Jennie Nguyen will no longer hold a snowflake.
"The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" cast member has been fired by Bravo as a result of offensive Facebook posts from 2020 that resurfaced last week. During the height of the protests following George Floyd's murder, Nguyen allegedly shared posts comparing Black Lives Matters protesters to "thugs" and "violent gangs," calling for a "White Lives Matter" movement and questioning Floyd's cause of death. One cartoon she apparently shared on her public Facebook account shows a woman joking about running over protestors with her car.
"Bravo has ceased filming with Jennie Nguyen and she will no longer be a cast member of 'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,'" Bravo said in a statement Tuesday. "We recognize we failed to take appropriate action once her offensive social media posts were brought to our attention. Moving forward, we will work to improve our processes to ensure we make better informed and more thoughtful casting decisions."
The backlash against Nguyen, who was born in Vietnam and moved to the United States as a child, has been furious since the posts came to light last week.
Nguyen's co-stars have shared statements condemning her on their social media accounts and unfollowed her on Instagram. Andy Cohen, executive producer of the "Real Housewives" franchise, also spoke out about the controversy on his SiriusXM show this week, calling Nguyen's posts "disgusting."
Race has become a central issue this season on "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City." Ironically, Nguyen, who joined the show this year, has positioned herself as the voice of tolerance on the reality show. She hosted a pho lunch with the intention of celebrating her Vietnamese heritage and bringing together her combative cast mates in a peaceful setting.
Nguyen also called out cast member Mary Cosby for remarking on her "slanted eyes."
"Right now, there is a lot of Asian hate," she told Cosby, who is Black. "Take responsibility for your words. You can say things differently, like, 'I love your beautiful eyes.' But when you reference, 'I love your slanted eyes,' you know, it's very insulting to me." (Cosby was also criticized for also comparing cast member Jen Shah, who was arrested on wire fraud charges, to a "Mexican thug.")
———
