MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Bethenny Frankel slams all-girls Hampton's summer camp for allowing 'girl with penis'

Bethenny Frankel claimed the person was 'making out' with a lot of girls at the 'f**king crazy' summer camp

TV personality Bethenny Frankel has slammed an all-girls summer camp for "political correctness" in her latest podcast. In the September 23 episode of 'Just B', Frankel slammed Hampton's summer camp for allowing a boy who identified as a girl, which led to girls as young as nine being exposed to a penis. Frankel slammed the camp on her podcast, where she also targeted gender pronouns, leading to some backlash on social media. 

The former 'Real Housewives' star indicated that the daughter she shares with ex Jason Hoppy didn't attend the camp in question, but she was informed of the incident by "other parents". This isn't the first time Frankel has been mired in controversy. Back in 2020, she was slammed after exiting RHONY, which she dubbed "a proverbial middle finger and uninspiring." Since then, she's made quite a name for herself with the 'Just B' podcast and her other ventures.

RELATED ARTICLES

Coronavirus: 'RHONY' star Bethenny Frankel calls out Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk for failing to donate aid money

'RHONY' star Ramona Singer claims former housewife Bethenny Frankel has FOMO regarding the Bravo series

She clearly struck a nerve though with the episode published on September 23, where her rant against gender identity and pronouns catching many off-guard. However, she refused to back down to the pressure and promised to "discuss this again this week". 

Frankel slams camp

It's unclear when the incident occurred, and where, with Frankel providing few details about the summer camp in question. "Summer camp went f**king crazy this summer - either it was the pandemic or everybody being politically correct or it just happened to be the craziest year in camp history," she said. Frankel then added, "It's an all-girls camp, and a person with a penis who identifies as being a girl went to the camp... The girls saw her — because it's her because it's male anatomy but identifying as a woman — so the other girls saw a penis." She also claimed the person was "making out with a lot of girls at the camp."

"They’re 9, 10 years old, so the parents obviously weren’t that happy. … A penis often goes into a vagina often so they might not want that visual so soon," she added. Frankel then went on to slam the camp, saying "Not every situation is set up to make someone thrive... You can’t make every situation fit. The camp didn’t think it through." Frankel then went on to rant against inclusive schools and gender identity.

"Don’t a lot of girls in college have a lesbian phase and then they realize that they’re not? Maybe they’re going through something... What is the age that someone’s absolutely positive who they are?" she asked. Frankel also narrated another anecdote from her daughter's school. "We have to go into the fact that I did a Zoom for my daughter’s school and (had) the pronouns conversation with each teacher, each parent, each child. And my daughter says in school, too, that everybody has to say their pronouns. And my daughter didn’t even know what hers were."

Internet slams comments as 'ignorant' and 'transphobic'

Frankel immediately faced backlash for that episode but decided to double down with a series of tweets. "Listen to the podcast. Then comment. I was absolutely not wrong. And I’m going to discuss this again this week. Thankfully I have a platform to clarify what the media loves to distort. @justbpodcast ps. I’m not afraid of cancelation so not afraid of charged discussions," she said in one.

The comments didn't go down too well on social media, with many slammed Frankel. "This is a time to learn, Bethenny. Humility can be a good thing. Doesn't mean you're weak. You were wrong with your comments," one person commented. Another said, "I’ve generally liked Bethenny Frankel - but these comments are cruel, antiquated, and dangerous for trans kids. Her attitude reeks of privilege. Stick to diet gum, BF."

"I listened. I heard you repeatedly describe a trans girl as a “person with a penis,” and the fact that you don’t know how wrong that is is alarming. You wouldn’t have your platform without the queer community, so you have a responsibility to speak to and about us with respect," one user replied to Frankel. Another slammed, "As a trans person, I think it was ignorant of you to say and unwarranted. It is transphobic." One user commented, "You should spend less time talking about children’s genitalia and more on how damaging it is to speak about trans people with such suspicion like this. You’re not “asking the questions” you’re being vile."

Plenty of others also rushed to defend Frankel, leading to a large battle on Twitter, but it appears she didn't need much help. When Page Six reported the story, they dubbed the star "transphobic", to which she replied, "@PageSix says I’m transphobic so it must be true." Frankel doesn't seem willing to concede any ground here, so it seems as if this controversy will likely continue for a long time.