The Bethenny Frankel Transphobic Controversy Fully Explained
Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise has blessed fans with a ton of amazing (and downright hilarious) content over the years. Not only has the franchise become a cultural touchstone, but it has also produced some of the biggest reality TV stars in recent years. From Nene Leakes to Teresa Giudice to Lisa Vanderpump, many housewives have become household names. But one of the most popular stars to come from Bravo by far is Bethenny Frankel.
Not only did Bethenny entertain fans for years while on the "The Real Housewives of New York City," but she's also proven herself to be a successful businesswoman. Yet, Bethenny has been no stranger to controversy throughout the years, and it looks like the star has once again found herself in the hot seat over transphobic comments she made in a podcast episode.
After facing backlash, Bethenny said her comment had been distorted by the media. "I was absolutely not wrong. And I'm going to discuss this again this week," the reality star tweeted. "Thankfully I have a platform to clarify what the media loves to distort. PS I'm not afraid of cancelation so not afraid of charged discussions." But what exactly did Bethenny say?
Bethenny Frankel opens up about her thoughts on gender
On September 23, Bethenny took to her podcast "Just B with Bethenny Frankel," and made comments about gender identity. Specifically, the reality star framed the discussion through a meeting with her 11-year-old daughter's school, where the topic of pronouns came up. "We have to go into the fact that I did a Zoom for my daughter's school and [had] the pronouns conversation with each teacher, each parent, each child," Bethenny said (via Us Weekly). "And my daughter says in school, too, that everybody has to say their pronouns. And my daughter didn't even know what hers were."
According to Us Weekly, Bethenny went on to share a story about a summer camp situation where an individual who identified as a female but was born a male was sharing a room with other young girls. "So, the other girls saw a penis. They're nine, ten years old, so the parents obviously weren't that happy. ... A penis often goes into a vagina often so they might not want that visual so soon," Bethenny added. Wow.
Bethenny added if she were raising a transgender child, she would "... want my child to go to another camp where there were kids in the same situation. Not every situation is set up to make someone thrive." And that's not all.
Bethenny is standing by her anti-transgender words
Not only did Bethenny Frankel make comments suggesting gender identity pronouns were too confusing for younger kids, but according to Us Weekly, she also had an issue with inclusive bathrooms in schools and suggested that children may not be mature enough to decide their gender.
"What happens if a child isn't ready to make a decision? Don't a lot of girls in college have a lesbian phase and then they realize that they're not? Maybe they're going through something, maybe they want attention, maybe they're going through a bad breakup. What is the age that someone's absolutely positive who they are? There's got to be gray area," she said.
Many called her out on her offensive remarks. But in a string of tweets, Frankel responded by saying she does not regret her comments and will readdress them in the coming weeks. In another tweet, the reality star also implied that the media was sensationalizing her statement. "@PageSix says I'm transphobic so it must be true...or listen to @justbpodcast & decide for yourself. Gotta sell papers. #donthatetheplayerhatethegame," she added. Though Bethenny may have been trying to have an honest conversation about gender, it's evident she crossed a line, is out of her depth, and owes the LGBTQ+ community an apology.