Bravo Fires 'Real Housewives' Star Following Series of Anti-Black Social Media Posts
Bravo has fired Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jennie Nguyen after viewers unearthed social media posts mocking the Black Lives Matter movement and protests — posts that Nguyen's own co-stars called out as "racist" and "disgusting." The network announced Nguyen would no longer appear on the Real Housewives franchise Tuesday in a public statement.
"Bravo has ceased filming with Jennie Nguyen and she will no longer be a cast member on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City," Bravo said. "We recognize we failed to take appropriate action once her offensive social media posts were brought to our attention. Moving forward, we will work to improve our processes to ensure we make better informed and more thoughtful casting decisions." Nguyen has yet to publicly comment on the firing.
Nguyen, the newest Housewife to join the Salt Lake City franchise, was called out earlier this month when fans unearthed posts from 2020 on her Facebook page, in which the reality personality shared memes and photos including phrases like "BLM Thugs" and referring to protesters as "Violent Gangs."
Fellow Housewife Jen Shah, whose husband and sons are Black, was the first of Nguyen's castmates to call her out on social media, writing, "I am deeply offended by the racially insensitive posts and comments. It was infuriating to see her like and repost comments that made a mockery of and showed complete apathy toward those killed marching to bring awareness to the deep-seeded (sic) social justice issues that plague our country." Shah added she was also "equally disappointed by the disingenuous apology" that Nguyen posted. "Needless to say, we have some real s- to talk about," she wrote.
Lisa Barlow, who is a longtime friend of Nguyen's, said in her own statement that she felt "true hurt and disappointment by the posts that surfaced," adding of her own beliefs, "I do NOT condone, nor am I aligned with them. The posts were harmful and hurtful to a community I love." Meredith Marks likewise said she was "sickened" at the discovery, while Whitney Rose wrote she was "shocked and saddened," and Heather Gay shared how "disappointed" she was.
Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen called the posts "upsetting" and "disgusting" ahead of Nguyen's firing during a segment of his Radio Andy show. "I just want to say, in case anyone doesn't realize it, that there are many serious discussions happening right now about everything – about everything," Cohen said. "And I can't address the situation right now, but it will be addressed very soon, and thank you for your patience."
Nguyen did apologize for the posts when they first resurfaced, writing on social media, "I thought I was speaking out against violence, but I have since learned how offensive and hurtful my words were. It's why I deactivated that account more than a year ago and why I continue to try to learn about perspectives different from my own. I regret those posts and am sincerely sorry for the pain they caused."