Kelly Bensimon Says She Feels ATTACKED by Leah McSweeney’s Lawsuit Against Bravo!

Kelly Bensimon Says She Feels ATTACKED by Leah McSweeney’s Lawsuit Against Bravo!

Kelly Bensimon wants to be left out of the legal skirmish between Bravo and fellow Real Housewives of New York City” alum, Leah McSweeney.

Last week, McSweeney filed a lawsuit against Bravo, network executive, Andy Cohen, and the show’s producers, alleging in court documents that she had been hand picked as a potential successor to Bensimon.

The alleged assessment was based on the iconic “Scary Island” episode, during which Bensimon appeared unstable and out of touch with reality. McSweeney claimed that producers pursued her knowing that she had been struggling with alcohol addiction and mental health issues, as a replacement for Bensimon. She alleged that producers tried to weaken her so she would deliver off-the-wall content, similar to scenes featured in “Scary Island.” 

Bensimon spoke to Page Six about being dragged into McSweeney’s legal narrative.

“I’m not angry,” she told the outlet. “I just like facts. I think people should stick to the facts.”

Bensimon asserted that the lawsuit insinuated that she was drugged or going though a mental health breakdown while filming the RHONY Season 3 girls trip. 

She insisted that she was mentally stable and had only consumed a small amount of alcohol, as in a little wine with ice. Bensimon also said that the lawsuit implied that she was exploited by the network and producers, in alignment with McSweeney’s claims. 

“I’m not a victim,” the former model declared. “I’m nobody’s victim.”

Bensimon added — “There’s no way I could be as successful as I am in high-end real estate if I could be made a victim.”

She also pointed out — “It was me who branded ‘Scary Island.’ I gave it that name.” 

The Douglas Elliman real estate broker said that she called “cut” while filming the episode, whenever she felt that scenes had hit a dead end. She added that she decided to go home early when she felt the intensity level was beyond her comfort zone.  

Bensimon noted that she had delivered one of the most memorable reality TV episodes in history, and that the iconic moments couldn’t really be compared to McSweeney’s filmed antics.

“I’m amazing TV,” Bensimon declared. “I always enjoyed making the show, plus it meant that I could give my [daughters] something that nobody can take away from them: an unbelievable education.”

Bensimon, who went on the film spinoff, Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip Legacy, believes that McSweeney is “trying to use me to get something for herself.”

Bensimon’s account was backed by Dave Quinn’s Bravo-themed book, “Not All Diamonds and Rosé,” which included docs that confirmed that Bensimon left the trip “after [producers] told her that she could not.”

“I was filming six days a week, from the very beginning to the very end,”  Bensimon said, per the book. “I filmed all the time, and I thought I was doing great. It was one of my best years.”

“But my agent was like ‘[the producers] are really mad at you and they don’t know whether they’re going to bring you back… I don’t know why all this pressure was on me, but there was a lot of animosity and they told me that they were going to cancel me if I didn’t go on the trip. That’s why I said [on the cast reunion show that aired on Bravo at the end of the season] that I was forced.”

A Bravo rep previously stated of McSweeney’s claims—“A number of claims that were made by Leah McSweeney were previously investigated and [found to be] unsubstantiated.”

A rep for Andy Cohen also denied McSweeney’s allegations against him outlined in the lawsuit. 

 

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