“Hollywood is on strike, entertainers are fighting for what’s left, and no one is going to promote anything. Why aren’t reality TV strikes?” asked the former star of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York.”
Bethany Frankel Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images
ex true Housewives New York Star Bethany Frankel is questioning why Reality TV is on WGA and SAG-AFTRA Double Strike Still not unionized after a week and with network The transition to reality television to support their fall schedule.
“Hollywood is on strike, entertainers are fighting for what’s left, and nobody’s going to sell anything. Why isn’t reality TV on strike?” asked Frankel, who starred in the “Bravo reality” series for eight seasons before quitting at “During the last
writers’ strike , we provided all the entertainment, and that’s when the reality show gold rush started.”
In a video (below) posted to her Instagram on Wednesday, the Big Shot With Bethenny producer revealed that she only got $7 for “Season 1 of reality show” 14, before calling on the reality stars to stop filming “until their free content is removed”. Frankel said networks and streamers should not continue to cash in on stars without acknowledging the cultural and financial impact of reality shows such as The Hills , Vanderpump Rules , Jersey Shore , The Bachelor
and The Bachelorett e.
“I’ve never created any residue,” she claimed. “So either I missed something or we were screwed too.”
She focused on the remaining issues in particular, noting that stars like Lauren Conrad and Kristin Cavallari “don’t make a dollar” on their hit MTV series, which Frankel said “gained ratings that network TV couldn’t” and are “still watched to this day.” (Reality shows are largely not protected by SAG-AFTRA or other union contracts, though individual stars can be part of the actors’ union.)
“We’ve been losers,” she said, adding more to the video’s caption. “Improv talents, aka ‘reality TV stars,’ should be unionized, or just treated fairly and valued.”
A source countered Frankel’s claims, saying reality show compensation “works out differently.” Actors use the platform to grow their businesses and brands, and Bethany has done the same. She’s still making a lot of money from a show she hasn’t been on in years by launching a podcast just for housewives .
In her post, the former RHONY star, who spun several shows from her time on the series and launched her ReWives rerun podcast at a later date
, challenges the notion that reality TV stars only benefit from exposure.
This mentality is also idiots for giving us the platform and we can take advantage of them,” she wrote. “From @snooki to @laurenconrad to @kaitlynbristowe to myself, reality TV has generated millions and entertained people worldwide while my name, likeness and content are used for free on episodes for years to come while I get paid a pittance for my work.
Frankel described the relationship as exploitative — one in which the stars don’t get the kind of broadcast and streaming residue that the SAG-AFTRA actors get.
“Just because a talent signs their life,” she says, “doesn’t mean exploitation is right. “
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