Mention It All - Who’s The MVP of RHONY Legacy?

Episode Date: December 18, 2023

Dylan is back for another Monday episode that starts, unsurprisingly, with a bleak update on Kim Zolciak & Co. Plus, Dr. Tiffany Moon has weighed in on Sutton Stracke’s esophagus, and she’s right (as always). From there, Dylan gets into the first three episodes of RHUGT: RHONY Legacy—the title is a mouthful, but the show is unexpectedly great. He salutes Kristen Taekman’s brave return to the fold, and evaluates Ramona’s likely last Housewives appearance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Mention it all. A Bravo by Betches podcast. We don't say that, but no. 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 am Dylan Hafer, and I am feeling fresh as a daisy. It is Monday. It is the last week before the weird in-between week with the holidays. We've got some exciting stuff coming up. And today, more than anything, I am so excited to chat about the first three episodes of Real Housewives Ultimate Girls' trip, Rony Legacy. it's a mouthful. I can't figure out how I'm supposed to abbreviate it online because like I I sort of refuse to do the like R-H-U-G-T colon R-H-O-N-Y legacy. It's just too much. But if I only call it

Ultimate Girls Trip, it feels like it's too simple. But then if I only say Roney Legacy, it's like we're still on the girls' trip. They've really painted us into a corner here, but I have to say these first three episodes, I have very few complaints. We'll get into it more. We have some other stuff to talk about first. I just am freshly sitting down to record this after watching Zeeway's interview with George Santos. And if you, if you are into drama and messiness, definitely you should go watch it. It's on YouTube now. But I just have to mention there is one specific moment where Zeeway asks George Santos about other members of Congress that are committing fraud. And he said, oh, yeah, all of them. And Zeeway goes into a perfect, Sutton-inspired name-um performance because George Santos does not

want to name them. And, you know, Z-way just wants him to name him. I posted it on Bravo by Betches. So if you, if you aren't going to watch the full thing, you can at least go see that clip. It just killed me. It's a really wild 20. minute watch. But that I would highly recommend. And I also, last night was the season finale of the Gilded Age. And I can't remember if I've ever talked about the Gilded Age on this podcast before. Of course, it's not a Bravo show, not even a reality show.

It's set in the 1800s. But it has this like housewives flair to it. It really is Real Housewives of New York in the 1880s. And if you're just, if you're looking for. something to watch this holiday season that just will kind of scratch that itch. I'd recommend checking out the Gilded Age. It's an HBO show. It's streaming on Max. But unfortunately, I do have to share some news that has to do with Kim's Elsiac Bierman. I feel like I cannot get out of this loop of talking about Kim and Kroy, because unfortunately, there's always news.

stuff happening. There was another um like body cam dash cam footage of kroy alleging that she's been fucking other men and it's just another explosive fight. It's so icky. But it's bad. But then on top of it, Kim is selling her stuff again. So she made a new Instagram account over the weekend that's just for the purpose of listing stuff. You know how you'll have to be a lot. You'll have a friend every once in a while who's like, oh, I'm doing a closet sale, you know, follow this account or like I'm posting on my stories. And it's like, oh, like anthropology top, lightly worn, size small, runs true to size. You know, bought it for $75. Now it's 20. When Kim does this, and this is not the first time she does this, I don't think she understands the concept of

owned, pre-worn, pre-used items at a price that is commensurate to the fact that it's not new. Because she is selling, let me just go through. She is selling numerous wigs. I'm talking four or five different wigs that are 2750 each, like 2,700,000. $50. And I'm not a, I'm not a wig expert. I don't know the ins and outs of what makes a wig valuable. I'm sure that Kim has had lots of nice wigs.

But baby, it's used. And I don't know, I don't know where it's been. I don't know if it's, I don't think you can like dry clean a wig. So that's a lot. She's also, she's selling a six piece Louis Vuitton. men's luggage set that she said, Kroy only carried once to go to one of his football games. It's like a, it's the Louis Vuitton, like, checkered print, and it's a suitcase, it's a garment bag, it's a duffel. And she's saying that he only carried it once, and she's selling it for

$12,500 for the set. She says it retails over $15,500. Excellent condition. It's like, I just don't understand who is the audience for this. Like selling a pair of lubitons or selling, you know, some fancy, some Versace heels that you wore a couple times for like 500 bucks when they retail for a thousand. Sure, I guess. Who on Instagram is buying Croy Berman's $12,000 luggage set? Not to mention, she's saying he brought it to one of the games. The last time Kroy played in the NFL was 2015. So that's been sitting in their house collecting dust for at least eight years.

