Jill Zarin, one of the original cast members of “The Real Housewives of New York,” was fired from an upcoming reboot of the show after racist comments she made following Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance on Sunday (Feb. 8).
In the since-deleted clip, Zarin declared that the Puerto Rican star had “the worst halftime show ever” and wondered why there were “no white people” (Lady Gaga, who is Italian, performed as the lone guest during the set.)
Zarin was set to take part in “The Golden Life,” an E! reality series featuring fellow OG “RHONY” cast members Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Kelly Bensimon and Sonja Morgan. On Tuesday, Blink49 Studios, the production company behind the project, confirmed Zarin would not be part of the show.
“In light of recent public comments made by Jill Zarin, Blink49 Studios has decided not to move forward with her involvement in ‘The Golden Life,’” Blink49 Studios said in their statement. “We remain committed to delivering the series in line with our company standards and values.”
Zarin uploaded her review of the halftime show to Instagram on Sunday night, moments after Bad Bunny concluded one of the most talked-about performances in recent Super Bowl history.
“It’s 250 years that we’re celebrating right now in the United States, and I just don’t think it was appropriate to have it in Spanish,” she said. “Quite frankly, grabbing his ‘g’-area. I think it was totally inappropriate. You’ve got all these young kids watching the Super Bowl, and he doesn’t have to be grabbing himself every five seconds because he’s so insecure. Seriously.”
She added, “To me, it looked like a political statement because there were literally no white people in the entire thing.” Even with her exclusion of Gaga, Zarin had words about the “Die With A Smile” singer, too.
“And Lady Gaga got a facelift — I didn’t recognize her! I literally had to Google her face to see who it was. We all couldn’t agree who it was,” Zarin said. “So that was kind of fun in the middle of halftime. At least it gave me something to do, because it was so hard to watch.”
Despite her deleting it, content creator Gibson Johns reuploaded the clip on social media.
The backlash to Zarin’s comments has been swift. Zarin Fabrics, the store owned by her late husband, posted a photo on Instagram of Zarin with a red X superimposed over her face.
“Zarin Fabrics stands firmly against racism, discrimination, and rhetoric that seeks to exclude or diminish people based on identity, culture, or background,” the company wrote in their caption. “We want to be absolutely clear that Jill Zarin has not had ownership of or been associated with Zarin Fabrics for several years. Our company operates independently, and any public statements attributed to her are made in a personal capacity and do not reflect our values, beliefs, or operations.”
They concluded their message by saying, “We condemn language or viewpoints that undermine those principles, and we remain committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment in everything we do.”
