Mention It All - Behind The Scenes At BravoCon Ft. Sarah Hearon

Episode Date: October 18, 2022

Dylan is joined by Sarah Hearon, Deputy Editor at Us Weekly, for a behind-the-scenes deep dive into BravoCon. Sarah shares some of the most interesting moments from the press room, and Dylan relives the chaos that was the RHOBH panel. They also discuss some of the biggest drama that popped off throughout the weekend. Then, they recap the latest episode of RHOP, where the Candiace breaks the fourth wall in a big way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We don't say that, but now we said it. With me, Dylan Hafer. We're going to check me, boo. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Mention at All podcast. I'm Dylan Hafer, and I am so excited to be back from a hectic weekend, to say the least. I've been at BravoCon, and so has my guest today.

She is a friend of mine and a deputy editor at us weekly. please welcome back to the podcast Sarah Heeran. To quote Austin Kroll, hey Dee. Don't you dare. Hey, Dee, what's up? That was iconic. I'm trying. That was the fact that that I recorded that interview like I guess six days ago now.

It feels like I was in a different lifetime. Pre-BravoCon and post-Bravocon, you are a different, you're a different person. It just is what it is. Yes. So you were at BravoCon. You were also a BravoCon in 2019, as was I. I don't feel like 2019 had an ounce of the chaos and drama and just energy that this weekend really felt like everybody was on 100 out of 10. No, 2019 was like everyone wanted to be friends.

Everyone was meeting. No one knew what to expect. It was a very just like chill vibe. And it was like weird that you would turn around and like see all these people casually walking around. This BravoCon, you knew when someone important, quote unquote, was walking by because a mob of people was chasing them and screaming and you couldn't get anywhere without, you know, walking through several lines. It was madness. It was funny to see who over the course of the weekend kind of caused the biggest stir, like on the BravoCon floor. Like I was really amused to see people screaming for Jake from State Farm when he was there on Friday. That was amazing.

I saw Jerry O'Connell getting fully just mobbed by middle-aged women. I mean, like in heat, like just ready to go. Andrea, I don't think could walk half an inch in that room without just a swarm following him. Like there was a lot of just feral energy in the room and, you know, where else but Bravo con? Jerry O'Connell got like attacked in the bathroom because after day one where there was, obviously, like the women's room line was a little longer than the men's room line at most events, but BravoCon obviously no surprise. So then day two, they made them all gender neutral, which made sense. But then Jerry O'Connell was in the bathroom, probably could have gone to a separate bathroom,

but he chose to stars there just like us and go in the main one and had girls taking photos, like with him in the bathroom. I'm now actually, I'm now on the record in a Jezebel article telling a story about Teddy Mellencamp cutting a bathroom line. And I'm like, God, I hope Teddy doesn't read this because I don't want to eat. I was with Teddy, like, half the weekend because she was in the press room with us. So I was like on the floor in the later hours, but during the day, I was mostly in the press room. And Teddy was there doing her podcast. And it was definitely an interesting dynamic to have her and what's his name, Justin Anderson,

the hairstylist, like doing their IHeart radio podcast right before like the full press line started. So that was like a weird, interesting way to even like start the room. She was, I talked to Teddy. She was nice and whatever. But it was just, you know, an interesting note. I want one of the reasons I was excited to talk to you post BravoCon is because you were in the press room for a lot of the weekend. I'm sure you had a little bit of a different experience than those of us who were, you know, running between panels and stuff mostly. What was the, what was the atmosphere like in the press room?

And was there anyone that you had like an especially good or interesting time, chat? with? The atmosphere in the press room was pretty chaotic as well, especially on Friday, because I think the same way a lot of people turn out on the first couple days of, like, Friday and Saturday were probably nuts and Sunday was like a little more chill out on the floor. The same thing that happened Friday, like every outlet was there and everyone was like smushed together and it's just like this one really long red carpet. And then Saturday, like less people showed up, maybe because they were scarred from Friday. I don't know. But, um, Honestly, the craziest part was probably Friday after the Beverly Hills panel when Lisa Renna was booed. And no one knew if Lisa Renna was doing press. It was kind of like a question mark to begin with. They kept changing like who was definitely going to be in the press room, especially in Beverly Hills world. Like no one knew if Kathy was definitely showing up. She was there hours later than she was supposed to. Lisa wasn't even on the list to be doing press until like right before. So she showed up right fresh off the panel. And obviously went down this line of probably like 20 reporters asking.

