After facing a recent revolt from some of its reality stars, Bravo found the latest issue boiling over behind the scenes was over the Israel-Hamas war, Page Six has learned.
But the Teflon network seems to averted another crisis.
A complicated saga has played out behind the scenes at the reality behemoth around its response to the conflict and the rise of anti-Antisemitism in the United States.
Page Six understands that shortly after the October 7 terror attacks, a group of current and former stars on the network’s raft of reality TV shows co-signed an email to a number of senior Bravo figures who work closely with on-air talent.
We’re told the signatories appeared to be satisfied by their response to the appeal, and indeed one of the signatories told us this week that they were more than satisfied by it.
But at least one person party to the email decided to leak the messages — perhaps out of frustration with the network’s response — leading to considerable anguish among members of the group as well as some in the Bravo organization. “They believed it was a safe space,” a source told us.
Page Six has reviewed the plainly cordial and respectful messages between the group and the executives but has decided not to publish their contents to preserve the privacy of those involved as far as possible, given the extraordinary sensitivity of the subject matter.
We’re told that the email exchange was part of an ongoing, emotionally charged and, we’re told, broadly productive conversation between Bravo and certain network stars that had been going on since very soon after the attacks.
Some in the group say they have also got a sense of support and comradery from the Bravo “family” during the global turmoil. On the other hand, the leak has lent an atmosphere of distrust, anger and division in circumstances that are already raw and challenging.
We’re told that a number of stars and people behind the scenes were touched by a recent moment on Andy Cohen’s chat show, “Watch What Happens Live,” in which “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Dorit Kemsley and Cohen lit the show’s on-set Menorah and said the Hannukah prayer on the air.
While the show usually has a Menorah in the background at this time of year, this is the first time it has been lit as part of the show.
Bravo has not released a statement on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
But the chief executives at its parent company, NBCUniversal, released a statement on October 10 saying: “We are horrified and deeply saddened by the brutal attack on Israel. Our hearts go out to the families who have lost their loved ones through unspeakable acts of terrorism and the devastation of war. As these catastrophic events unfold, we are so grateful for the tireless dedication and bravery of our NBC and Sky news colleagues who are on the ground risking their lives to shine a light on this terrible conflict.”
NBCUniversal also committed $2million to humanitarian efforts in the country.