Carole Radziwill faced insensitive questions about her late friend, Carolyn Bessette, on Tuesday night’s episode of “The Real Housewives of New York City.”
During a cast brunch, newbie Daisy Toye told Radziwill that she was “dying” to discuss Ryan Murphy’s series “Love Story,”which premiered earlier this year and explored Bessette and husband John F. Kennedy Jr.’s relationship and tragic deaths.
“I want to know all about Carolyn Bessette,” Toye said, as Jessel Taank interjected, “Just ask the question: Was she a bitch?”
Radziwill — who was married to Kennedy Jr.’s cousin and best friend, Anthony Radziwiłł — got visibly uncomfortable, as Taank told the group she thought Bessette came off “aloof” on the scripted show.
Ignoring Taank, Radziwill, 63, told the other ladies that Bessette “was very fun” and was “a girl’s girl.”
However, Radziwill confirmed that she wasn’t watching “Love Story,” saying, “I watched about four minutes of it the other night with my best friend, ’cause she’s like, ‘Well, let’s just try to watch it together.’ And it’s too much.”
That shocked Taank, who asked Radziwill about the “Carolyn Bessette summer” trend where, according to Taank, “everyone” is dressing minimally in blacks, whites and neutrals to channel the late fashion icon.
“Yeah, I don’t love that,” Radziwill responded.
Taank then pointed to Radziwill’s black outfit and accused her of participating in the fashion trend, which visibly irked Radziwill.
In a confession, Taank moaned that Radziwill “is like a walking human vibe diffuser.”
“Listen, if I passed away — God forbid — and someone said ‘Jessel Taank Summer’ and wore the most outrageous couture and jewels and looked fabulous all the time, I’d be like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s go,’” Taank told the cameras.
As the episode cut back to the brunch, Taank asked the group if they think the Kennedys are “cursed,” noting some of their family tragedies including President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination.
But the other ladies had enough of Taank’s questions, as Radzwill said aloud, “It’s a lot.”
Erin Lichy, meanwhile, vented in a confessional that Taank couldn’t “read the frickin’ room.”
“Do you not see that this is her best friend who she’s still grieving?” Lichy said.
Radziwill also bashed Taank in her own confessional.
“It doesn’t register to her? That the tragic deaths of my cousins and best friend might be very upsetting to me?” Radziwill said, adding, “I want to strangle her.”
At the brunch, a fed up Radziwill left early and said her goodbyes to the ladies, sharing an awkward hug with Taank.
Taank appeared on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” after the episode aired and admitted she “genuinely felt really bad” for discussing the “sensitive” topic with Radziwill.
“What I meant was that Carolyn Bessette in that moment, the show had just aired on Hulu, was being celebrated for her style,” Taank explained. “Listen, she was beautiful, she had such a chic, minimal way of her. And that’s what I was getting at. It didn’t land.”
Taank also clarified that she asked if Bessette was “a bitch” because they’re both fashion publicists, and she can relate to her cold behavior.
Three years into their marriage, Bessette and Kenendy Jr. were killed in a plane crashalong with Bessette’s sister, Lauren, in July 1999.
Kennedy Jr. was flying the trio to in a red and white Piper Saratoga bound for Martha’s Vineyard, where Lauren was intended to be dropped off.
The couple then planned to fly to Hyannis Port for Kennedy Jr.’s cousin Rory Kennedy’s wedding.
“The Real Housewives of New York City” airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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