her and we were told like three questions each asking her what was it like to be booed are you going to be put on pause like over and over again so she gets halfway down the line and the PR person for civic who was like running the event with Bravo not even Bravo PR was like all right we're down to two questions each for Lisa then she got asked again about the boo whatever and you know I'm sure people have seen her responses have been very much like I loved it WWE like she was trying to like feed into it like it'll be great and then somebody else was like what are you going to do if you get fired. And she was like, it'll be cool. It'll be so cool. And then they were like, one question for Lisa. And then after someone asked again, she went, no questions for Lisa.

and just walked off. And that was the end of Lisa Redon on the press line. So she made it halfway through and then left. And I was standing right there when she was next. And I was like, this was better than me getting to ask her one question because I watched like real time, Lisa Renna, leave the press line done and just declare she was over it. That was kind of Lisa Renna's Bravo con vibe on the whole, I would say because earlier before the Beverly Hills panel was kind of like the marquee event of the weekend. I would say in terms of panels, it was the thing that anybody who bought a ticket for Friday assumed that's the panel

that they are going to be at. And thus the crowd control issues, which is a whole other thing. But I earlier in the day was at a Bravo Paloosa, which if you don't speak BravoCon, first of all, you're probably doing better than we are this week. But Bravo Palooza, it's like an extra ticketed add-on event where you're in essentially a big, I mean, it's a big conference room.

You're at the convention center. But they have it like, it's like a little loungy vibe. And you're in there for an hour and there's drinks and hors d'oeuvres. And they sort of send in Bravo Lebrides. And it's a smaller group of people. So you kind of are mingling with them, taking photos. But it's more of a conversational vibe. Like Leva was in there.

I saw a woman talking her ear off for like 15 minutes, which is probably not quite, you know, the, the appropriate vibe. But, you know, I was talking to Dr. Nicole. I was talking to Emily Simpson. It's a very, it feels like a much chiller atmosphere than when you're in a meet and greet line. And it's like, okay, take your picture. Keep it moving. But Lisa Rina walked into the room unannounced. They didn't announce who was doing Bravo Paloosa in advance.

So it's very like, I'm showing up to this thing at 12. I hope it's not lame. otherwise I might only stay for 15 minutes. And Lisa Rina walks in the room and you can feel the vibe just like shift a little bit where everybody else, everybody's like, woo! Like, I'm excited to see Gina. I'm excited to see, you know, who at? Like, you know, Marisol walks in.

Everybody's like, Marisol. And then Lisa Rina walks in and everybody's kind of like, oh. Oh, she's here. She's here. She's here. We didn't even, I wasn't even really, really convinced she was going to show up to Bravo con. Me either. I didn't think she was. All of a sudden, she's walking in this room where there's just like 50 people mingling. And she was wearing her bright orange suit. Her hair was

looking extra shaggy. The smoky eye was extra smoky. And she did not seem super into the mingling thing. She was taking some photos. She said hi to Gina or whatever. And then she did one little lap, grabbed a drink and was like screwed out the door. I grabbed her for a selfie at the very last minute. She looked like she'd rather walk over broken glass than take a picture with me. I don't think she doesn't know who I am.

Like, I don't think she knows why I am. She might. She's pretty active on Instagram, Dylan. I'm sure she probably knows who you are. That's a scary thought. Whether she'd admit it or not, she probably does. When I got introduced to Vicky at the girls' trip premiere party, I'm like, so nice to meet you. I really hope you don't know who I am.

It's such a weird thing, right? It's like, do I say my outlet? Do you recognize my face? I don't know. I kind of like being anonymous. But I think they know. You know the housewives that have issues on the internet. They know way they haven't seen your face.

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for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. Girl, winter is so last season. And now Springs got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders. That perfect hang on the patio sundress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear up on that envelope. It's time for a little in-person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic. Then the Beverly Hills panel was like an hour or so after this Bravo Paloosa thing. So I'm like, okay, I know Rinna's here. I know she doesn't necessarily seem super into the BravoCon

atmosphere, let's just say. And then this Beverly Hills panel turns out to be one of the most chaotic rooms I've ever been in in my life because the line was just massive. And there were long lines for a lot of stuff all weekend. It's a convention with 30,000 people. There's going to be lines. But with Beverly Hills, it was very apparent before they even opened the doors to this room. All these people aren't going to fit. And so they hadn't, I guess, they hadn't cleared out the room from the panel before. And that was what they started doing after this. But so there were already people sitting inside. And then they start to open the curtains to let people in for Beverly Hills. And it just becomes a mad dash. Nobody's walking through the stanchons to use, you know, the word we all learned on Salt Lake City. Nobody's like

