Former Real Housewives star Bethenny Frankel is calling on reality TV stars to demand the same treatment as the actors and writers who are currently on strike in Hollywood, adding, “I have never made a single residual.”
“Hollywood is on strike. Entertainers are fighting for residuals, and no one will promote anything. Why isn’t reality TV on strike? I got paid $7,250 for my first season of reality TV, and people are still watching those episodes,” Frankel said in a video posted to her Instagram on Wednesday.
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“We’ve always been the losers, the ‘I’m up here, you’re down here’ to the actresses and actors,” the reality TV star continued, adding, “during the last writers’ strike we’re providing all the entertainment, and that’s when really the gold rush of reality TV started.”
Frankel, who first appeared on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005 before making her Real Housewives debut in 2008, went on to say that she herself has “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,” she said. “People on The Hills and the Bachelor and Bachelorette get paid peanuts to do what they do, and people can still watch those episodes from years gone by.”
Frankel then called on anyone shooting a Bravo show to go on strike until their are paid residuals.
“Anyone shooting a Bravo show should not be shooting until they get paid residuals for all the other episodes that they’ve ever done or those episodes should be taken down. Reality stars should go on strike,” the Real Housewives star said.
“People still watch The Hills today, and they don’t make a goddamned dollar, and they were entirely exploited, getting ratings that network television doesn’t get,” Frankel noted.
“It’s complete and total bullshit,” Frankel concluded. “I’m going to get into this, because it just occurred to me, everyone is talking about actors. We don’t get paid shit!”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.