Shannon Beador clarified her recent statement about not filming Real Housewives of Orange County with castmate Alexis Bellino, the fiancé of her ex John Janssen – who’s suing Shannon for $75,000. And according to a new report, Shannon asked to be able to fight John in a jury trial.
Apparently, both Shannon and John demanded that their case go to a jury. Earlier this year, John initiated the lawsuit, claiming Shannon never paid him back for a loan to get plastic surgery. Shannon claims the money was a gift.
He filed the suit after cameras picked back up for the new season. At one point, after Shannon refused to pay him the full amount he demanded, Alexis seemingly threatened to reveal damaging security cam footage from the night of Shannon’s DUI arrest.
Speaking to Us Weekly, Shannon clarified her recent statement, which led fans to believe she wouldn’t return to RHOC if Alexis is asked back.
“I was on Nick Viall’s podcast, and he said, ‘What will you do if Alexis is back on the show?’ And my answer was, ‘I’m not filming with Alexis ever again,’” said Shannon at a November 14 watch party. “If they choose to bring Alexis back on the show, enjoy, but I’m not filming with you.”
“I’ve never said I’m not coming back,” she explained. “I might have done that in my third or fourth year and I’ve never done it since … I’m grateful for the job. I am.”
She noted that viewers shouldn’t be concerned about her quitting the show.
“Oh, absolutely I am [returning]. I’d be grateful to come back,” she said. “But if Alexis Bellino comes back, sorry, not gonna be around [her].”
According to Shannon, her reason why will become evident if viewers “just keep watching the reunion.”
Emily Simpson, who also attended the watch party, recalled that she was “annoyed the first time [she] filmed with [Alexis].” She claimed Alexis arrived “two hours late” to film and then had a “nervous breakdown” when she noticed that her skirt had chocolate on it.
“By the time I got in the car with her, I was done,” she said. “[Alexis was] so mean to production, and that’s a huge turn off to me.”
According to Emily, she already had a “really bad taste in my mouth” when the ‘friend of’ “brought receipts [about John’s alleged loan] to dinner.”
“It all seemed so premeditated and planned out and methodical, and then bringing up the videos and using it in a blackmail type of way when she didn’t immediately agree to pay the full amount,” she went on. “I don’t want to be on the show with someone like that. I think that there has to be boundaries. It gets dirty on Housewives sometimes and that’s where I draw the line.”
Gina Kirschenheiter agreed, saying, “I never really liked John. It’s tough. I know Alexis likes to defend him, but my issues with John were not just stemming from things that Shannon said … She likes to say that. She likes to make it like, ‘Oh, it was just things that Shannon was saying about John’ and that’s not true.”
Gina claimed he was “disrespectful” behind her back and to her face.
“You can say that it’s, ‘I’m defending my girlfriend,’ but that’s not the way you defend your girlfriend,” said Gina. “To me, that just shows who you are.”
She alleged that he “tr[ied] to make that relationship worse” between Shannon and Alexis.
“I don’t like that, and I don’t play that game,” said Gina.
Meanwhile, In Touch obtained court docs showing that Shannon asked to be allowed to fight her ex at the jury trial, which Shannon thinks will last three to five days.
John asked for the jury trial as well, but he believes it will only require two days.
His lawyer Edson McClellan told the outlet, “It would [be] unfortunate if this were to go to trial, however, we are fully prepared to win.”
