Racism, sexism and homophobia: Why fans are unhappy with the way Bravo handles these issues?
Update:
Evolution Media and the show-runners of 'Vanderpump Rules' finally axed OG cast members Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute, following their racist behavior against the only former black cast member on the show- Faith Stower. The duo called the cops on Faith for a crime she didn't commit just because she was black. The network even announced that Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni wouldn't be returning on the show. Despite the huge overhaul of the cast members of the show, fans aren't happy and began demanding that the show be canceled considering the problematic prejudices and attitudes that the cast members seem to possess.
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If you have ever watched a reality show you can't deny that they are addictive. With its over-the-top drama and petty fights, these shows make for a great viewing experience at the end of a long tiring day.
While it is great to keep you entertained, several fans have come forward to express their disappointment with the racist, sexist and homophobic undertones present in some of the very popular reality shows like the 'Real Housewives' franchise, 'Vanderpump Rules' and 'Below Deck' among several other shows.
On various internet forums and social media channels, you can see fans discussing how the network and showrunners aren’t doing enough to keep a check on such issues.
For instance Bravo's hit reality show 'Vanderpump Rules' has come under fire for homophobia, when one cast member Jax Taylor made homophobic statements about his co-worker Ariana Madix's sexuality on 'Vanderpump Rules', he went on to out her sexuality on 'Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen'.
Host Andy Cohen, who happens to be the executive producer of the 'Real Housewives' franchise and a prominent public figure didn’t call him out for outing his fellow cast member without her consent.
Fans who watched 'Below Deck' would know how sexist most of the current season's male cast members are. They were hoping that during the season's reunion these cast members would be called out for it and held accountable for their unacceptable behavior.
However, fans were left feeling high and dry when they felt that host Andy Cohen didn’t call out the men for their "toxic masculinity" and seemed to side with the "brus".
An annoyed fan pointed out on Reddit how Andy Cohen isn't being "objective" anymore. The fan posted, "I can't even watch this, last week was aggravating enough. I feel like Andy has completely fallen into this trap of arbitrary 'fairness' and false equivalency. Being truly objective as a host does not mean you try to level everything out, it means if some individuals are clearly toxic, negative, or flat-out reprehensible then you call it out."
The fan added, "Of course, drama was part of the narrative to this show and central to the RH shows, but that's become so central that any sense of basic standards of decency, fairness, and actual objectivity have been thrown out the window."
Another fan pointed out the problematic things seen on the popular reality shows on another Reddit thread, "Yep it’s time to dump Bravo, my former favorite network. Now I just can't. Too much crap now — they don't care to change. 1. Andy Cohen’s support and non-condemnation of the appalling bru behavior — that last comment to Courtney from Exec Andy crossed the line."
"2. LVP’s support for the violently and clearly racist past of the two bravo d-bags in Vanderpump Rules; 3. The Dallas Housewives' support for racist use of “Mexican” 4. the clear lack of attempted diversity (see BD Sailing Yacht).... they clearly support pro-A-hole behavior. Can you at least try to be decent?? Yuck. I’m def going to miss some housewives and Temptation Island but you suck that much. Kathy Griffin was right about you," the fan added.
Several viewers have begun expressing that they won’t be watching these popular reality shows after seeing how poorly pressing issues like sexism, homophobia, and racism are handled by the network.
A fan shared, "Yep. And I am done with 'Below Deck' & WWHL & Bravo. 'Below Deck' was pretty much the only show I had ever followed on Bravo, and based on their clear bias towards the Brüs and their support of misogynistic brü behavior, I am out. And I bet I am not the only one. They are losing a bunch of viewers over this. But I bet they have a lot of support for their other trashy housewife shows on Bravo, so loosing some socially conscious, anti-misogynist viewers from 'Below Deck' probably doesn’t matter to their multi-million dollar trash tv industry."
The article has been updated to include Bravo’s response to the story
A source close to the network insists that the network and Andy Cohen do address these issues and handle them appropriately. The source went on to point out how Andy held LeeAnne accountable for her racist statements on season 4 of ‘Real Housewives of Dallas’ reunion. Another source expressed how several people on the shows have taken “accountability” for their actions and “apologized” sincerely for it. The source said, “The intent of Bravo is to show real conversations that are happening… On many of these shows, people have taken accountability and apologized sincerely for their words and actions.”
