Heather Thomson reveals the reason why she decided to stop filming Season 13 of The Real Housewives of New York City amid her feud with Leah McSweeney.
“I didn’t even get a chance to breathe, really,” Thomson told Entertainment Tonight in reference to McSweeney, according to Page Six. “Nobody else made me feel that way.”
Heather said she was supposed to appear throughout all of Season 13 in a “friend of the Housewives” role, but pulled out after a few episodes because of all the drama between her and McSweeney.
“I keep getting kind of railroaded by one of the new girls on the show who just has her own agenda,” Thomson added of McSweeney in her interview with Entertainment Tonight.
She also speculated that McSweeney gave her a hard time because she had preconceived notions about her as a former “fan” of “RHONY.”
“She basically formed an opinion by her fandom of the show,” Thomson said. “… Leah was a fan of the show watching the show through my edited character; that’s what I think it was. I was bound and hung by her because of how she interpreted my character on the show years ago.”
The news comes after sources revealed that Thomson stopped filming the series due to her feud with McSweeney.
“Heather’s popular history with the old cast and the excitement about new cast member Eboni Williams prompted production to maneuver her return,” a source told Us Weekly, noting that Ramona Singer invited Thomson to the Hamptons for the weekend during production. “Shortly after she arrived, Leah [McSweeney] and Heather butt heads. Their exchanges got messy and included some name-calling.”
The source added that Heather was “stunned” as she “had minimal interaction” with Leah prior to season 13. While the two women crossed paths before during season 12 at Dorinda Medley’s house, their exchange at the dinner party was “uneventful,” the insider revealed.
“Heather could see Leah was acting up for the cameras and using behavior she considered demeaning and exploitative and frankly, crossed a line,” the source continued. “Heather wanted no part of Leah so after she left that weekend Heather had no interest in continuing the season at all and stopped filming.”
Bravo teased about Thomson and McSweeney’s feud in the season 13 trailer. In the teaser, Leah appears to call Heather a “Karen.”
McSweeney seemingly addressed her feud with Thomson in a since-deleted Instagram Story in March.
“I don’t like women who slut shame other women,” she wrote. “Act morally superior to other women. Plastic surgery shame other women. Gossip about other women doing drugs when you know damn well they’ve done drugs also. And lastly I don’t like when white women call black women ‘articulate’. Especially while acting like the queen of wokeness.”
Heather appeared on RHONY for seasons 5 to 7 as a full-time cast member. She left the show in 2015 after three seasons and has appeared as a “guest” in Seasons 8-10 and 12.
McSweeney is returning for Season 13 along with Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, and Sonja Morgan. They will be joined by Eboni K. Williams, who made history as the show's first official black cast member. Motivational speaker, Bershan Shaw is appearing as a “friend” for the show in season 13.
Photo Credit: Bravo Media/NBCUniversal
