Bravo’s Maryland-based hit The Real Housewives of Potomac returned for its sixth season this past Sunday and stars from the show are already making headlines for their antics on and off the screen.
Recently, RHOP veterans Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon came forward to defend their co-star Ashley Darby’s after another co-star Candiace Dillard-Bassett accused her of benefiting from light skin privilege.
The hoopla all started in June when a fan posted a comment under a video posted on @alltruetea’s Instagram account that Darby was allowed to be explosive in her reactions without being villainized the same way Dillard-Bassett last season.
“This reel shows how reckless Ashley’s mouth has been and still is,” they pointed out. “Yet Candiace was the villain and ganged up on by so many fans. It’s crazy how Ashley was in my opinion worse but people want to ignore that. I wonder why????? ”
Instead of ignoring or dismissing the comment with a polite response, the former beauty queen instead agreed with the observation. Dillard-Bassett further opined that she believed the difference in their skin complexions played a part in how they were received by the audience.
“Because she’s light-skinned,” Dillard-Bassett commented. “There. It was said. I said it. Now, let’s see how fast it gets around.”
This week while promoting the new season that kicked off Sunday on Bravo, Bryant and Dixon addressed that allegation during an interview with The Jasmine Brand and pushed back that colorism has nothing to do with how any of the ladies is attacked by viewers.
“It was stupid,” Bryant replied when asked if she saw value in the complaint. “I’ll tell you why. Who gets the most shade? Who gets the most backlash?”
“Who gets the most hateration? This girl or this girl?” Bryant asked, pointing to herself and Dixon.
“And Ashley!,” Dixon chimed in. “Ashley spent three seasons being dragged by the fans and the only reason why she recently fell into better favor of the fans is [because] we got to see a different side of her as a mother. So I think people have short memories. Candiace’s memory is a little short but Ashley has definitely paid her dues.”
According to a press release published by iHeart Radio, Bryant and Dixon host a podcast together, “Reasonably Shady” via Charlamagne The God’s and iHeartMedia’s The Black Effect Podcast Network.
The show is described as, “a conversational lifestyle podcast that will feature an array of topics for women, including dating, relationships, marriage, entrepreneurs, motherhood, style, glam, current events, and more.
In each episode, the ladies will also reveal their weekly ‘Shady Moment of the Week,’ a segment where they quickly recap a shady moment from their past week. In the debut episode, Gizelle and Robyn will discuss how their long-lasting friendship began, how both women became cast members on The Real Housewives of Potomac and why they decided to start a podcast during the pandemic.”
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