Sometimes on reality TV the drama is far better off camera than on. Which is exactly the case on
Real Housewives of Orange County! Really, why bother with all the editing when these people create straight up chaos without it.
In the latest,
Jim Bellino
has been campaigning against the show all season long and following an
explosive reunion, King Jimbo is making no secret of wanting
Alexis Bellino to hand in her two weeks notice.
Here’s how it all began. Following the reunion,
Alexis blogged about
Tamra Barney‘s “Jesus Jugs” comment and stated it insulted Christians everywhere.
“Jesus Barbie was cute, but almost
crossing the line — I can take it in stride. Yet, Jesus Jugs doesn’t
just cross the line, it catapults over it. That comment has offended
Christians everywhere. How does she decorate her home in crosses yet
make a remark like that without an ounce of guilt?”
“Then she is promoting Jesus Jugs wine
glasses her Facebook page? So now it’s blasphemy along with defaming
Jesus and monetizing on what He sacrificed for us.”
In response,
Tamra took the mouth that gets her in trouble over to
RumorFix to accuse
Alexis of being a “faux Christian.”
“Unlike
Alexis, I don’t need to hide behind the Jesus curtain and I don’t feel the need to preach,”
Tamra retorts. “When someone is constantly preaching about something they are lying! Alexis and
Jim are faux Christians, like her ring.”
“Does she think Jesus would be proud of her for judging me as a Christian, and the crosses in my house?
Jim used to take
Peggy Tanous to strip clubs after church when they were dating!” For the record, Peggy has
not confirmed this.
“I don’t hide behind the Jesus curtain because of my past like him,”
Tamra added.
Apparently for
Jim those accusations definitely went too far and in a
statement released to Us Weekly, he threatens legal action against
Tamra for defamatory and slanderous statements. Oh dearie.
“The
Real Housewives of Orange County is a reality show that
is meant to entertain and engage audiences with the lives of its cast
members. We recognize that the personalities, drama and conflict of the
show attract fans to the popular Bravo reality series,” the couple’s
statement begins.
“Unfortunately, some cast members use the show as a platform for
personal attacks and character assassination, perhaps out of personal
insecurity or simply to inflict pain. To the extent possible, we try to
ignore this behavior.”
Well, attacking
Alexis and
Jim‘s religion, along with their marriage is something the Bellinos refuse to ignore. The statement continues:
“Recently, however, that has become all but impossible. The escalation of Tamra Barney‘s attacks has reached the level that we have been advised to take legal action.”
“To be clear, Tamra‘s
most recent statements are completely false. While her motivation may be
to elevate herself by hurting others, the law does provide boundaries
outside of which even she may be held liable.”
“This vicious and malicious attack on our
family will no longer be tolerated. We have continually tried to take
the high road, however, if necessary, we are prepared to defend
ourselves against these unfounded, slanderous and defamatory remarks to
the fullest extent of the law.”
And just one day after a rumor that
Alexis would be
fired from RHOC,
Jim
admits he hopes that is the case as he no longer wants his wife
associated with this show. And that, my friends, is the smartest thing
Jim has ever said!
“I absolutely do not want her on the show,”
Jim tells
WetPaint. “But
Alexis will do what she wants to do. It’s completely her call.”
“She’s talking to them now and we’ll see what happens,”
Jim adds. “Whatever decision she makes, I just want it to be the right one for her.”
And
Jim explains just what he found so offensive about
Tamra‘s “Jesus Jugs” comment. “She offended so many people and she should apologize for it.”
“Think about it: What if she had called someone ‘Jew Jugs?’ It’s
making fun of someone’s faith and it’s completely unacceptable. I find
it offensive and horrible. That, to me, was also crossing a huge line.” I
actually think that is a very insightful point.
As for
Alexis, she, again, admits that S8 may not be
in the cards. “The truth is, I don’t know if I’m cut out for this
anymore. I don’t know if I’m cut out for such a hateful environment,”
she
confesses to WetPaint. (Do they have the Bellinos under contract?)
“I’ve been called phony, fake, mean, and hateful. But the thing is, there’s zero footage to back that up,”
Alexis insists. “If there was, don’t you think they would have run it?”
Alexis continues, “At this point, I’m just trying to
recover. I want to turn this into a positive experience. God put me in
the place I am for a reason. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
and I’m a lot stronger today than I was at the start of Season 7. So I
guess, in a way, I’m thankful. Very hurt, but thankful.”
Here is my two cents:
Tamra has gone too far. I thought “Jesus Jugs” and her behavior at the reunion was ruthless – and not just towards
Alexis. Tamra has always been sassy, but the comments she made at the reunion – unprovoked, largely – were shocking.
I’m not sure what the
Bellinos intent is with this legal action, but
Tamra is making some awfully slanderous accusations IF she doesn’t have anything to back it up. She did the same thing with
Gretchen Rossi (it’s no wonder Gretchen decided to join ranks with her), but she actually had some proof there.
In response to all of this,
Tamra has been
re-tweeting comments like this one: “Don’t apologize to
Alexis
her boobs are fake, hair is fake, jewelry is fake, her wealth is fake,
her Christianity is fake!” When another user accused her of “defamation
of character” Tamra responded “oh plzzzz” Well, OK then.
“he’s searching to try and keep his wife’s job,” she later commented.
Tamra has also been busy hanging out with
Jill Zarin.
Is that an omen? A photo of the two of them is below.
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Alexis and Jim Bellino (Left) Tamra Barney and Eddie Judge (Right) |