First of all, it's probably out of style by now. Second of all, you're just selling all your old shit. And then also, I'm really curious about their kind of, dynamic with money and within the house because why is Kim the one selling Kroy's old luggage? Like at this, the account is at Kim ZB closet if you want to take a look for yourself. But all of the, she's saying that you can pay for all of this stuff via Zell. You're like sending the money directly to her. And I'm like, doesn't Kroy want the $12,000 for himself?

Are they pooling this money somewhere? Because it doesn't seem like they're on good enough terms to be pooling the money. But maybe all this money is just going straight to the attorneys or the debt collectors. I just don't know. I don't know. There's this really, really ugly pair of never worn lupitons. $650. They're like a peep-toe white mesh on the foot.

But then around the ankles, they have this like, Rafia-looking sort of tassel type of thing. But then maybe feathers sticking straight up out of the ankle. I don't know. All of this also, these shoes are also being photographed on zebra print carpet, which I have to imagine is just everywhere in Kim and Kroy's house. But, like, goddamn. Oh, God.

There's a really ugly, um, Gucci, like, mini duffel that looks like it, it looks like it's probably from 2006, 2008, just judging by the style, because it's, it's very like 2000's juicy couture. Um, you can tell the suede is like kind of dirty and like marked up, but that's 2150. Of course, that's 2,150. Uh, you know, if you're, if you're in, if you're in the market for some last minute holiday gifts. Maybe Kim Zeeby closet is where you can score some deals. I would not bet on the shipping making it there in time for Christmas. But hey, you could support a good cause,

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Another thing I wanted to comment on is over the weekend, one of my favorite things happened in the Bravo sphere, and that is that Dr. Tiffany Moon, alumnus of the Real Housewives of Dallas, chimed in. Whenever there's like a medical topic happening somewhere in the bravoverse, sooner or later you can usually count on Tiffany to hop on TikTok and to assess what has happened. And so Tiffany reacted to Anna Marie and Sutton's issue from last week's episode about Sutton's esophagus. Every time I have said esophagus more times in the last week than I probably ever before in my life. I don't know, I took an anatomy class senior year of high school. So maybe then I was, I was throat deep in esophagus talk, but really just did not expect esophagus asophagus is esophagia.

I don't know about that. But so Tiffany said she's had time to watch the episode, so she's going to make a comment. And she, so she specifically talked about strictures in the esophagus. which is what Anna Maria is talking about and sort of disputed some of the things she was saying, said that she deals with like thoracic anesthesiology. So this is something she's worked on a lot. And there's a really kind of simple surgical procedure that they do sometimes to fix these things. I don't know. Go watch Tiffany's video if you want the actual, you know, like medical info about what's going on. But what was more interesting is that Tiffany sort of generally said that she was disturbed by the way that it seemed like Anna Marie was weaponizing her medical profession

sort of in a personal way to get at Sutton. And I think that is why, like, in last week's episode when I talked about it, I feel like I hadn't really, I don't know if I was able to articulate sort of why it rubbed me the wrong way because I don't have that medical background. So, you know, when I'm watching it, there is that inkling of like, oh, like, maybe what she's saying is true, I don't know. But hearing somebody who is a doctor and who has relevant experience in that field basically say that, hey, like the medical stuff, I'm not sure if everything she's saying is exactly right, but it's kind of neither here nor there, because the bigger issue really is the way that that conversation is being had and the publicness of the conversation, because it never

felt like Anna Marie was bringing it up out of genuine concern or genuine like intent to make sure that Sutton was getting the proper care. These women don't have a background together. They don't, you know. So I think that that was interesting. It's, it's always interesting to me to get sort of like the expert perspective from outside the group. And I think Tiffany does such a good job at that. And I really, God, I miss Tiffany on our screens. I know we only got that one season, but it felt like she had so much potential. And, you know, Real House House of Dallas was kind of a cursed proposition by that point. And, you know, certainly after that season, it was tough to see how it could move forward, you know, in that

current form. But I am still just, I feel like there is unfinished business there. And I don't know if or how or when it's going to come back. But I do just feel. like, I don't know, Tiffany. I've, Deandra, Gary Duber. God. I'm going to be doing, next week I'm going to be doing an episode with some 2024 sort of predictions, wish list items in the Bravo sphere. And Real House size of Dallas, it's always kicking around in my brain. So I don't, I don't know what's, I don't know if anything's happening there, but I kind of wish it would. But speaking of, uh, of, uh, of, of, shows for in the past that are or aren't coming back in different formats. Let's talk about

