First comes a ripple, then a wave. Tamra wore the Von Dutch hat. Ryan wore WATER. Suddenly, Gina’s wearing a MAGA-red hat with “can I get a diet c—?” splattered on it, while Emily dons “wrong hole but I like it.” Everywhere you look, a Real Housewife is tossing decorum to the side in search of something they’ll never find in Orange County. For Gina Kirschenheiter, that’s a backbone.
Having spent each and every season on varying degrees of the sidelines, Gina has finally stepped up to a plate to take on her most inspired endeavor yet: outing Gretchen Rossi as an (alleged) bigot. She’s just living that life.
The Real Housewives of Orange County is hurtling toward the finish line, and Gretchen just might reach the end of the line, too. After a return plagued by an immediate alliance crumble, synthetic wigs, and a failed Tamra takedown, Gretchen now has to face allegations she’s liked hateful posts—ones the editors are intentionally vague about in tonight’s episode. The higher the hair, the closer to Westboro Baptist Church, it seems.
Those posts, both homophobic and transphobic, already made waves within the fanbase months ago, while Gretchen herself has denied the allegations, telling The Sun the screenshots are “manipulated” and she loves the gays. Who’s to say what’s true?
It’s quite a swing for the franchise, one that represents the tricky times we’re in. For a Real Housewife of Orange County to be conservative is the same as the sky being blue, dating all the way back to the OG of the OC, Vicki Gunvalson, who recently claimed Heather Dubrow doesn’t fit in because she’s liberal. Back in the day, exposing someone for supporting George W. Bush would’ve had the same effect as exposing her for being a fake blonde.
But the times have changed, and so have the Housewives. Drug-induced (well, weed and magic mushrooms), the ladies aren’t just frolicking through tulip fields. They’re starting fires all over the place, hoping to leave Amsterdam in the same state as the ruins of Orange County—a city so destroyed, we won’t even see it again. The ladies are stuck in Amsterdam for the remainder of the season. It might as well be purgatory.
Every old grudge and feud has resurfaced, from Alexis Bellino to Gina’s random issues with Shannon. Amid the gorgeous tulips, all Gina can do is whine about how Shannon threw Jenn an engagement party instead of throwing Gina a “congrats on not breaking up with your boyfriend” party. Why would anyone do that, I don’t know, but Gina likes to complain. As do I. I like to complain about Gina.
And yet, Gina delivers such an implosion tonight that it’s actually pretty fun. Fresh off her rant, the queen of botched hairdos sits down with the ladies to stir up some issues between Jenn and Shannon over the ghost of Alexis Bellino, who haunts every moment like she’s Mary Alice Young—or worse, Jen Shah.
“They’re saying you’re good friends with her,” Shannon shoots at Jenn, as though she said a slur. To be fair, she’ll probably be more upset by this than whatever Gretchen liked on Instagram. Pro-Alexis rhetoric is pure evil in the eyes of Shannon Storms Beador.
With the pot boiling, Gina tries to heat things up further by telling Shannon that Jenn found the whole bridal shower “ridiculous,” before accusing the two of having a “fake friendship.” Give Gina some magic mushrooms and suddenly she’s good TV. Just say yes to drugs, apparently.
Does the attempt work? Not exactly. But it’s a good giggle, and that’s all we can ask for in this world.
Next, the ladies take a hot tub boat ride through murky waters while wearing their aforementioned stupid hats. As Heather puts it, “I understand why the girls think I’m not funny, because this is the bar.” There’s something charming about how un-aspirational the Real Housewives of Orange County are, just sloshing through sludge water as they sip wine from plastic cups. Even a city as stunning as Amsterdam looks like toxic waste after a day with these divas.
The boat ride gives Tamra and Gretchen a chance to pretend to come to peace for the fourth, fifth, or 60th time this season. It’s Groundhog Day, every day. You know how in a cartoon, the characters make great strides and come to a new place before returning to square one in the very next episode? That’s the case with these two.
Gretchen returned to the show to hash out issues from 2012, and she’d love to do that ‘till the end of time. The same is true for Tamra, who could pick up a feud with just about anyone. It’s her life force.
So, even though the ladies agree to call it a day, Gretchen spends the last 10 minutes of the episode in a never-ending state of victimizing tears, while Tamra puppeteers her newest minion, Gina, to expose the ace up her sleeve: Gretchen’s questionable social media activity.
“I don’t want to pretend like she’s a good person,” Tamra says at dinner, donning the most sardonic smirk while shoving Gina right into the spotlight. Here’s your big moment, girlie; you better not mess it up, urges Tamra Soprano.
When you’re a veteran of the craft, you know better than to waste your big reveal on Episode 3. Reality TV fans have the memory of a goldfish. Imagine if Monica Garcia had been Reality VonTease’d in the first half of the season. She’d probably still be here today! Save it for the cast trip for maximum impact.
So, as the final days of the trip arrive, so does the grand reveal. It’s a topic that will surely bring out the worst in the fanbase and discourse at large, and seems to lead the entire cast to break down in tears, per the finale promo. But it’s real and it’s something worth discussing. In a world where Heather is hosting events for the Trevor Project on the show, it simply seems impossible to ignore such a contrasting message coming from one of her castmates.
That’s the beauty of Real Housewives: You mix your petty feuds with something far too nuanced and devastating for the medium. TV needs stakes. If every episode were “light, fun, silly drama,” well, what would be the point? Sometimes, life is fun and silly; and sometimes, it’s dark and disturbing.
In a week, we’ll be bombarded with thinkpieces as far as the eyes can see about the Gretchen Rossi Instagram exposé, while Tamra stands atop the staircase a la Regina George watching the chaos unfold. That’s the Gina Kirschenheiter promise.
For now, we can take solace in the little things, like Jenn’s saying she aspires to live a life like Gretchen. Oh, Jenn, our helpless angel.
The post Did a Real Housewife of Orange County Like Homophobic Posts? appeared first on The Daily Beast.
