Last month, Bethenny Frankel broke the news to the public that her talkshow was canceled after one season. Bethenny penned an open letter on her blog that was sour grapes, basically. She wrote that she was “relieved” she no longer had to do the show and that she “felt a bit diluted, filtered and somewhat constricted.” After having an amazing opportunity handed to her by Ellen, all Bethenny could do was complain about how hard it was. She even compared herself to a mustang horse.
Bethenny’s show is still on the air as it finishes up its run. She has a whole team of people working for and with her, many of whom will lose their jobs when the show wraps. You would think that she would spin her experience more positively instead of complaining about being paid millions to interview people on TV. On a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Bethenny repeated her talking point about how she was “controlled” by being told to conform to the requirements of her job. To be fair, Andy Cohen did ask her if she felt like “she had to be a different version of herself for that audience.” Here’s what she said:
“I felt edited and diluted and a little bit controlled and I’m not really great when I’m shackled, as you know. You have to kind of unleash the beast.
“I wanted it to get renewed because of how many people are invested in it. I took pride in it. It’s great to be able to do the business segments and talk to women… but ultimately it’s not what I really should be doing. I didn’t love it the way that I thought that I would.
As [Radar] previously reported, Frankel had tension building with exec producer Ellen DeGeneres regarding the stream of guests she had on the talk show, and it’s creative direction, including an order from the A-list Oscar host to not constantly regale the audience with upsetting details of her divorce.
As Radar points out, Bethenny is complaining about Ellen, who gave her the opportunity of a lifetime. Ellen allegedly gave Bethenny the very practical advice of asking her to stop complaining about her divorce and be more entertaining to the audience. Ellen knows how to run a show. You bring up your personal stuff sparingly, and you make it funny and light.
This is the very definition of a job, doing what other people want you to do. Even if you work for yourself there are still clients, customers or advertisers to please. It’s not about you and what you want, it’s about what people will pay for and support. Yes Bethenny is being “honest,” but how many bridges is she burning with this? It’s all very self-centered.
US Weekly has more details from Bethenny’s WWHL interview, including the fact that she’s “dating and happy,” and that she calls her divorce “a really, really hard time.” In Touch reported last week that Bethenny has finally moved out of the apartment she shared with her ex, Jason Hoppy. She’s renting a $17,500 a month 2,200 square foot apartment in Tribeca.
Update: Radar reports that Bethenny is in negotiations with Andy Cohen for her own show on Bravo. It’s unclear if it will be another reality type show, but we know that’s his bread and butter. Now it makes a lot more sense when she’s being so “honest” and somewhat controversial.
Photo credit: The Bethenny Frankel show
So… Like your diet and your diet face? That shoulda been familiar to her tho, what with the Housewifery and faking a happy marriage with Jason for the cameras and all
I’m loving the term diluted. Dude I got amazingly diluted last night. Wait, am I using that wrong?
I feel like an a-hole saying this but I find it really difficult to look at her face. It’s so . . . it’s like looking at a chattering skull or something. I don’t know if it’s the alleged eating disorder or bad plastic surgery or both but it’s just real bad.
A chattering skull. That’s brilliant. I was gonna say “reptilian.” There’s something very reptilian about her.
Burning bridges is a bad idea, but nothing can ever be Bethany’s fault. She just can’t.
That’s what happens when people put reality stars on a higher pedestal. Once they have an opportunity to move on up, they think that they do not have to follow the rules as everyone else. She should remember that even that horrid Wendy Williams has to edit herself.
Is Wendy Williams actually horrid? I’ve only ever caught about 10 minutes of her show and she seemed okay.
@LadyD – Wendy Willams is extremely judgmental and critical (especially of African American celebrities), and she’s always insinuating that every man is gay. I get why she thinks that because of her husbands questionable sexuality, but everyone isn’t gay. She also is way to invested in celebrities lives. It’s one thing to do your job and report the news. It’s a whole other thing to be so wrapped up into the gossip to where you are salivating at the mouth and then your eyes get all bug eyed when you find something “juicy”. Also, I wouldn’t take any advice from someone who is clearly bitter and miserable (talking about her “Ask Wendy” segments).