following the line. They just start bum rushing the entrance. And, you know, I had, I had an SVIP wristband for the weekend, which, you know, usually had much shorter lines. And, you know, usually had much shorter lines, you got a better seating area, whatever. Nobody knew where that was happening. Like, everybody was just running. And then I quick, I was with people. I was with friends. And then I stopped for a split second to say hi to someone else. My friends were nowhere to be found. It was just like rolling with the current. And so I just like found myself a chair, parked it in a seat. And I was like, so help me God, I will stay in the seat for this fucking panel. And then, you know, there's people. So all the seats were filled. There is just this crowd of

people standing in front of the stage, in front of the front row of seats. And obviously, those people aren't going to be able to stay there for the panel. It's like very apparent, but they're just standing there because there's no other place to go. I witnessed a fight two seats over from me because there's this guy. And he was like yelling at a woman who's standing in front of him. And she's like, where are we supposed to go? And he's like, okay, Karen. And. And, And so then the woman's friends start yelling at the guy. And then he's video, videoing them on his phone. It was like a whole thing.

And he also had a dog, which I don't know if it was a service dog or whatever, but he was holding a dog. And then the women walk away. And then he turns to the woman sitting in between us, who neither of us know. And he goes, I'm going to go talk to security and get them kicked out. Can you hold my dog? Stop. And he just gives her the dog.

and like charges off. So then this woman who's sitting next to me is like, I don't know what the fuck's happening. Like now, now I have this dog. I'm not even a dog. She goes, I'm not even a dog person.

I'm like, that's really the issue here. It's like, she just passed the dog like around. Like it just goes around the panel. Like we're finding a dog person in the room to hold the dog. And then ultimately, guy with the dog comes back.

He takes, he takes his dog back. But then the woman who was holding the dog, it turns out that she doesn't have. the right wristband to be sitting in this section. So when they finally go through and are checking to make sure everybody's sitting in the right place, she gets kicked out of her seat anyway. And she's like, she's like trying not to show the guy her wristband.

And she's like, do you know how much I paid to be here? And it's like respectfully, bam, like every, every pay not to be here. And like if you don't have the right wristband, that means that other people actually paid more. It's on the internet. It's literally on the internet. how much everyone paid. Did they check people's wristbands at every panel or just this one? Like when you got in?

There was like some check. Yeah. So to get in, they were pretty much checking because if you were going in the VIP or SVIP lines, they were checking like at the start of the line. Right. I think the issue with Beverly Hills was just that there was no start of the line. It just,

it didn't happen. But yeah. So I guess the panel started probably 30 minutes late. I mean, it's funny. overall, because I went to like 12 panels this weekend, and Beverly Hills was the most boring one. So it's kind of hilarious that there was this, you know, ridiculous situation. I was going to say, I've heard nothing about this panel because I wasn't there.

I walked by the line and then ran back into the press room and was like reporting live to the other reporters. Like you guys like chaos is ensuing out there. And then I had another, an Us Weekly reporter going to the panels like texting me, the bigger things that happened. So I could ask about it. Like it was like a whole line, like a chain of communication. And the only thing she said to me was like the crowd control and the booze. And I was like, so when everyone fought to get in there, did they even see anything good? I mean, not particularly.

It's always, I would say kind of the most fun thing about the panels is just seeing all of them together in real life. Because there's no other scenario, unless you happen to be at a restaurant where they're filming or something. You're never going to see them all doing the thing together in real life. Yeah. But in terms of the actual content of the panel, it was. was pretty light. I mean, it was, that panel was hosted by Brad Goreski, who, I love Brad, but he's not somebody who's going to rule you got that messy. Like, he's friends with Rina. He's friends with Erica. Like, he, you know, likes all of them. Um, so it was, you know, it was not the, I would say it was

wellming. It was fine. It was, it was kind of what I expected. But then when you compare it to, like, a Potomac panel or an Atlanta panel or even the Miami panel, like, shit was pop in. Salt Lake City, which I thought was pretty electric. Salt Lake City. I missed the Salt Lake City panel, and that is my one real regret of the weekend, because when I started seeing videos from that room, holy shit. No, like, they all hate each other. Like, it's literally just Heather and Meredith versus Lisa and Whitney.

And this is going to be one of those panels and, like, moments where they're going to need to, like, roll the tape or, like, have a whole section of their reunion dedicated to what happened at BravoCon. because they were rehashing things. And Whitney was trying to pull up receipts. And the moderator, I think it was Karamo, was like, we don't have time for this. Like, she was trying to, like, start. They were fighting about things that happened on girls' trip

that we haven't even seen yet, obviously, that we won't see for a while. They were fighting about the hot mic moment again. They all just hate each other. It was like a reunion. And then the crowd was just yelling, hi, baby gorgeous every 10 seconds. So it was just, like, the wildest room to be in.

