Andy Cohen Faces Backlash From Human Rights Organizations Over ‘Real Housewives of Dubai!’
Andy Cohen has come under fire from human rights organizations after the first trailer of The Real Housewives of Dubai dropped.
12 human rights groups made a joint statement to Bravo about their decision to shoot the ‘Real Housewives’ franchise in Dubai. In the statement sent to Bravo, NBCUniversal, and Truly Original Production Company, the groups pointed out all the violations that occur over in Dubai. “We are deeply concerned by your decision to produce and launch the latest edition of the Real Housewives series in Dubai,” the statement read.
The statement continued, “Dubai is an absolute monarchy that is part of the dictatorship of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). By setting the Real Housewives franchise inside Dubai, you are helping the UAE dictatorship hide its male rulers’ misogyny, legalized homophobia, and mass violence against women.”
The letter continued to detail human rights violations committed by the monarch. One statement mentioned the Dubai ruler’s domestic abuse, another incident where a ruler kidnapped his own adult daughters who tried to escape the Emirates and how rape accusations are often ignored. The letter asked The Real Housewives of Dubai and Bravo to shed light on such human rights violations instead of sweeping them under the rug.
The first step as described in the letter is for the new Bravo show to reveal if they were funded or financed in any way by the UAE. The activist groups also asked Bravo to “run a disclaimer” at the beginning of every episode stating Bravo opposes “the UAE and Dubai dictatorship’s misogyny, homophobia, women’s rights violations, and war in Yemen.”
They also asked The Real Housewives of Dubai to donate some of their profits to independent human rights organizations that are currently fighting against the UAE and Dubai’s human rights issues and to teach their fans how they can “stand up for women’s rights and LGBTQ equality” to show the network doesn’t agree with the oppression going on in the country.
“As these examples reveal, the dictatorship of the United Arab Emirates and Dubai is a deeply flawed choice for the Real Housewives series. By producing and launching the Real Housewives of Dubai, you risk providing the rulers of the UAE and Dubai with the soft propaganda they need to hide their human rights crimes from the world.”
The statement sent to Bravo was signed by Freedom Forward, Action Corps, Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues, CODEPINK, European Centre For Democracy and Human Rights, FairSquare, Health Advocacy International, Human Rights Sentinel, Just Foreign Policy, Last Mile4D, Peace Action, and ReThinking Foreign Policy.
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