As a person a little too online and way too immersed in the Bravo cinematic universe, I have to say that I'm not thrilled that my escapist news has become almost as insane as the actual news.
I must preface my reaction to it all with a message for Taylor (Frankie Paul, of MomTok & Bachlorette fame), Lindy (West, Shrill creator and great feminist writer), Amanda (Batula, Summer House persona), and Ciara (Miller, model and Summer House queen):
You deserve better. I promise.
Even you, Amanda.
Watching all these beautiful women, at least two of whom are creatively talented (Lindy, obvs, and Amanda is a decent graphic designer regardless of her absolute terribleness as a friend), and all of whom are great at social media content creation and public speaking, spin out because of mediocre-at-best men is. . . .
Not what I need right now.
(For those of you who are not chronically online/reality TV fans, here's a quick summary of the situations, from least to most dire:
Amanda, Ciara, & Summer House:
The women: Amanda and Ciara are dear friends. Real friends. Super supportive of each other friends. Amanda helped Ciara through her painful, public break-up with Summer House castmate West and Ciara has supported Amanda through her challenging marriage to Summer House OG Kyle and their recent separation.
The men: West is a player who broke Ciara's heart and then dissed their relationship WAY TOO MUCH in the press. Kyle was emotionally abusive to his wife and cheated on her. They are probably not actively evil, but they do need therapy.
The travesty: As Ciara and West were talking again, and soon after Kyle and Amanda's separation, Amanda and West started having a thing. Even though Amanda knew that Ciara still had feelings for West, even though West and Kyle are friends, even though Amanda and Ciara are really close friends. After all kinds of rumors, Amanda just put out a statement admitting to it.
Lindy West and the Adult Braces Discourse
Adult Braces in Lindy's new book. It's billed as a road-trip self-growth book, but the internet has been distracted by the fact that her husband is terrible. This is the BEST explainer.
Is he terrible?
Even if you overlook the way he forced her into polyamory (as she does, and which he did by saying I'll only marry you if the marriage is open), the way he overstepped her request that he not date anyone she knew (which she does, and which he did), the way he and Roya (that's the third person in their now throuple, who he started dating first) sleep in the master bedroom while Lindy sleeps in the guest room of the home she owns, and the way he sent a completed unhinged and abusive email to the reporter from Slate who recently interviewed Lindy, he still seems terrible just based on his own (recently deleted) Instagram posts.
What's the problem?
The way Lindy has defended this man and the way he's treated her is very uncomfortable for a lot of people. The way this man, and Roya, have attacked people who question their treatment of Lindy reinforces people's distrust of this situation.
Even smart, talented, beautiful people can get stuck in relationships with people who treat them poorly. So, it's like we're all witnessing a slow-motion train wreck.
Taylor Frankie Paul
Which brings us to Taylor, erstwhile leader of MomTok, center of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and star of the most recent (and now canceled) season of The Bachelorette. Taylor was part of a swinging scandal involving her now ex-husband, with whom she has two children. While feeling guilty about all that, she met Dakota, an addict and cheater. They had a child together. He kept cheating. They kept breaking up and getting back together and having terrible fights. He locked her in a garage. She attacked him and faced charges. When the video became public (right before The Bachelorette was to premiere, even though it was 3 years old), her season was canceled, and Mormon Wives stopped filming.))
See? It's been a lot.
And I'm not ok.
First of all, it really pisses me off that Taylor has had more consequences than any man in the Epstein files... or even Dakota, who just got cast on another reality show (from the Call Her Daddy podcaster, who I don't like anymore) despite also being under investigation for domestic violence after his and Taylor's most recent fight.
Yes, I have a soft spot for Taylor because her mother is a piece of work, and Dakota is such a manipulative liar, and she is so relentlessly honest about herself. But I don't mind her facing consequences... I just mind all the men avoiding them.
Speaking of men avoiding consequences, let's talk about West Wilson. Since he and Amanda hard-launched their situationship, he has gained a ton of social media followers, and I've barely seen any criticism of him. Meanwhile, people are sending Amanda death threats, and Rihanna (also a Bravo superfan) has unfollowed her. Even Jon Hamm (another superfan - we are legion and one of us is Michelle Obama) insulted her on Watch What Happens Live.
Once again, I'm fine with her having consequences. She deserves them for betraying her friend. But West now claims to be Ciara's friend (at least) and is also Kyle's friend. He has been just as shady. And yet no one seems to care about his role in all of this.
If I wanted to watch white men get away with being shitty, I could just watch the news.
(One could argue that the Trump White House is, in fact, just a giant reality show produced by Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Putin, and I don't disagree with that argument. But I only watch shows that have people I like. It's why I don't watch the show House of Villains.)
Aham, Lindy's husband, is experiencing some consequences: now the whole world thinks he's terrible. He's also not white. But even so, I fear Lindy is suffering bigger consequences; he's going to punish her for making him look bad. Trust me.
I hope her book sales make up for it.
Anyway, if I seem grouchy or distracted, this is why. Not the lack of justice for the Epstein victims. Not this ridiculous, horrible war. Not the racism of trying to get rid of birthright citizenship or the misogyny of the SAVE Act or whatever other bullshit they're doing to distract from the fact that Trump is a pedophile and a loser.
It's because Taylor, Ciara, Lindy, and even Amanda deserve better. But mostly Taylor, Lindy, and Ciara.
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