
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