Katie Ginella is in the hot seat this season on Real Housewives of Orange County. Overall, she is proving to be an unreliable narrator with a knack for stirring up drama on all sides, whether she calls you a friend or not. Yet, in the storyline that involves her secretly recording her spiraling pal Shannon Beador, I have to pause. Her actions were inexcusable, yet the anger Katie is now receiving from her cast feels hypocritical.
Without stopping to think, I can name at least two other occasions when this cast has either secretly taped or covertly aired a private moment one of their fellow cast members was experiencing. In these aired moments, the affected stars all believed that their cameras were down, not capturing their emotional plights for the sake of higher ratings on Bravo. However, the pushback their secret camera and phone-holding assassins received was minimal. So, let us break down these instances, alongside what Katie did, to see where everyone else stands on this issue.
Katie Ginella secretly recorded Real Housewives of Orange County co-star Shannon Beador
As seen on RHOC Season 19 Episode 3, Shannon is extra mad at Katie. Her anger arose after Tamra Judge revealed that Katie was not her loyal friend. As Tamra disclosed to one cast member, who then repeated it to Shannon, Katie recorded Shannon without her knowledge. And then, Katie reportedly shared her recording with someone Shannon loathed.
As for what Katie recorded, reportedly, Shannon entered a photo shoot for RHOC livid. Alexis Bellino, a woman engaged to her ex, whom she fought relentlessly during RHOC Season 18, was also supposed to be present at this shoot. So, allegedly, Shannon lost her lemons and emotionally crashed out on their set. Then, as Tamra claimed, Katie hung up her phone call with her husband and started recording Shannon, only to later show Alexis everything that she taped.
At this time, Shannon was dealing with a lawsuit involving her ex. So, what Katie did could have held negative consequences for her supposed friend, Shannon. Therefore, Shannon has every right to be upset with Katie. Katie, however, claims that she never showed Alexis anything, while other cast members have heard her state otherwise.
This storyline is a mess. Nevertheless, what Katie did is nothing new to this series. However, other RHOC players who have followed this lead have not been dealt with as heatedly as Katie.
The RHOC cast once filmed Kelly Dodd in Ireland
Kelly Dodd entered the cast of RHOC in Season 11. She exited following Season 15. Kelly always spoke her mind, no matter who her opinions might rattle. Her boldness and brashness placed an invisible target on her back, which this cast tried to hit during her first season on RHOC.
During her first season on RHOC, the cast traveled to Ireland. On this trip, Kelly and Tamra engaged in a physical altercation. Their cameras were not rolling during this incident, but during their reunion, Tamra admitted to shoving Kelly. Tamra was mad, as Kelly had brought up her estranged daughter, Sidney, during a pub crawl, which made Tamra see red.
Heather Dubrow was also mad at Kelly. Kelly said “trashy” things, which Heather did not want to hear in her orbit. Similarly, Shannon felt annoyed with Kelly as well, so after a few too many drinks, which Kelly later stated felt like a setup, Kelly began to melt down. Cue Shannon, encouraging Heather to take out her cell phone and record Kelly at her worst.
Legally speaking, Kelly was also dealing with her separation and reconciliation (and eventual divorce) from her then-husband. Therefore, these drunken, emotional scenes could have negatively affected her marriage and subsequent child custody arrangements, which no one ever seemed to mind.
Shannon is still refusing to forgive Katie, as seen recently on Watch What Happens Live. Here, Andy Cohen pointed out the hypocrisy of her hatred for Katie, noting that Shannon encouraged the filming of Kelly in Season 11. But Shannon shut him down. In her words, Season 11’s covert filming was different, as production had encouraged them to film each other in their absences.
Tamra Judge put Shannon’s butt-dial on speaker
On a different but similar note, last season, Shannon butt-dialed Tamra during a breakdown she was having off-camera. Shannon presented as panicked and exhausted on this call. Her feelings made sense, as she had just learned that her ex had initiated a lawsuit against her. Instead of making a noise to alert Shannon that she had called her while their cameras were filming, or even just hanging up her phone to protect her friend, Tamra put her butt-dial call on speaker, not clicking off once she realized that Shannon was speaking of highly sensitive matters.
At the end of this mistaken phone call, Shannon (seemingly) realizes that she has called someone. But when she speaks the word “hello” into the phone, Tamra does not engage her friend to find out if she is well. Instead, Tamra hangs up the phone and calls Heather, revealing what she heard on this butt-dialed bust of a call.
Granted, Shannon and Tamra are still at odds. But this private-made-public butt-dial storyline rarely takes the blame for why Shannon is not thrilled with her former Amiga. In conclusion, filming people who are unaware and at their lowest feels gross. But, again, what Katie did is nothing new to the cast of RHOC, so the daggers that are so out and unforgiving when it comes to her feel hypocritical, at best.
The Real Housewives of Orange County is available to stream on Peacock and Hayu in the UK and Ireland.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK HYPOCRISY IS AT PLAY, OR DOES KATIE DESERVE ALL OF THIS HEAT FROM HER CAST?