'RHONY' Personality Dorinda Medley Says It's 'Hurtful' to Be Called a 'Drunk'

Dorinda Medley is defending her drinking habits after being called a "drunk" by Real Housewives of New York City castmate Bethenny Frankel.

"I'm dreading to relive Bethenny calling me [that] horrible name," the Bravo cast member told Entertainment Tonight. Fans were shocked when in the latest trailer, Frankel was seen confronting Medley about her drinking, telling the 53-year-old to her face, "You're a drunk."

"It was very hurtful, and it was mean, and it was unnecessary," Medley said of the moment. "Every season, she has to label someone. 'You're a whore. You're a loser. You're a drunk. You're dead to me.'"

"I actually thought it was ridiculous and I think people are kind of getting sick of that," she added. "But I think it did what she wanted it to do, which was make an impact and get her on TV."

Medley admitted she does get drunk periodically, as fans of the show saw at this season's Halloween party, when the Lady Gaga-dressed Medley spent the evening slurring her words more and more.

"I happened to get drunk," she said of the party. "It doesn't define my whole life … That's a moment where you say, 'Hey, what's going on here? Is there something going on? And can I take you upstairs? You really shouldn't be at this dinner.' As opposed to use it as a moment of 'gotcha journalism.'"

Medley's castmate Luann de Lesseps is also confronting her drinking this season, entering a rehab facility following her arrest in Florida. But Medley doesn't think the newly-sober de Lesseps has a drinking problem either.

"I think the only time you should be critical is if you're directly hurting someone, or someone's directly hurting someone," Medley said. "Whatever Luann or I did, we did it to ourselves, you know?"

Watching the Halloween party back, during which she repeatedly called SNL "NSL," Medley said, "Oh my God, those orange drinks got me!"

But the drinking had more to do with her state of mind than an addiction, she clarified.

"One of the reasons why I was drinking away my sorrows was, I was really sad last fall," she said. "I was going through something. I had realized [my daughter], Hannah, had moved out, that job was over. I was in my 50s, you know, I've been a wife twice — that job's over. What do I do now?"

"It was a transitional feeling, a little bit, like, misplaced," she added. "I just stopped. You know, I stopped running in the wind and I kind of let the wind just pass me by, and I started to realize, hmm. This is kind of nice, you know? I can be selfish. I don't have to look after anyone except me."

Now, Medley said she's in a much better place, a more selfish place, which she said she hopes plays out on the small screen this season.

"It's a strong season," she teased. "It's riveting."

The Real Housewives of New York City airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

Photo credit: Bravo