I don’t know that she’s so horrid, it’s her schtick, take it or leave it. There’s plenty of personalities out there, she is one of them.
“I’m not really great….ultimately it’s not what I really should be doing”. There, I fixed it with appropriate editing.
Lol Kiddo. I know nothing about this woman but I would like to know her thoughts on pasta. Bahaha I’m so easily entertained…
She is just sooooo unlikeable.
Didn’t she start out on a reality show? I believe Real Housewives of New York? She comes from money, made a fortune with her company and has become a household name by having a person like Ellen back her talk show. She has had more opportunities than most of the population, she should be more thankful with what she has. Instead she sounds like a spoiled child who will not listen to her parents.
She actually started out on The Apprentice-can’t remember what year.
Even earlier than that. She was one of the contestants on the one season run Martha Stewart version of the Celebrity Apprentice show. Years ago, of course.
Okay, I Googled it…it ran in 2005.
And she was in Saved by the Bell for a short while (which doesn’t actually count?)
I saw the show twice- boring. Whether she was diluted or not, the woman has no talent and definitely not an Ellen.
She needs a show where she spends all day arguing with The Countess and Jill. Only time I ever got a kick out of her or liked her.
Clearly she’s someone who can never take any blame themselves. Always someone else’s fault. What a narcissist!
Completely!
I liked her before all the divorce and talk show drama. She’s not the vulnerable underdog with major drive I thought she was. She’s a brat who stomps her feet when she doesn’t get her way. Ditched her husband and now chucks Ellen under the bus. Two people who truly believed in her and stuck their necks out…this is the thx they get. Brutal.
Harpo, who this woman? /googles
She’s a self-important nobody on TV.
Anyone with half a brain and a desire to stay in the business knows that’s not how you handle it. You call it a great learning experience, say you’re disappointed but looking forward to what’s next, and are thankful for the opportunity. Instead she’s acting like she was a caged animal because gasp, they wanted a talk show host to be engaging and entertaining, and not obnoxious and whiny. How dare they!
Who is that bridge troll in the top pic? Talk about over-tanning?
From what I gather, she only had reality tv star guests on the show. The Wakiles from RHONJ were on like every other day. Always seemed odd to me.
Just a question??? How can she be in negotiations with Andy Cohen, since he has stepped down from his position at Bravo and is now strictly the host of WWHL and the Housewives reunions. He is no longer in a position at Bravo to do anything for Frankel. He stepped down a few months ago to start his own production company, maybe that is what the two are discussing but he cannot make decisions for Bravo now.
I gathered they were in discussions for him to produce whatever piece of crap show from her but if she had nothing to offer with Ellen, what would she have for him?
No worries, if she gets a show on Bravo and gets to be her own wild-mustang-unleashed-beast self it will probably get cancelled quicker that her talk show
FYI bethenney, people hate the real you more that they hated the fake-constrained-non-wild-mustang you.
Her show wasn’t THAT bad. She’s just needs to stop talking sooooo much. She over talks everybody, and (to the person who stated this further up) she does act like a spoiled little child who throws a fit when she doesn’t get her way (and she’s 43/44 years old). She’s another middle aged women that needs everyone telling her how sexy and great she is, and it does seem like she only married Jason just to have a baby (and he seemed like a nice guy). I also think Bethenny got “brand new” when she got her SkinnyGirl deal and her talk show and probably thought she should be getting men like Clooney and Pitt instead of Jason.
She’s setting it up so that if her alleged new show fails, then it’s on Andy for not letting BF be successful. It’s her way of issuing a disclaimer: If her talk show isn’t a hit, then it’s because they didn’t let her use her fabulous personality & she knows better than Ellen & Andy on how to do talk shows & reality shows.
It’s never her fault in her mind.
I don’t hate her so much. She was fun on RHNYC and I’d watch her next show. The current show does stifle her; it’s a cable show trying to be a network show. She needs a cable show with the freedom of cable.
Maybe she expresses herself badly sometimes and it comes off worse than she intends. Not that she can’t be pretty jerky. I can’t believe Jason waited her out in their condo and she left.
My cousin was on her show (in the episode where Coco got a buttlift – she did the lifting) and said that Bethenny was pretty nice. But from my perspective, I won’t miss this show at all.