Real House Lives Ultimate Girls Trip, Roney, Legacy, Season 4. Guys, we made it. We're back, we're back in the Dune's Villa in St. Bart. I really had middling expectations for this season of girls trip. I think because there was so much back and forth about Roney legacy as a concept. And, you know, it was supposed to happen prior to this kind of as a normal show with them living their lives and following this separate group of women. Like, we were going to have two sets of New York housewives, basically. And, you know, that fell through. And then it was like, oh, I guess we can do it as a girls trip. And, you know, Jill. is not going to be there because there were contract issues. And it felt like there was sort of this

Paul over Rony Legacy as a thing. And I, maybe this is in my head. I know there were people that would say, I was always excited for it. I always thought it was going to be great. But I think I just wasn't really allowing myself to be that excited for it. Because frankly, it's, it's, it's not a foregone conclusion that a show like this is going to be good. There's always going to be some element of, oh, it's fun to see them back together or, oh, like, I've, I've missed this. There's obviously a nostalgia factor more than any of the girls' trips so far with this one because all they're talking about is past things that have happened on Roney. They all were, I mean, obviously not all of them were there for all of the same experiences, but they have shared

connections, you know, when Bethany gets brought up at dinner, that's a live wire for everyone in the group. When they're talking about fired versus on pause versus, you know, who talks to who and who watches the show, all of those things feel really, really kind of energized within the group because they have this shared experience. And I think if you look back to something like a girls' trip two that was at Dorinda's house, all of those women had sort of their own unique baggage in a way with housewives. And it was really interesting to see them come together and kind of learn about each other's experiences and work through some of that. But with this one, there is an aspect of really just diving right in. And, you know, right off

the bat, this stuff with Kristen and Ramona and Ramona publicly saying that she doesn't remember her, all of that was fascinating. Going to find the rooms, the fact that Ramona's acting like it's no big deal that she gets last choice of the rooms. And it's like, babe, we know, we have seen, we have seen this movie before. All of that stuff, it feels like we are, we're like skipping the intro in a way that I think really helps, especially for a show like this that you know is only going to be, I don't know, seven, six, seven, eight episodes max to have that kind of pick up where we left off energy, where we know exactly what we're going to get from Durinda. We know exactly what we're going to get from

Ramona, from Sonia, from Luann. Really, Kelly and Kristen, this season, are the two wild cards in a way. And that's, that's been interesting to watch over these first few episodes. because I think when this cast was announced, there was kind of that feeling of, okay, so obviously it's going to be Sonia Luann, Ramona, Derinda. Now we need to fill out the rest of the cast. Okay, Kelly, she was on Scary Island. She was not an OG, but kind of around in those early days. Cool.

Kooky Kelly, let's check in with her. Kristen then was really the kind of random edition that, it seemed like, okay, they need a sixth person. Who's it going to be? Tinsley probably doesn't really want to. Leah and Ebony, those waters are tainted. They're not, they're not, I don't think they're trying to work with Bravo any time soon. Carol, same but different. Bethany, again, no. Who are you going to bring back? Jill was, you know, kind of mired in that contract issue from the first time around. So she was sort of off the table. Alex McCord was on the Morocco girls trip, which, you know, TBD, we're getting different sources and reports every day about whether or not that show is ever going to air. I don't know the answer. I've talked to people who would know the answer and they don't know the answer. So, but Alex, you know, she's doing something else. Okay, you've got your one-season girlies. Cindy, no.

Jules. Might be interesting, but no. It really is a question of, is it going to be Heather Thompson, Kristen Takedman, Aviva? To me, those are kind of the three people you could have slotted into Kristen's seat. I don't know if Heather or Aviva were ever in talks or contacted or asked about this season, I would be interested to find out. I think, you know, Heather, they kind of tried to bring back into the fold in the final season of original Roney, and it backfired, I would say. Not necessarily her fault, but I think maybe it wasn't, it didn't feel like the right time to try again. Aviva, I would have been interested to see on this trip. She was in St. Barts the first time they were there. I don't know if she would have gone back. Aviva.

is so removed from the whole kind of like Bravo machine at this point. And with Kristen, I am so pleasantly surprised because Kristen is somebody who I don't think she was bad on Housewives, but she just didn't leave that much of an impact. And because she, her last season was season seven, which was such a major season of the show because it was Bethany coming back. It was Derinda joining the show. It felt like season seven was kind of the beginning of the modern era of Roney in a way. That, you know, those first four seasons were kind of like 1.0. And then season five and six, they kind of tried to retool. You know, they brought in Carol, Heather, Aviva, and then Kristen. But they didn't have Bethany. They didn't have Derinda yet. Jill was gone. Kelly was gone.

