Kelly Dodd gets candid about her Real Housewives of Orange County exit and reveals how she felt when she found out that she wasn't returning to the show's upcoming sixteenth season.
“I had no idea. …I was blindsided,” Dodd revealed during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live with her husband, Rick Leventhal, on Monday, June 28, according to Us Weekly.
The controversial reality star admitted that she asked whether her exit was stemmed from her political views, but was told that the network simply wanted “to take a different direction.”
Leventhal joined in to discuss why he felt like Bravo made the wrong decision in not bringing his wife back for season 16.
“My thought on that was that there’s no one more popular than her. Even if people hate her, they love to hate her, they love to watch her,” Leventhal added. “And she was the brightest spark on that show. I have to say, when that phone call came, I was very surprised because even though she’s been so controversial, she’s still great television.”
Dodd discussed the range of opinions that RHOC viewers have of her. “You want somebody to love to hate you, or you want people to really love you, but I have a million followers and they are diehard, like, fans, and they love me. And then I have, then I have this little group of people that are the cancel culture that hate me,” she noted. “And so they’re the loud ones. They’re the, actually the ones that can’t afford to. The woke, broke people. They love to hate me.”
Although Dodd wasn’t happy with how her exit from the show played out, she explained that she felt responsible. “Listen, ultimately, I got fired because of myself, I’m the one who got myself fired,” she said. “I was causing them a lot of grief. I was causing them a lot of trouble. And you know, I’m sorry about that. Like, I feel bad.”
The news comes after it was revealed last month that Dodd along with Braunwyn Windham-Burke, and Elizabeth Lyn Vargas were not asked to return to RHOC for the show's upcoming Season 16. According to reports, Bravo decided not to renew their contracts.
A spokesperson confirmed the news to Variety about Windhand-Burke, Lyn Vargas, and Dodd’s departures.
Shannon Storms Beador, Gina Kirschenheiter, and Emily Simpson, however, are all returning for Season 16. They will be joined by former Housewife Heather Dubrow, who originally left the series in 2017 after five seasons. Variety added that one or two new women will also join the cast.
However, it was reported that Braunwyn’s best friend Noella Bergener is joining the cast for Season 16 after Windham-Burke’s firing.
“Noella is coming on board as a cast member for the new season, though Braunwyn will not be returning,” a source told The Sun. “They tested her out before the firing decisions were made. She has good chemistry with other potential new cast members.”
That’s not all. It’s also being reported that Tamra Judge is also returning to RHOC as a “friend.”
Photo Credit: Bravo Media/NBCUniversal
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