For me, that was, like, my biggest, like, oh, wow, like panel of the world. weekend. I was in a few, I wasn't at that panel, but then there were a few other times throughout the weekend where either Whitney or Heather were on a panel or both of them that I was at. And it came up numerous times because somebody would ask a question like, oh, like Whitney and Heather, we want you guys to be friends again. Like, when are you going to get along? And, you know, maybe one of them would say something like, we want to get along. And then Whitney would be like, well, I mean, if you want to get along, then why are you dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot.

And it's like, oh, no, we're not, we're not there yet. And like, I went to the watch what happens live taping on Sunday night that I think is airing Tuesday tonight, the mystery door one. Okay. And they were both there. And somebody was like, let's, like, Whitney and Heather went, like, let's play squash that beef. And it's like, that beef is not prepared to be squashed at the present moment.

And they also said, I think, Heather got asked who fought the most on Girls Trip 3 and she said, me and Whitney. Wow. They are in a deeply bad place right now. And it seems like something that if it's going to be fixed is going to be a journey and a process, a healing journey, if you will. Yeah, a lot of healing. We need a lot more healers if we're going to get through this one.

But I think that was a big takeaway from the weekend of kind of just this through line of like, oh, they're not just having like a little bit of an issue. They fucking hate each other right now. Yeah, it was. It was that like the Gorgas and the Jude Ice Beef, the Heather and Lisa or the Heather and Whitney. And then I feel like also Danielle and Lindsay from Summerhouse, they had them on like opposite sides of a lot of things.

And their press lines. It was interesting to see like because most of the time they would start at the top of the press line and like bring people down. And at the top was like, your entertainment tonight, your en news like broadcast like video. and then they would go down the line, but they started some people at the other end. And part of me was like, oh, was this for crowd control?

And another part of me was like, oh, every time they're doing it, it feels like there are people that they're keeping kind of separate. So Danielle and Lindsay, I feel like that was like the confirmation everyone wanted from Summerhouse to see if they were fighting, which they definitely are not in a good place either. Yeah, at their panel,

they got asked an audience question, I think, that was like, what's the status of your relationship right now or what happened? And Danielle just said, all I can say, because it's on the season that hasn't aired yet. She said, all I can say is that it's unfortunate. And Lindsay just said, I agree.

So I heard Danielle say, I, Maya was speaking for Danielle and she said, um, she chose herself. And then Lindsay told one of my coworkers that Danielle betrayed her. So I don't know. I think that's going to be good though. A lot of the, it was getting me pretty hyped for it. And Vanderpump rules was the same thing where it's like everyone obviously the last couple of seasons has been kind of like over it. But watching, you know, Tom, Schwartz, Raquel. and Katie also all go down this press line and be asked about this and the awkwardness of them kind of looking around

to see who was behind them when they were answering the questions. I feel like it made people excited for Vanner Pump Rules for the first time in a while too. Yeah, also it was confirmed that Garcell is going to appear on Vaner Pump Rules this season

and Raquel, who we know that they, she and Oliver, Garcel's son went on dates or something happened between them. And Raquel saying that Oliver, quote, misled her. I'm like, oh, okay. I know. I know. One of the things I did was like regrets you have or and one of the things and she told me that both of Raquel answers were things that didn't air yet. So I was like, okay, we'll all work with this. But one of them was like to redo. She said she would redo the situation with Oliver. And so we know that Raquel had moments with Schwartz, Peter and Oliver Garcell said in the season. So I think Raquel is like going to be the star of Vanderpump Rule season 10. Yeah. Also, I think that's one of the interesting things about BravoCon and having everybody here at the same weekend.

because, of course, some of the shows are in the thick of airing. Potomac, Salt Lake are just getting underway, really, this season. We've just had a season of Beverly Hills, you know. But like New Jersey, Miami, they have seasons that are done filming, but we haven't seen any of it yet. And, you know, O.C., they said they have three weeks left of filming. And so that dynamic was really interesting. I was, I was kind of giddy to learn that Taylor Armstrong and Heather Dubrow, it sounds like have a lot of drama this season, which is not, I wasn't really expecting Taylor to be in a position of drama this season. I kind of just thought they were going to bring her on as like a fun extra. So I'm like, okay, I'd like to know more about that.