it was kind of, you know, a little bit of a rebuilding phase. And then season seven was when it really kind of locked back in. And Kristen, of course, was there in season seven, but then she left. And I think it kind of felt like Roney moved on to a new renaissance in the couple seasons after Kristen left. So her impact wasn't necessarily really felt because you had these amazing seasons. I mean, season eight, nine, ten are some of the best. So I think Kristen, she doesn't necessarily loom large in the memory, but when you think about it, it's like, yeah, she was, she was solid. She held her own. And this season on Girls Trip, it really feels like she's coming in with kind of no fucks to give in a way that, like I said, with the four kind of, the like core four women of this cast,

you just sort of know what you're going to get in a way. And I think it's really telling that after these first three episodes, the majority of the story and the drama and the conflict involves either Kelly or Kristen or both of them. You know, Kristen and Durinda are getting into it sort of on day one. And then Kelly and Durinda are having their issues. And Kelly and Luanne are arguing. And, you know, everybody's asking questions about Kristen's marriage and the Ashley Madison thing or Dolly Madison if you're, if you're Sony Morgan. And then Kristen and Kelly are going at it.

Like, they are kind of the tent polls of this season so far from a plot standpoint. And that is something that I think is really notable. And I'm enjoying Kelly and Kristen on this season. and we'll talk more about it. But I think it's also notable when you look at the other four and you say, maybe Durinda aside, I think Durinda is really, you know, getting in there. But Sonia and Luanne and Ramona, they bring what they bring as personalities and as kind of these iconic figures.

Like you couldn't really do this show without at least, you know, two out of the three of Sonia, Ramona, Luan. But at the same time, you couldn't do this show without a couple other people that are really going to take the ball and run with it. And that's what I think is so great about Kristen. She kind of got flack in the first couple episodes for being a viewer of the show, for knowing about all these things that happened when she wasn't there and asking questions and being a fan. And I think that's something that it's come up on, you know, various different housewives shows of people being fans before they come on and sort of doing their research. And first of all, I don't have any problem with this. I think that Kristen did the smart thing of, you know, doing her homework, being ready for what she was going to encounter on this trip. But also, that allows, that allows the story to really be layered.

not just rely on what happens in the moment. And that's the thing with these shows, is that following around a bunch of women for a week when they're drinking and whatever in St. Barts, it might be entertaining, but it's not really going to be interesting. And I think this was something on the ex-wives club season when you had people like Brandy and Tamara on the show

who watch Housewives and know Housewives and are really going to be able to sort of pinpoint, maybe with the help of production, but also they watch these shows, pinpoint kind of what are the topics that make sense to bring up and are going to sort of move the ball forward, like I said. And so when, if it's just Sonia Ramona Luan, they're not going to have that kind of level of reflection or, you know, Sonia's not going to ask Ramona Luana. a messy question about something that happened on the show. Whereas Kristen, as somewhat of an outside perspective, she's going to do that. And I think the show is better for it. And the way that Kelly is really bothered by that, I think is super interesting because at first, you know, she's bothered that she's a fan. And then in episode three, she's bothered that she's playing host. And she, you know, she's like, I want where you're like a friend on the trip. You're not.

you're not like moderating the trip. Your name's not Andy Cohen. You're here along with the rest of us. And I get why it might be a little bit off-putting to have someone in the group that seems like they're kind of coming with a list of questions. But as a viewer, it's like, okay, yeah, that's what I want to talk about. Ready to soundtrack your summer? With Red Bull Summer All Day Play, you choose a playlist that fits your Summer vibe the best. Are you a festival fanatic, 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.

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So really, I mean, out of these first three episodes, I think Kristen Takeman is kind of the MVP. And you know who's the LVP? And I don't mean the least of Anderpump. I mean the least valuable player. it's Ramona. It's Ramona. And I, as much as I have my own personal thoughts and feelings about Ramona Singer as a, as a person and as a racist woman, just watching the show,

Ramona, all she has to fall back on is her Ramona singer playbook of, she's going to be demanding. She's going to be mad about something. She's going to be, you know, causing an issue. She's going to be flirting. She's going to be apologizing poorly. Like, it just feels like there are certain moments where watching Ramona do the Ramona thing is entertaining.

