Bethenny Frankel made her Paris Fashion Week debut earlier this week. And after sharing a video of her runway walk, she faced some backlash from her fans and followers.
Along with a series of videos in which she spoke of her experience at the show, which featured tears and a comparison to Little Miss Sunshine, the 53-year-old Real Housewives of New York City alum reacted to the criticism she received for her apparent “marching.”
“That walk. What the…….” a fan had written in a comment to Bethenny on TikTok.
The critical comment from the fan came after Bethenny shared a video of her runway appearance.
“I guess I am a supermodel,” she wrote with the video, along with a caption that stated, “I’m worth it… and so are YOU. I love you XO.”
Following the backlash, Bethenny responded on Instagram: “I’m gonna tell you what the….… I chose those shoes. L’Oréal said, ‘You can pick anything you want,’ and I chose those shoes because I wanted to be like a giraffe, with like, elongated legs. One of those elongated creatures that walks a runway and looks like they’re not even the same species and I loved it.”
“And the thing is,” she continued, “that’s what the show was about. It was about not being perfect. It was about being perfectly imperfect and doing what you want to do and it’s so easy to sit and watch someone else do something and criticize.”
According to Bethenny, she loved the individuality of the show — and the chance to take her team to Paris.
“To get yourself to Paris and take your team, who is so appreciative to go to Paris and then be there, and like, you’re there for hours and it’s, like, this isn’t your job. You have multiple jobs and you’re just. like, completely out of your own element, and you just want to, like, just like, kind of get down there but do it your own way, do what you want to do … It’s about individuality and it was about every different culture and fashion and being worth it and what being worth it, and like, what being worth it means is, what do you think? Like, ‘I’m walking down and this is how I’m doing it. This is the creative and personal choice I’m making.’ And that’s what I did,” she explained. “[And] I posted the video because I live for it. I look at it and I’m like, ‘You look like a giraffe.’ And that’s what the point was. So, you’re welcome.”
While Bethenny was over the moon with the experience, she received more backlash in comments.
“She’s channeling Ramona Singer,” one person alleged, signaling a runway appearance Ramona, 67, made several years ago in which she looked bug-eyed and a bit scared.
Meanwhile, someone else defended Bethenny, saying, “Leave her alone she’s happy and looks great, haters gone hate.”
But a third noted, “I was embarrassed for her tbh.”
Another IG user targeted the filler in her left cheek, saying it “looks weird,” as someone else praised her legs, stating, “Her legs are everything.”
“And we all thought Ramona was the worst model! We all owe Singer an apology!!” proclaimed another person.
Still, Bethenny received support as well, with one commenter taking up for her march, “She wanted to march, in her marching shoes, which were her choice to wear. It’s nice to see a different kind of stroll, or march if you will, for a change. She was confident and beautiful.”
In another video shared to Bethenny’s Instagram page, she was seen post-walk in the back of a vehicle as she expressed the emotions that flooded her during the show.
“I am so incredibly overwhelmed. I have never experienced something like this. I’ve never been given an opportunity like this that’s so unexpected and not one person guessed it because it’s ridiculous. I mean, we shopped my own closet. And it really was like Little Miss Sunshine,” she said through tears. “Like, let’s bring my assistant Mia, who’s never left the country, and everybody else had never been to Paris except for one person. And just L’Oréal for celebrating all types, all shapes, all sizes, all cultures, all women. They mean you’re worth it. There was no direction. It was like, ‘Be who you want to be. Do what you wanna do.’ And the beauty and the fashion and the wardrobe and the multicultural, it was totally overwhelming!”
“To say that I acted like I belonged, I was telling everybody I was a supermodel. It was a joke deflecting, like, a clown, because I did not belong at all,” she stated. “I mean, for Jane Fonda to say, ‘Hello,’ to me, for Viola Davis to talk to me about motherhood, for Eva Longoria to be like, ‘I drink coffee differently because of you,’ for Heidi Klum to say, right before I walked out, ‘You rock it, girl,’ for Cara Delevingne, when she was walking out and I was walking in, to be like, ‘Get it,’ and to high five, and Viola picked it up where I put it down, it was — I’m overwhelmed.”
Bethenny went on to say that she “[couldn’t] move,” as she described the experience as “insane” and expressed gratitude for the opportunity.
“I’m in shock … It was a wonderful experience. Thank you L’Oréal, so much. I am worth it. You guys are worth it. And I’m so moved and grateful. It was extraordinary. And if I could walk a runway in Paris Fashion Week, you can do anything you want,” she concluded.
Bethenny Frankel was featured on The Real Housewives of New York City on seasons one through three and seven through 11.