And I mean, I don't know. O.C. I was barely even on my radar. And now I'm like, okay, tell me more. I know. And Tamara was doing her Tamara thing where she would, you know, drop a little nugget or kind of like stir the pot a little bit. She got involved with drama with Jen. Shaw. She got involved, obviously, with the Jill drama. And at that Watch It Happens Live Friday taping the Legends Ball one that had everyone there, it seemed pretty divided of like, Vicky sat with Shannon and Tamara and then Heather, Emily and Gina kind of were sitting. They were all in like a line, but it seems separate. But then in the press line the next day, I saw Shannon talk to Heather a decent amount, but I didn't see too much Tamara and Heather Dubrow interaction. But it didn't seem like

frosty, but like it seemed a little split. So I actually think there's a decent amount. brewing there. Yeah, I was talking to Emily on Friday and she was saying that it's weird to be there in the middle of filming because things are so fresh. They're still developing for the season. And she said that they had just been filming as a group like a couple days before they left for BravoCon and then have to jump right back into it. And I mean, they didn't have a ton of drama compared to the other casts, some of them this weekend. So I don't know if there will be like BravoCon storylines coming up at the end of their filming. But, there definitely could be. I was really excited to see

the Miami panel and their cast dynamic, knowing that they've filmed all of season five, which we got the trailer for. It premieres in December. It looks hot. Yeah, it does. But that cast dynamic to me was so interesting because they, it's the kind of thing where everybody is getting along enough to the point where the overall vibe felt fun. But it's like if if things turned just a tiny bit, all of a sudden, four people on stage are bickering with each other. And it was like the first question from the moderator, their panel was just like, how would you describe this upcoming season?

And all of a sudden we're arguing over who wasn't invited on Dr. Nicole's private jet? And Alexia was invited, but she wasn't on the jet because Adriana was on the jet. and why would she come on the plane if somebody she doesn't like is there? And then Adriana is saying that Alexia uninvited her from her house and it's like we're just running with it. And it's like, okay, what was the question? That was the best.

All the panels that had those moments, I feel like I was at part of Potomac, Salt Lake City had this and it sounds like Miami did. The ones where they were really being like the show where the question would be asked and someone would say something that bothered them a little and if they decided to take the bait, then it would just be the whole group fighting

and talking over. each other and not actually getting anywhere, but getting to feel like you were living in it. And then the moderator having to try to find a way to like come back to like a dumb question that no, what's answered? Like, who's the best style? It's like, no, no, we want to go back to that. But like, they have probably someone in their ear being like, moving along. They have rules.

Like the moderators get questions from Bravo that are like pre-approved. Like it's a no glory job. I feel like moderating these. Yeah. It is tough. And also at the Miami panel, it was like Lisa and Larsa, which Lisa got so much love this weekend. People are so firmly on her side. She looked like a WWE, like, total divas thing at her panel with her, like, sex hair and, like, sparkly jumpsuit. But she and Larson, she and Larsa were in the

middle of saying how they're such good friends. And Larsa was so supportive to Lisa with the divorce and stuff. And then all of a sudden, I don't even know what got them on this path. But then they're going back and forth about how they both felt like the other one wasn't a good friend. to them at the beginning of the season. Oh, God. And she's like, well, you know, like, I always want to support you, but I just felt like you weren't being a good friend to me. And Lisa's like, and I felt the same.

And Larson's like, well, I felt like you weren't being a good friend. I'm like, wait, wait, wait, you were just saying how much you love each other. And like, how many Instagrams will we see? I felt like, best friends and BravoCon. And then it's like, no, they hate each other. It was so much of that. And I think the housewives especially, I remember last BravoCon, it was Beverly Hills was the only one really filming.

And it was like all the Denise stuff was going down. So they, like, didn't really. do press. And this time they didn't really restrict anyone from answering questions and doing stuff too. So they like gave just enough. But it was like a full time job for those Bravo PR people to keep them separate. And obviously like the Joe Gorga really just like thought he was the king of BravoCon from my, I didn't see that panel, but I was with Evan after he hosted it. And then I, we saw them on the press line. And they, the Jersey ones were really act in Jersey. It was, it was pretty wild because we knew in advance of BravoCon that they had split up the Jersey panel situation. So it was Teresa,

