Bethenny Frankel Calls for Reality TV Strike After Revealing She Has “Never Made a Single Residual” Despite Her Years in Television: “We’re Getting Screwed, Too”

Bethenny Frankel is calling for a strike. The former Real Housewives of New York City star weighed in on the ongoing labor disputes happening in Hollywood right now with the dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, pointing out that celebrities in unscripted television are also facing similar issues to actors and writers.

“Why isn’t reality TV on strike?” she asked in a video shared to her Instagram. “I got paid $7,250 for my first season of reality TV and people are still watching those episodes. We’ve always been the losers, the ‘I’m up here, you’re down here’ to the actresses and actors.”

Frankel, who is best known for starring on the highly binge-able Bravo franchise Real Housewives from 2008-2019, has enjoyed a fruitful career in reality television with appearances on The Apprentice and Shark Tank.

“I, myself, have generated millions and millions of dollars in advertising and online impressions, being on reality TV, and I’ve never made a single residual,” she continued. “Either I’m missing something, or we’re getting screwed too.”

Frankel correctly pointed out that “the gold rush of reality TV” started during the last writer’s strike, which took place from November 2007 to February 2008. In fact, we are once again seeing networks pivot back to unscripted television now that production for scripted content is on hold.

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“Anyone shooting a Bravo show should not be shooting until they get paid residuals for all the other episodes that they’ve done or those episodes should be taken down,” Frankel declared. “Reality stars should go on strike.”

Frankel pointed to reality series such as The Hills and The Bachelor as an example for her argument, stating that they “get paid peanuts” for their work. She specifically tagged Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Lauren Conrad as people who have “generated millions of dollars and entertained people GLOBALLY” over the years.

“They were entirely exploited getting ratings that network television doesn’t get,” she said.

While actors are receiving residuals for their work, multiple stars from hit television shows on networks and streaming services have revealed that they were sometimes paid “pennies.”

Orange is the New Black actor Kimiko Glenn revealed she made as little as $27 in residuals from the series, despite it getting almost a million views from subscribers. She went on to say they “did not get paid very well” on the show, so much so, many of her cast mates had to work second jobs in bartending and stand-up.

Residuals are a key concern for SAG-AFTRA and WGA, which both went into their contract negotiations asking for a pay structure that better reflects streaming numbers.

But those conversations have not included unscripted television. Until, possibly, now.

“It’s complete and total bullshit. And I’m getting into this because it just occurred to me,” Frankel stated. “Everyone is talking about actors, [but] we don’t get paid shit.”