Bravo New Zealand Defends Adding Gilda Kirkpatrick To Their ‘RHOAKL’ One-Hour Special Following Social Media Backlash Over Her Alleged Controversial Comments!

Bravo New Zealand defends casting Gilda Kirkpatrick to star in the upcoming Real Housewives of Auckland one-hour special following social media backlash over her alleged controversial comments.

Kirkpatrick will star in Get Housewived, which is currently in production. She will reunite with her friend and fellow Auckland Housewive Michelle Blanchard for “their very own mission impossible.”

The network's social media posts got flooded with negative comments about the addition of Kirkpatrick over her offensive comments about the LGBTQI+ community and minorities, according to The Spinoff. 

One post claimed Kirkpatrick’s views were “outdated and harmful”; another asked Bravo to continue producing the show but remove Kirkpatrick.

Several users have accused Kirkpatrick of making harmful statements about trans people, while others asked the network to directly address Kirkpatrick’s alleged views. Others slammed the network for removing negative comments on Gilda on their social media pages.

“Why are you deleting comments when you should be deleting the show,” one user wrote on Instagram.

In a brief statement, Bravo defended the new show and the casting of Kirkpatrick. “Through its diverse programming, Bravo New Zealand promotes diversity and inclusion while respecting a breadth of opinions and views,” said a spokesperson for the network, based in Sydney.

The network posted a statement from Gilda on their Instagram page. “I am disappointed and saddened to have recently received some inaccurate accusations. I am a strong advocate of the LGBTQI+ community and will continue to support my trans and gay friends,” Kirkpatrick wrote.

She added, “In New Zealand, I feel very privileged to live in a society that supports and celebrates LGBTQI communities and I do not condone transphobic or homophobic behaviour.”

In the post, the network captioned, “Through its diverse programming, Bravo New Zealand promotes diversity and inclusion while respecting a breadth of opinions and views.”

Photo Credit: Bravo New Zealand/NBCUniversal