Kelly Dodd is facing backlash after sharing a video on her Instagram page in which she and her husband, Rick Leventhal, were seen reenacting a recently resurfaced moment from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in which Aaron Phypers threatened to “crush” Denise Richards‘ hand.
Days after Denise, 54, requested a restraining order against Aaron, 52, accusing him of frequent physical abuse, including choking her, slapping her, and threatening to kill her, the 49-year-old Real Housewives of Orange County alum and her 65-year-old news anchor spouse were seen poking fun at the eerie throwback scene as Rick aggressively pulled Kelly up a set of stairs.
“Denise and Aaron for Halloween??” Kelly asked in the caption of the July 19 clip.
Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long before Kelly was called out.
“That’s cruel, domestic abuse doesn’t get a costume or a vote,” one person wrote in the comments section of the post, which has since been marked “limited.”
“Wow this is in such poor taste!!!!!” another agreed.
Others called for the former RHOC star to delete the post.
“Out of respect for what Denise is enduring, taking this down would be a positive, healthy gesture,” someone surmised.
As the comments continued, one IG user said it would be “horrible for Denise to see this,” as another, who described themselves as a domestic abuse survivor, said they found the clip “insulting.”
“But hey, sick humour for sick minds, I suppose,” they added.
“You know, you might have missed the mark on this one. It’s a little pathetic to poke fun at domestic violence. Especially when there’s so many other things to poke fun at when it comes to these targets,” another person wrote.
“There are many things on the housewives shows to make fun of, but domestic abuse is not one of them,” someone else agreed.
Others said Kelly and Rick had “no limits” and “no class.”
Denise and Aaron split earlier this year after marrying in 2018. And in the weeks since, they’ve thrown abuse allegations at one another, with Denise showcasing a horrifying black eye in a photo submitted to court and Aaron alleging that Denise slapped him and scratched him.