Jennifer and Dolores and then Jackie Margaret and Melissa. But watching that dynamic, the separate dynamic, but still very much, you know, talking about each other and talking about the situation, we got sort of numerous conflicting explanations for why the panel had been split and who was who was responsible because I think at his panel Joe Gorga was saying that it was Teresa wanted the panel split and then that got brought up at Teresa's panel and Teresa's like what you think I have that much power like oh ha ha yeah like I'm in charge whatever and she's like no it's the network and it's like okay so that's another thing and then andy got asked about it at his ask Andy thing and he's like well you know it's sort of a tough

situation because, you know, we want it to be fun, but also there's a whole season that we've filmed. And so that's kind of tough because we don't want whatever. And then, you know, they didn't, it's sort of them too, didn't really want to be. So it's like nobody can give an exact real reason, but also it's like the reason is clear they fucking hate each other. Yeah, they just hate each other. Like, we've been watching this for a decade. We know they hate each other. They've always hated each other. and they're just at a point where they're finally admitting they hate each other. And it's awkward, but it was funny because I talked to Teresa and Louis was like,

some of the husbands did like their own press line, which was like an interesting thing. But Louis walked down with Teresa and he was like kind of getting involved, but he was doing a little bit of like coaching almost. Like Teresa was like, the door is closed. And Louis's like, well, the door is not closed. Like it was like a wild dynamic to kind of watch that go down. And then Joe Gorga, I don't, I mean, I know there were shots involved and stuff, but I feel like he was just really like going kind of hard on being.

like wanting sympathy, but also being like, like, I saw that rant he did at his panel, like, about the whole Melissa and them coming on the show again. Like, he said all this stuff before, but I feel like they were all saying it with like so much more conviction. Like, it really did admit like we are, we all hate each other. Right. It's like it's the same wound that's always been there, but it has been freshly, you know, made worse. It's open, it's reopened. It's active. It's, it's a lot. Yeah. And also at the Legends Ball, their cast was separated there too. They got announced as the Real Housewives of New Jersey, but they came out of two separate doors on the stage and were seated on opposite sides and were very much the only cast that was being

treated that way. And so I thought it was interesting kind of, it wasn't just the panels. It was like for the entire weekend, like the Jersey cast will be split into two factions. Absolutely crazy. Even because like the Beverly Hills cast came out together, Lisa Renna was sitting two seats away, a seat away from Kathy Hilton. She didn't look her in the eye, but they were all sitting in the same row. Crystal was just in the middle. Erica, one of the couple people in the middle of them, but Lisa just didn't talk to anyone. But she sat there.

Lisa looked like she wanted to, you know, jump into the river during that Andy's Legends ball. That was one thing where I haven't watched the version that made it to air. But like being in the room and being able to see everybody on stage for the whole hour and a half or whatever

that they were out there. It's like... Two hours. It's like, oh, it's like, oh, Lisa Rina is not jazz to be here. And during the commercial breaks, everybody was mingling and talking to different franchises and, you know, having fun and, like, waving to the crowd and all this stuff. And Lisa Rina looked like she was in the waiting room of a doctor's office. Yeah, that's totally accurate. That was the best part, like in the commercial breaks. I watched Shep and Taylor, like, low-key getting to, like, it looked like a heated fight. But then I'm pretty sure they, like,

were spending every night together there from everything I heard also. So that was dramatic. And Craig, like, immediately after they did the first intro, walking over to sit with Paige, like just abandoning Southern Charm and going over to the other side. Like that was amazing. And then Brandy Glanville's face while Sheena Shea did a split in front of her is something that will be burned into my memory forever. Yeah. Oh my God.

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a deep-end DJ, a road dog, or a trail mixer? Just add a song to your chosen playlist and put your summer on track. Red Bull Summer All Day Play. Red Bull gives you wings. Visit redbull.com slash bright summer ahead to learn more. See you this summer. I'm glad we got to talk about BravoCon, but while you're here, I do want to talk a little bit about this week's episode of Real Housewives of Potomac

because, you know, that was also happening and it was juicy. And it feels like this season has really hit the ground running with all of these storylines. We got so many of them in episode one, but then this week we really are starting to dig into the Candace and Chris and the big drama that looks like it's going to continue between Giselle and Candice this season. No, it's, the ending was so good. I love the fourth wall break when they do it right. Like, we can't do this too much because we, I feel like we're kind of entering in dangerous territory on Bravo shows because they used to totally ignore the kind of filming of the show and rarely do it. Now it's almost like every show is getting kind of like their

moment to break the wall a bit. And I think they're doing it well so far, but I don't want to go too much. Like I don't want this to become like the hills where, and I know it's not like the hells because it's not scripted, but like or in those later episodes of teen mom, shout out anyone who still watches teen mom, where they're just like talking to the producers all the time. Like that's a little much. But this I feel like so far has been a good balance. But Candace, like, Giselle is a great houseway for so many reasons. And one of them is the fact that she obviously has been thinking about this since her and Chris had whatever this bizarre interaction was at the reunion. And she didn't say to anyone besides, like, Robin, who's her best friend. And she waited to start filming. And that's what we need

