With her signature shaggy hair, cosmetically enhanced lips and willingness to "own it, baby!," Lisa Rinna was for years a fan favorite on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," the long-running reality soap that is one of Bravo's most-watched programs.
But last week, the famously thirsty soap actress turned reality star was loudly booed by fans when she took the stage at BravoCon, a three-day gathering devoted to the network and its glossy unscripted programming.
Rinna was participating in a panel conversation Friday with her co-stars on "Beverly Hills," which is nearing the end of its turbulent 12th season. Dressed in a bright orange suit, the former "Days of Our Lives" star, who played a key role in the climactic event of the season, couldn't ignore the hostile reception and flipped her middle finger at the audience before taking a seat.
Even Erika Girardi, a.k.a. Erika Jayne, who is mired in legal troubles related to her estranged husband, Tom Girardi, and has been accused of villainous behavior by many fans (including "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm), received a warmer welcome.
The panel, moderated by stylist Brad Goreski, was less confrontational, though it included some awkward moments. At one point, in response to a question about the supposedly hypocritical behavior of some of the cast members, Rinna snapped, "We're all hypocrites!" Several minutes later, audience members hungry for a follow-up began to cry out, "Get to Rinna!"
An unusual amount of the drama this season has unfolded offscreen — via social media, on celebrity gossip sites and in breathless Reddit conversations.
The season culminated with Kathy Hilton — whose sister, Kyle Richards, is the show's longest-running cast member and whose daughter, Paris, became famous via reality TV — reportedly having a meltdown at a private club in Aspen when either her cast mates declined to do the conga with her, the DJ refused to play Michael Jackson, or some combination thereof.
The alleged freakout and its aftermath were not captured by Bravo cameras, leaving Rinna as the sole witness for much of the action. But details of the incident were leaked to a number of outlets, including Radar. Speculation has run rampant among "Housewives" fans about whether Hilton's meltdown was really as traumatizing as Rinna has repeatedly made it out to be, or if she's exaggerating to stoke drama, preserve her place on the show and perhaps distract from the scrutiny directed at Girardi, who is her friend. (Rinna also clashed with Hilton and Kyle Richards' sister, Kim Richards, in an earlier season of the show.)
Although Hilton is merely a supporting cast member — a "friend of" rather than a full-fledged "housewife," to use Bravo parlance — she has been embraced by viewers because of her kooky behavior and tendency for malapropisms, like a Jennifer Coolidge character come to life.
In previews of an upcoming reunion episode, Hilton berates Rinna for being "the biggest bully in Hollywood" and accuses her of driving former housewife Lisa Vanderpump off the show. (Hilton was not included in the panel Friday.)
For her part, Rinna has sounded off on social media all season long, sharing posts critical of the show's producers and suggesting she was not given ample time to grieve her mother, Lois, who died last year and often appeared on the show.
Even before Rinna took to the stage, the atmosphere in the exhibit hall was chaotic, bordering on belligerent. The space was filled beyond capacity with restless spectators, many of whom were forced to watch from an adjacent overflow area or haggle with other fans using bags to save seats for their friends. On social media, attendees likened the scene to the Fyre Festival.
At an earlier Q&A session, a fan urged "Real Housewives" executive producer Andy Cohen to fire Rinna. (Cohen said nothing about her status on the show.)
In a 2019 interview with The Times, Rinna spoke openly about the thirst for stardom that eventually led her to reality TV. "I just wanted to be famous and was going to do whatever I had to to get there," she said.
But during Friday's panel, Rinna spoke more wearily about reality stardom. "I used to say that being on a soap opera was more difficult than being a Housewife, but it's more difficult to be a Housewife," she said. "It's a lot harder because it's real ... this is real and these are people that I do care about."
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