Reality shows on Bravo are now exuberantly participating in the network's trend of introducing shocking moments when the cast break the "fourth-wall" during hot-mic moments, dropping the pretense that they are living their life in front of the camera as though no one is watching. In such moments, the cast will acknowledge the producers' role in prompting feuds and engagement between the cast, and the audience's influence on the way they conduct themselves. Examples are overabundant, but the most recent stand out was Lala Kent and Scheana Shay ranting to producers about their co-star Ariana Madix ditching the finale party on Vanderpump Rules.
While it is occasionally titillating to see the Bravo-lebrities drop their hospitable veneer and acknowledge the behind-the-scenes process of making reality TV, when the moment isn't organic and is clearly contrived to stir up drama, it gets to the point of irritating viewers, rather than engaging them. By the time the trend hit Vanderpump Rules it was already starting to feel overdone, and the cast and producers were accused of being too obvious in their effort to place narrative blame on Ariana for the lackluster season they had delivered trying to manage the continued fallout from Tom Sandoval and Rachel "Raquel" Leviss's torrid affair on the series. Viewer's reactions to the ongoing fourth-wall trend indicates that tolerance for the trope is starting to wear thin.
The most recent episode of Real Housewives of New York City seems to have committed this sin of using an overly contrived and unnecessary fourth-wall break. A clip of a conversation between Brynn Whitfield and fashion icon Rebecca Minkoff has confused viewers, and has called into question the purpose of its inclusion in the first place. In the clip, Whitfield is thought to be coaching Minkoff on Housewives 101, about how to throw petty jabs and fight friendly feuds. This clip has the audience wondering what the purpose of including it could possibly be, and if the producers are ramping up towards a larger feud. If not, why would they feel the need to highlight the moment in the series?
Advice on How to Fight Like a Real Housewife Irritated Viewers
In a confessional in an earlier episode of the season, Whitfield made a flip comment about being able to find the fashion icon's designs at a Nordstrom Rack. And any store with the word "rack" in the title is antithetical to fashion, such a comment is instantly recognized as shade in the RHONY ladies' circle. In the most recent episode, a brief clip shows Whitfield speaking sotto with Minkoff and coaching her on how she could respond to this kind of catty comment, on how to best rise to the bait and play the Housewives game of petty drama.
Viewers are outraged at such a blatant allusion to how fake the dramatic scenes these ladies film together can be. The friendships are meant to be real, even if the ladies are just getting to know one another, so having a clip of Whitfield acknowledging the pretenses of the ladies getting together and arguing seemed like a betrayal to the concept of the franchise. Arguably, Whitfield was doing what she does best, covering her tracks with Minkoff, knowing full well her new friend would eventually catch wind of the shady comments she had been throwing out in those early episodes of the season. By coaching Minkoff on how to respond, Whitfield is also building up a plausible deniability, so that if she was ever confronted about her rude comments, she could say that they had already had a conversation about it not being a big deal, just some light shade to respond to.
We know this moment will be significant in some way because not only did the editors include the sound bite for viewers to hear, but they emphasized Whitfield's words with subtitles. Whenever a hot-mic-moment is captured and the Bravo editors include those little subtitles for emphasis, the stars of the scene can usually expect swift repercussions. Which begs the question, what are the RHONY producers setting Whitfield up for later this season?
Why Would Producers Want to Emphasize This Moment in Particular?
Including the moment of Whitfield coaching Minkoff on how to feud like the Real Housewives means this conversation is going to come back around in some way. Either Minkoff is going to take Whitfield at her word, and come back with a vengeance when she hears the comments her new friend has been making about her fashion line. This is, after all, the woman's brand and career being attacked, no matter how dark or light the shade is. It is also possible the producers wanted Whitfield to take some heat for the persona that she puts on for the camera - the fan outrage over the falseness exhibited during the moment may even have been the entire point. Either way, by including the moment and emphasizing it with subtitles, it seems clear the network is setting Whitfield up for a later take-down in Season 15.
New episodes of RHONY air Tuesdays on Bravo
