Kelly Dodd is shutting down rumors that she’s been fired from Real Housewives of Orange County, claiming she will be back next season.
“It’s actually kinda funny … I’ve heard these rumors every year for the last five years,” Dodd wrote via Twitter on Tuesday, February 23. “Looking forward to my sixth season #RHOC 16!”
However, a rep for Bravo later told Us Weekly that the network hasn’t made any casting decisions yet.
Last month, Dodd sparked speculation that she was leaving — or fired from the Bravo hit reality series when she changed her Instagram bio to read: “Proud veteran castmember of #RHOC.” A source later revealed that Dodd’s husband, Rick Leventhal, was responsible for the social media change after Kelly was dropped by the Positive Beverage company for her controversial statements she made about the coronavirus pandemic.
“Rick made the edit Sunday to remove the beverage reference and added ‘veteran’ to reflect Kelly’s longtime tenure on the show,” the insider told Us Weekly earlier this month. “He never intended to suggest she’s no longer a cast member because she is still with the RHOC franchise.” Dodd has since changed it back to read, “proud castmember of #RHOC.”
The switch came hours after Dodd was criticized for seemingly mocking COVID-19 restrictions in California on January 31. Dodd’s firing as a spokesperson for Positive Beverage came one day after she shared a video joking about being a COVID-19 “superspreader” while dining out with friends.
Dodd first came under fire in April when she claimed the coronavirus pandemic was “God’s way of thinning the herd.” However, she quickly apologized, saying, “That’s not what I meant. I’m not insensitive,” she said at the time. “I feel bad for all the families that lost loved ones, and I do think that we should all stay home and protect everybody. That’s not what I meant, and I want to apologize to anyone who got offended, OK? I’m sorry.”
In May, Dodd apologized again for another insensitive comment she made about the pandemic. “I’m so sorry if I offended anyone regarding the Coronavirus. Like millions of Americans, I’m frustrated and longing for the way things were but I absolutely empathize with those who’ve lost loved ones..,” she tweeted.
The Bravo reality star’s apology comes after footage from an Instagram live featuring Kelly surfaced. During the chat, a friend of the RHOC star told her, “It’s more every day. In New York, we’re down to 250 [deaths] a day.”
Dodd then compared coronavirus to “the flu” and added, “But how many people die on a daily basis? … Well, people are going to die! I’m sorry to tell ya.”
Early last month, Dodd responded to the backlash she received on social media after she shared a photo wearing a hat that says “Drunk Wives Matter” at her bridal shower. The hat — a play on Black Lives Matter — did not sit well with many of her fans and slammed her on social media. Dodd revealed that the hat was a gift from a friend and was intended to be a joke.
“It’s my bridal shower. I didn’t buy it. It was a joke,” Kelly explained in a video via her Instagram Stories. “Drunk Wives Matter. They kind of do. You know what? All lives matter. It was a joke and so people that can’t get a joke, go f*ck yourselves, okay?”
She added, “Go f*ck yourselves!”
Last month, Dodd appeared on WWHL and addressed her controversial comments. “Of course I regret saying [coronavirus was God’s way of thinning the herd]. I mean at the time, it was a question, like, ‘Why are all these people dying?’” Dodd said about her first controversial comment. “It was a stupid thing for me to say. It was insensitive and I apologize if I hurt or offended anybody because that wasn’t really my intention. I got, like, freaked out about in hindsight it was the stupidest thing I’ve ever said.”
Cohen went on to read a viewer question about Dodd’s refusal to wear a mask. While claiming she was “misinformed” for saying that “no one is dying” of COVID-19 in Orange County “back in January,” she actually made headlines for the comment in May.
“I hate [wearing a mask]. I’m claustrophobic. I can’t stand wearing a mask,” she said. “Now I understand the science behind it and I’m really, willing and able to wear a mask and I know that it’s important because I don’t want to get sick and I want to get others sick.”
After asking Dodd about the “Drunk Wives Matter” hat she sported at her bridal shower over the summer — she maintained the hat was a gift and she supports the Black Lives Matter movement — Cohen suggested the Housewife get off the Internet.
“You’ve had such a bad run on social media. I mean I get tweets and DMs … since this whole thing started saying, ‘You gotta control her, you have to stop her,’ this and that and the other. I mean, at some point, it seems like you need to think before you post,” Cohen said.
Dodd replied that she’s a “human being who makes mistakes” and noted everyone has “regrets.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy Kelly Dodd/Instagram
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