‘RHOSLC’s Lisa Barlow Says Former Co-Star Jennie Nguyen ‘Deserves A Second Chance’
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jennie Nguyen, 44, apologized for resurfaced "offensive" and "hurtful" past Facebook posts.
The posts received major backlash from both fans and Jennie's RHOSLC co-stars.
Now, Bravo has fired Jennie from the show—but her posts didn't come up at the season 2 reunion. Here's why:
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City's second reunion didn't start with behind-the-scenes footage of the stars or with a greeting from host Andy Cohen. Instead, the screen faded to black: "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City reunion was taped prior to Jennie Nguyen's social posts becoming public and her subsequent departure from the series," it read. "Those posts are not addressed in the show."
Even though Jennie, 44, apologized to her co-stars and fans after old Facebook posts resurfaced, Bravo fired her from the show back in January, according to a statement from the network.
So, what did Jennie say? And why was she fired from the show after just one season? Here's everything you need to know:
Jennie's Facebook posts date back to 2020.
In a six-month period from the summer to the fall of 2020, Jennie posted and shared graphics and memes that criticized the Black Lives Matter movement, the protests after George Floyd's death, the COVID-19 vaccine, and more, Page Six reported.
After the Facebook posts were brought to light, Jennie apologized on Instagram in a post captioned "#hateisavirus." "I want to acknowledge and apologize for my deleted Facebook posts from 2020 that resurfaced today," she wrote. "At the time, I thought I was speaking out against violence, but I have since learned how offensive and hurtful my words were."
"It's why I deactivated that account more than a year ago and why I continue to try to learn about perspectives different from my own," she continued. "I regret those posts and am sincerely sorry for the pain they caused."
Soon after, her co-stars started to respond.
Later, many of Jennie's co-stars made statements of their own. Hours after the posts were unearthed, Meredith Marks Tweeted: "Vile." She later added a full statement, saying "You will see repercussions. As difficult as it is, give things a moment to come to light."
— Meredith Marks (@MeredithMarks0) January 23, 2022
Meanwhile, Jen Shah, Heather Gay, Lisa Barlow, and Whitney Rose posted their reactions on Instagram.
In January, Jennie was officially fired from the show.
On Jan. 25, Bravo shared that Jennie had officially been fired from the show. "Bravo has ceased filming with Jennie Nguyen and she will no longer be a cast member on 'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,'" the statement read.
"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."
Jennie has since spoken out.
The next day, Jennie responded to the backlash. In an Instagram Live on Jan. 26, she blamed her social media team for sharing the posts. “I just want you to understand that, during that time, I had a team of people that [were] helping me. Whether they posted [or] I posted, it doesn’t really matter at this point,” Jennie said, per Page Six.
“For me, it’s on my account and I take full responsibility and accountability for what was posted," she continued. “I know I hurt a lot of people. My viewpoint during that time in 2020 was emotional and it brings back a lot of memories during that time when we went through such a tragic, terrible year.”
Jennie called the posts "disgusting" before sharing that she is a "proud" Republican who supports law enforcement. “I want you to understand that my political stance, I still support that. I’m very proud to be a Republican. I am proud to be able to say I have the freedom of speech, too, and to have an opinion,” she explained.
“I don’t tolerate violence but I do support my law enforcement. I know with every profession, there’s good and there’s bad. I don’t support the bad. I don’t support the brutality with Black people or with any race. But I do support my law enforcement, but that doesn’t make me racist. To support my political stance, that does not make me a racist. I want you to understand that," Jennie said.
Jennie's friend, Michael, sat next to her during the video. “Over time, I did have to educate her on the whole Black Lives Matter and everything like that because I’m a gay black man, so I live it every day," he added. “Anybody that’s saying she paid him to be there or she pulled the friend card, I see all your comments.”
“But here’s the reality. I know Jennie and I know her character and I know the person that she is inside. She’s not a racist," Michael said.
Jennie's apology and firing come after she was called out by fans for using a "blaccent" while addressing her co-star Mary Cosby on the show at the season 2 reunion. “I don’t see I have a black accent. I grew up in Long Beach, California. It shaped who I am. That’s where I get my accent, and I don’t understand why people look at me and say, ‘When I talk to Mary, I have a black accent.’ I don’t see that,” she explained, per Page Six.
“I have an accent. Whatever comes out comes out," Jennie added.
Mary didn't attend the reunion, but she and Jennie fought often during RHOSLC season 2. In the Jan. 2 episode, Mary commented on Jennie's "yellow tone" and said she loved her "slanted eyes."
"It is insulting to our Asian culture to call me that, and it comes across as racist," Jennie explained in a confessional scene, per People. "And it's shocking cause Mary should be more educated and understand it's not appropriate to say stuff like that."
"You're an adult, take some responsibility," Jennie later told Mary. "Right now, there is a lot of Asian hate. Take responsibility for your words."
Now, her co-stars are continuing to deal with the fallout.
Since The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City reunion aired its last episode on March 13, star Lisa Barlow (who brought Jennie on the show) says her friend deserves a "second chance."
“I think everyone in life deserves a second chance,” Lisa told TMZ. “That’s what we’re trying to do–just be a little bit better every single day, and hopefully we learn from our mistakes and don’t make them again, and I think that’s how we learn sometimes. We have to make mistakes to learn.”
Lisa added that Jennie's firing was a “tough decision.” “It was really hard for everybody involved, and I hope she’s doing amazing,” she continued. She also said that Jennie sent her a text in late January after her departure from the show, but they haven't spoken to each other since.
“You know, Jennie’s always been nice to me, so I hope everything’s good with Jennie, and she’s always been really busy,” Lisa said.
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