a housewife to do. We don't need this social media BS. We don't need like, even in an interview, like doing it on the show is the point. But obviously, Candice was like, are you kidding me? I'm seeing this as like a storyline that she didn't want to be a part of. Right. She waited until they were filming. And also, I think even more strategically, she waited for Ashley to bring up this DM that Chris sent her. So she could be like, oh, that's interesting. By the way, I have a story about Chris too. It was very Kenya Moore stealing the microphone during Squash That Beef with Ashley and Vicky

to be like, I too have a story about Vicky being a monster. And Teresa's like, I three have a story. How many people on that stage have been like, I want to tell my Vicki Gumbullsen snubbed me story. Like that was iconic. Go on Facebook. like Ashley Darby marked herself safe from Vicki Gunvilsen. Stop.

Oh my God. But yeah. I mean, Giselle really is a master of her craft. And this is something where it's like, Giselle is one of those people where I think there are certain people who find her really distasteful because she is so blatant about being messy a lot of the time. And this is another one of those situations where it's like,

did she really have a reason to feel uncomfortable? with Chris. I don't know. Like, I don't know. Like, it doesn't really sound like anything particularly shady happened. But at the same time, if she's saying that this is how it made her feel, then that's what we got to run with. And we've talked on Beverly Hills about how feelings are feelings.

And you can't police someone else's feelings. And words are words. And so it's like, for Giselle to bring this up, it's like, yeah, I'm down. Let's talk about it. And Candice kind of, like what you were saying about breaking the fourth wall in this case, Candice sort of pulled up Bravo, Bravo, Bravo, because she just, you know, rather than responding to Giselle, she was like, I need Eric. Where's Eric?

Yeah. I only want to talk to Eric. And so in that case, I feel like she kind of forced the issue of breaking the fourth wall because to not break the fourth wall, they would have had to just like cut that whole scene. Right. Or she would have just like walked out. And there's no real way to cut around it. And then there would have just been this inexplicable weirdness within the group.

So it's in this case, it's like, oh, yes, we need to know that Candace was that upset with the way that was brought up. And then when she's like, when she's like, if they're trying to malign my husband, Michael Darby's here for that. They can align him. But we already have one of those. That was just like so perfect because she's right. She's so right. She's so right. And like, I honestly, Potomac's one of those things.

I like all of them. for what they bring. It's like, I think that they're all, it's a great cast. I think that they all play their parts perfectly, but they're being real, but they are playing.

Like, Giselle knows what she's got to do, but I think she genuinely does mean it also. But like, with the specific DMs and the specific moment, like the DM that Chris sent Ashley, the, you should have gone to whatever the restaurant, like he works at.

I don't think that that was bad, right? Like, that was him just by like, you should have come to where my restaurant was. Like, you went to this other one. Right. And especially when, I think, like, once Candace explains,

that, that it's like he's the general manager there and he's trying to turn it into a thing. So Ashley has whatever how many hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers. Obviously, it would be a coup to get her to post at his restaurant. Like, there's no actual weirdness there. It's like, next time, come give publicity to my spot. And like, I hope Ashley is like on the same page about that because that is just like silly if you were still angry. But yeah, it's like everyone in this cast knows what to do. They're professionals.

Their panel at BravoCon was so fun because they're exactly like they are on the show. You know, they can dish out the shade. They can take the shade. And then they can flip it around on its head and be, you know, warm and respectful to one another in the same breath. And I feel like that's just what they do so well. A hundred percent. I only saw the first 20 minutes of their panel because then I ran to Southern Charm. But to even just see like Giselle and Karen interact and really.

real life of this like frenemy bond where like within the same breath of complimenting another one each other they're also shading each other but then they like move on it's truly art like no other show does that this well and even in this episode with all the stuff with mea and her like whatever cancer post if that was any other franchise i mean imagine how long we would spend that whole part that whole spring fling taco whatever party would have been about that post and instead it was a great solid five minutes and then we moved on and i know we'll circle back but like yolanda Hadid and her Lyme disease Instagram post, like, we talked about that for, like, we still, they still talk about that somehow. Like, I feel like that's, that was another example of just Potomac,

like giving exactly what we wanted. The Wendy, who are you to me as friend, who I guess is on the cast, right? Because she showed up later. I believe she is a friend of this season, Jacqueline. And Wendy was just like, who are you? Wendy's like, I'm not even trying to be shady. I just have no clue who the fuck you are. It's like, oh, I, I respect that. She was like, you're miced, I think. So should I know you? Like, are you in this? Like, am I supposed to, like, bring you in? Like, are you fair game?