And I'm not going to deny that just because I think she's a bad person. But when it comes down to it, she's not really giving us anything. She's doing what she always does. And to her credit, it's always worked for her before until now. And I think people have been talking about, is this the last time we're going to see Ramona on TV? Is this the last time Ramona's going to get an opportunity? And the thing is, the arc of history is long.

But it, I think it's the last time we're going to see Ramona. on a Bravo Peacock show, at least for a long time. But she might get an opportunity somewhere else. You know, there's all of these mash-up shows happening left and right. Who's to say she won't be on House of Villains or Special Forces or what the fuck? Welcome to Mars or Mission to Mars, whatever. I don't think Ramona is going to just fall into the ground and we're never going to see her again. But I think that this is probably the end of the run for her on the housewives spectrum.

And while I think that is partially the result of her, you know, making bad choices, even aside from that, I just don't think she has that much more to show us. Whereas, honestly, watching Kelly and Luanne argue about Ranger games and watching, Watching, oh my God, the reaction, when Sonia said that she is better, she said that Bethany's a good friend of hers. And she said that she talks to Bethany more than she talks to Luan. There was like a real anger there from Luan. And them kind of having to deal with that. And the idea of Sonia, Sonia having to like answer for not being a very present friend,

that to me is really interesting. But we're not getting any of that from Ramona. I mean, Ramona's being vague about somebody she's dating. She's saying she's a third-degree burn on her arm and she's wrapped this blue, like, scarf around her arm the whole trip. She can't get in the water. But it's like, I, just objectively, out of the six of them, the one who's giving the least is Ramona. and I think, you know, that in and of itself would be enough for me to be like, yeah, we probably are good on her for a while. But especially when you couple it with the racism, it's like, right, okay, that's let's move on.

There are so many things we can do with housewives. There are so many things we can do with Ultimate Girls Trip, even not necessarily just housewives. We definitely don't need Ramona 4.0 or whatever the fuck. One thing that I have been loving about this trip is the lack of glam. It to me is so refreshing that these women are just there for a week. Just they themselves and them. They're not getting their makeup done. They're not getting their hair done.

You can tell they're not getting their hair done. I mean, it's day three. And all of them have like saltwater hair in a way that is just so real, so recognizable. And I love that when Kelly walks into dinner and she says that her hair smells like an art bark. It's so stupid. But that is one thing that I think Rony Legacy kind of gives us that I'm not sure any other city or any other kind of variation of this format really could, is that it feels like all of these women are on the same wavelength about, yeah, we're just going on a girl's trip to this house for a week.

And obviously, they're getting paid to be there. And I actually thought it was super interesting. I think it was an episode two when the conversation came up about sort of who needs the show or who needs to be there. And this was sort of a Kristen versus everyone. everyone else thing, that it's like, you know, Sonia acknowledges that she needs the money, and that's why she wants to be on the show. But it doesn't really feel like the rest of them are there because they're like desperate to be housewives again. It's like an opportunity that they want to do, but it's interesting. The idea of the housewives economy and kind of like what you get the opportunity to do versus what you

are hustling for watching them make cameos just never gets old talking about the pricing of the cameos that sonia always keeps her is at ninety nine dollars so that i guess if you're searching on cameo for like under a hundred she always is going to come up louan sets hers at one 25 Ramona, I guess, is not on Cameo, but she's asking about it, and she doesn't want to have to do that many. I feel like Sonia and Luanne are very prolific on Cameo, and I have to imagine that they make really good money from that. But no, I just, I think this show just has been a lot more actively entertaining than I was expecting it to be. And I think that the arguments feel real. I mean, Kelly's energy certainly is chaotic.

I'm excited to unpack that more as the season goes on. I think, you know, Kristen's sort of coming back into the fray and feeling like she has to defend her marriage and all of that. I think that's really interesting. I think, you know, Derinda kind of seeming like she maybe hasn't. changed much. I don't know. There's a lot going on and I, I am, I'm pleasantly surprised by this season and I'm, I'm excited to watch the rest of it. We'll definitely have more to talk about it over the next few weeks. I don't know exactly how many episodes there are, but I'm looking forward to it and I, I'm looking forward to everything else to come. So please make sure that you are

following, subscribe to the show wherever you listen so you don't miss anything over the next a couple weeks. But thank you so much for listening. 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 Southmacat. Editing by Jorge Morales Pico. Social media by Dylan Hafer. Guest Booking by Ali Friedlander. Be sure to follow at Bravo by Betches on Instagram and Twitter. Pay off your home. Travel for life. Drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Bucks slot machine by Aristocrat Gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at Sandman is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package.

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