Fans of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” have rallied behind the show’s first Black cast member, Garcelle Beauvais, after she checked cast mate Dorit Kemsley.
The friendship between the “The Jamie Foxx Show” actress and the fashion designer has experienced increasing tensions over the span of three seasons.
On the Dec. 21 episode, Kemsley struck a nerve with Beauvais when she accused the former model of “attacking” her after she was scolded for revealing that “RHOBH” co-star Sutton Stracke made out with a chauffeur during a wild girls night out.
The former talk show host slammed the notion that she had it out for Kemsley while addressing the nuanced connotation of the word attack being used to describe a Black woman’s actions.
“Dorit lives in a bit of a bubble. It just triggers me. We live in a world now, we’re aware, we’re woke, whatever you want to say, and I feel like she’s not in that world,” explained Beauvais in a confessional scene. She would go on to explain to her friend that “I don’t know what a good word is, but I feel like for you and your privilege, I can’t.”
During the scene, she added, “Just for the record, I didn’t attack you. we were having a conversation.”
Another cast mate chimed in to explain the error in Kemsley accusing the actress of attacking her.
On social media, viewers had plenty to say about the scene. One person wrote, “Using words like ‘attack and angry’ are code words when describing a black woman’s attitude.” A second said, “To think just 60-70 years ago that statement alone was enough to turn us into ‘strange fruit’…. They know what they’re doing.”
For those confused as to why Garcelle viewed Dorit’s actions as privileged. Dorit feels she can scream at Sutton but Garcelle is not allowed (without being accused of attacking) to calmly call Dorit out for trying to embarrass Sutton. That is called microagression and privilege… pic.twitter.com/KxzNnw1toZ
— All About The Tea ☕ (@AllAboutDaTea) December 21, 2023
While a third brought up past indiscretions that have fueled tension between Beauvais and Kemsley. “Dorit has previously tried to paint a picture of Garcelle being an angry black woman with an attitude. I hope Garcelle realizes that after all of these negative exchanges, Dorit is prejudiced and untrustworthy,” read the post.
In 2021, the two women found themselves at the onset of what seemed to be a rift after Kemsley noted an obvious shift between them. She alleged that Beauvais had begun to take subtle, unprovoked jabs at her when around the other women.
“Garcelle never used to do this to me, ever. We’ve always been friends,” said the swimwear brand founder in a season 11 confessional. When she confronted the Haitian beauty, she said, “It’s surprising. It takes me off guard, and the thing is, it’s like [you’re being] a bully.” Beauvais denied acting like a bully.
The current season 13 has also shown Beauvais cast doubt on Kemsley’s stories about being robbed by three men on two separate occasions. The first occurred at gunpoint in 2021 at her home. The second incident involved her purse, which contained $10,000 in cash, being stolen while she was out holiday shopping in 2022.
In the past, Beauvais also experienced tense moments and strain between her and Lisa Rinna. Rinna, however, left the show after last season as the mudslinging between them reached its peak.
