The drama is boiling over on the set of Bravo’s hit reality show “The Real Housewives of Potomac.” On a recent episode (S7.E7), that aired on Sunday, Nov. 20, the ladies gathered at Bar One, a swanky lounge and restaurant in Miami, to celebrate Karen Huger’s birthday. Tempers flared after serial entrepreneur Mia Thornton threw a drink in the face of Wendy Osefo, a professor at John Hopkins University.
The argument started when Mia brought up that Wendy had not responded to a business email sent to her by Peter Thomas. Mia said Wendy had “beef” with Peter, who used to be a secondary cast member on the “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” as the husband of model Cynthia Bailey.
Now on this show, he is cast to be a business mentor to Wendy. Wendy shared at the table full of women, including Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby, Robyn Dixon and others, she had no “beef” with any man and if there is a problem, that man should reach out to her husband.
The ladies had different responses, but most sided with Mia, saying, “but this is business.”
Wendy, during the scene, became frustrated because Mia told her she should have called Peter when she arrived in the city, and before the conversation could go any further, Mia tossed her drink into Mia’s face.
At this point, the two stood up as if to get into a fight. Wendy accused Mia of getting upset because she was sleeping with Peter and asked her if she wanted to fight. Robyn pulled out her phone to capture the melee and said Wendy was “antagonizing” Mia.
Social media snapped, not because Wendy and Mia were about to fight, but because Robyn appeared to be blindly biased, and siding with the person who started the argument and the physical assault.
One person tweeted, “ROBYN SAID “SHES VERY ANTAGONISTIC” ABOUT WENDY … WHEN MIA THREW THE DRINK??????????? EXPLAIN???? LMFAOOOOOO #RHOP.”
“I can’t believe linebacker ass Robyn is saying Wendy is antagonizing when Mia started this whole thing! #RHOP,” another person commented.
“Wait… Robyn says that Dr. Wendy is antagonistic and Mia just threw a drink at WENDY,” another viewer wrote. “Whew Chile… you will have A LOT to explain at the reunion regarding the colorism conversation bc it’s overt at this point. #RHOP.”
Twitter user @Justinnalexx wrote, “Robyn if you don’t shut up calling Wendy ‘antagonistic’ and you filming and telling her to fight?! But you’re not violent??? She a lame #RHOP.”
Some people took Wendy’s side, saluting her for taking the high road.
“@WendyOsefo I have to applaud you for not dragging Mia. But I guess you had no other choice but to let this slide as EVERYONE would have use this as a reason to get out out of the show. Clearly your shine bothers them #RHOP #TeamWendy,” one fan tweeted.
Black Twitter was not the only place that questioned how the women sided with Mia and not Wendy. Vulture’s reality show critic Shamira Ibrahim said, “The level of distaste the cast has for Wendy is completely outsized to her actions.”
“Wendy is corny and can be a bit extra and aimless, and it’s more than a bit clear that she is just not the best fit for the ensemble, a la Kim Fields on RHOA,” she continued. “For that to result in an entire table looking on silently, filming, and egging on Mia assaulting her?”
Adding, “If this was Basketball Wives or Love & Hip-Hop, I might not give it a second glance. But Gizelle and Robyn are not Evelyn and Jennifer; this is a franchise that has set a precedent for its relationship with Black respectability, and all they are showcasing is that they don’t believe that Wendy deserves the respect that they demand.”
Wendy gave context to everything that happened, calling Robyn and Gizelle out on their “hypocrisy.”
During an interview with Carlos King on his show “Reality with The King,” Wendy talked about her falling out with Robyn and Gizelle in season six and how the tension between the women carried over into season seven.
She also talked about Mia throwing the drink on her, saying she was hit by the lady in red with her purse while they were filming. What was important to Wendy was that fans pay attention to the hypocrisy her adversaries demonstrate— once saying they were against violence in the case of Monique Samuels’ assault of Candiace Dillard Bassett, but condoning it when it was perpetrated against her.
