RHONY 's Bethenny Frankel Speaks Out About Her Naked Film Past: 'I Don't Regret It At All'
Bethenny Frankel is known for the self-deprecating and biting sense of humor she displays on The Real Housewives of New York City — often preaching the "zero f—" she has to give about the drama that comes her way. But on Wednesday's all-new episode, the Skinnygirl mogul wasn't laughing when a film from her past — in which she was nude — was brought up in the same context of her 6-year-old daughter.
The conversation took place at dinner in the Hamptons. As Carole Radziwill, Dorinda Medley and Luann (de Lesseps) D'Agostino chatted about the 2016 presidential election, Ramona Singer asked Frankel a pointed question about a shocking video that circulated in the tabloids at the time — which showed Frankel naked.
"I know stuff has resurfaced from your past. And I know, one time when I was with [my daughter Avery], someone showed her an article about one of my friends who kind of had naked pictures," Singer, 60, said, seemingly referencing the nude photo scandal surrounding RHONY alum Alex McCord that prompted Singer to walk off the season 1 reunion.
"Somebody in school showed it to her and she called me up, like, appalled," Singer continued. "Has anybody approached [your daughter Bryn] about it? You're in the press now being naked and doing soft-porn. Has anybody approached your daughter? Have you explained to her the situation? Kids talk, they're very sophisticated!"
Noam Galai/WireImage; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Frankel looked puzzled, quickly making light of the situation. "At 6? Yeah. Diane Sawyer came to her school yard and actually approached her," she snarked. "That was like 25 years ago! What am I supposed to do?"
The 46-year-old then went to explain the low-budget horror film — titled Hollywood Hills, 90028.
"I was in a movie when I was trying to be an actress in L.A.," Frankel said. "I was laying topless in a scene on a rooftop — which is great because it shows that my boobs were big, which I like."
"I don't regret it at all," she continued. "I needed the money and I wanted to be an actress. I have no issue with it whatsoever … It wasn't porn. It was a cheesy movie. I think I was a murderer. But the scene in question, which I sent to Carole, is me having sex with this guy."
RELATED VIDEO: Bethenny Frankel Reveals That She Is Not in a Serious Relationship
That didn't mean Frankel was happy about Singer bringing up the movie under the guise of whether someone had told her young daughter about it at school.
"Something stupid like that? I had no idea that anyone would bring it up nor would I have cared," Frankel confessed to viewers. "If someone said, 'What about that movie with your boobs hanging out?' — I would have laughed. I would have joked about it. But Ramona attempting to embarrass me through my daughter whose in first grade is even low for Ramona."
"Ramona loves to have something on someone and then to bring it up," she said later. "Trying to 'gotcha' with my daughter in the same paragraph was disgusting. She's a bad person."
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty
While Frankel shot back at Singer about her insinuation, Singer insisted she was just trying to show interest in her friend's life.
"This is something that's going on in your life," she said. "All you have to say is you didn't have a conversation with your daughter because you feels she's too young … You're trying to make fun of me and I'm having a serious conversation with you. You're getting defensive and I really don't appreciate it. If I can't tell you what I'm thinking without you attacking me …"
"Good friends should be able to ask each other questions without it going where Bethenny's trying to take it," she told viewers. "I'm not bringing this out of the blue. This was just in the papers. Let's be honest, she's being a [bitch] … How 'real' can you be, Bethenny, if you can't talk about what's going on in your life?"
The two broke off their argument temporarily — with Singer complaining to D'Agostino about what had just happened. Problem was, Frankel was still sitting right across from them and could hear every word.
REAL HOUSEWIVES REWIND: Bethenny Frankel goes naked in the middle of Times Square
Soon, Frankel was taking on both of them. "I thought you wrote a book on etiquette? You're talking about me and I can hear every word," she told D'Agostino. "[Talking] in front of me but not to me? It's a little bit rude."
"What scale do you think I care about your opinion of me? Like, zero to 10, where do you think you fall in?" she added. "Why would you waste your breath? Talk to your friend. We don't work, so just be cordial and pleasant and end it. Why am I even engaging in this? It doesn't work. Who cares, let's just be pleasant."
But Singer and D'Agostino were ready to fight back.
"You're so stupid sometimes, you really are," Singer snapped. "With your actions when it comes to other people. You may be good with business, but you're not really good with interacting with people … This is a witch over here."
Kristina Bumphrey/StarPix/REX/Shutterstock
D'Agostino agreed. "You've said obnoxious things about all of us," she said. "I know you don't care. That's the problem. That you don't care about any of us is the point. You only care about yourself. … It's all about Bethenny. … You can't even take a compliment. She was wicked to me."
That was the final straw for Frankel. "I've just been called a witch and wicked. I'm going back to the house," she told Radziwill, leaving. "No one's going to call me a witch and wicked. That's not going to happen."
On her way out, it was pointed out to Frankel how she's called D'Agostino way worse things. But Frankel's real beef was with Singer. And it appears they won't be squashing it anytime soon.
"Ramona pretends to have a friendship with me — this was bad," Frankel said. "There will be no 'I adore you' apology. I don't want to hear it."
The Real Housewives of New York City airs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.