I feel like that's what she was saying. She's like, is it fair for me to, like, come for you? Is it fair? Like, I guess she must have known she was mic, but she was just like, I just need to get my grounds. Like, you weren't called for the scene. That's actually a good, that's a good read on it because she's like, okay, we just started, this is the first, like, cast event of the season. Like, I thought I knew everybody that was going to be included. Like, I think it was perfect.

Like, it's a, she's like a chef's cousin Marcy kind of vibe where it's like, oh, now we have a friend. Yes. Oh my God, Chef's cousin Marcy, by the way. She's really nice, but she did, like, the press line by herself. And I don't know why they had her go alone, but they had, like, Naomi and Taylor go together. They had Catherine Delia. Like, they teamed up Austin and Craig, all the Southern Turn people. But she walked alone. And I could tell, like, at the end, like, she was, like, insecure about it. She was like, I wish they put me with someone. Because I didn't know if anyone even wanted to talk to. And the Bihar people were like, no, like, they did. They could have passed on you, whatever. But then she proceeded to do, like, eight minute interviews with everyone she talked to. And everyone else did, like, two minutes. So, like, God bless her. But it was just. like a, this is strange that Shep's cousin Marcy is like having a BravoCon moment, but whatever. I mean, I'm glad Shep's cousin Marcy had fun at BravoCon. I don't know if she'll make it to the next one, but. Yeah, I don't either. I honestly, that's a good,

that's a good point, but also did you see, sorry, I know we're talking about Potomac, but did you see the Southern Charm panel that Shep revealed that Thomas Ravinell is on Reddit with a, under the name, no vegetarian or something, defending Shep on Reddit, like as watching the reunion and going on Reddit, defending Shep and send him

screenshots of his comments defending him. And Shep felt the need to tell everyone that at the panel. The way my eyes just glazed over when you started talking about Thomas Ravanaugh, I'm like, oh. It's dark. And Patricia was trying to get the crowd to be like, shouldn't we bring Thomas back?

And Catherine was like, absolutely not. It was so awkward. Patricia. It wasn't great. After she just did a whole speech about how men don't change, then she goes, guys, we should bring back Thomas. I think he's better. It was the weirdest thing.

Look, I love Patricia, but the woman is 81 years old, looking great, by the way. But like, the casting decisions cannot be in her hands. No, no, no, no. And not at all. She's like, I mean, she loves her son Whitney for all his quirks. And it's like, yeah, but like not all of his like seedy friends need to come back to

Southern Charm. Yeah, 100%. Well, I am so glad I got to chat with you about this weekend because I feel like we were both very much in our own worlds, but, you know, so much going on. 100%. When I saw you at the Legends Ball taping, I was so excited to see you because we met at Bravo on the first time and we both come so far and like 75 people wanted to take your picture and you're a star. But being at that taping was something like that will have forever because it was truly the most like bonkers

to ours in my life. Exactly. Very much so. By the way, it was just so nice to meet people this weekend. If you came up and said hi or took a picture or anything, I love hearing about how you love the podcast and that's why we do it. That's what we do it for. And so yeah, thank you. I'm glad everyone. I hope everyone had a great weekend. I hope everyone is recovering well. Which we should say the amount of security difference between Friday and Saturday was quite alarming, even about the entrances to the panels. They really did up.

They called somebody. They called the NYPD and we're like, we need all of your extras to be at BravoCon because the difference between Friday and Saturday was astounding. So they did turn it around pretty quick. Exactly. Well, Sarah, thank you so much for being here. Go check out Us Weekly to read all of Sarah's coverage from BravoCon and everything else because, you know, it's all the tea you need to know, really.

We never sleep. Thank you so much, Dylan. Of course. And thank you everyone for listening. Don't forget to rate, review, and follow the show wherever you listen. You can follow us on Instagram at Bravo by Betches. And until next time, be cool. Don't be all like uncool.

Mention It All is produced by Dylan Hafer, Sean Kilby, Jorge Morales Pico, and Rebecca Sousmaqat. Editing by Horace Pico. Social media by Dylan Hafer. Guest booking by Dylan Hafer and Ali Friedlander. Be sure to follow at Bravo by Betches on Instagram. Instagram and Twitter. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th.

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