S11.E13: Season’s Grillings

[tvfanatic13]

To cleanse everyone's palate of all things Erika, I LOVE Garcelle's family. So glad it seems that Oliver has really turned his life around.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled skewering of Erika, Rinna, Dorit and Kyle... all of whom are so deserving of it. 

[gingerella]

21 minutes ago, politichick said:

The only bully in this bunch is Erika

Yeah, I'd say Rinna is a bully too, and she needs to OWN IT.

ETA: The world of advertising has a sense of humor apparently! 🤣

Edited August 19, 2021 by gingerella

[Cosmocrush]

1 hour ago, HotHW said:

This isn't a person she lived a hellish life with and divorced a decade ago. This man was her current world. 

But initially that was exactly her story sans the decade old divorce.  She had to get out, she couldn't take his treatment of her anymore, he wouldn't talk to her except two word sentences.    "NO ONE knew what she was living with...etc.etc."  Just as @90sfan posted:

52 minutes ago, 90sfan said:

I mean a couple of weeks ago, Erika's story was that Tom was horrible and dismissive to her. 

It's only recently (on the show) that she is so concerned about him, that he calls her everyday and begs her to come home.  If she was really that concerned about him and his alleged decline WHY did she leave?  

38 minutes ago, WhatAmIWatching said:

I don't blame Sutton for backing down a little bit, as she was sitting directly next to Erika and was maybe worried she'd get a throat punch.

I'm sorry but this made me LOL just picturing it. 

[mytmo]

16 hours ago, FlyingEgret said:

Erika: where's the money?

The Pretty Mess Tour

[bosawks]

32 minutes ago, Natalie68 said:

Sutton is the type to bring her a housewarming gift when Erika moves into her new housing in Chowchilla, CA (CCWF, women's prison).

I hope she tells her she looks fabulous in orange to make up for that "handsome" crack.

[Slakkie]

What I find interesting is that Erika seems to have ZERO care for the victims.  I mean people who SUFFERED are missing money, its theft but she does not seem to really care.  Even if she had nothing to do with it you would think she would be appalled. 

Using Dorito - Widows and Orphans??  SHe does not seem to care at all - it is all about HER....

[Julyolo]

There's lots of speculation on this thread about whether Erica is under the influence of something due to her flat affect. I have always felt she is on something. Every season, whenever she snapped, she exhibited the behaviors of a mean drunk or a cornered addict.

[Miss Slay]

It's interesting that LVP got the reputation of being a Svengali when Rinna does the same stuff. She's itching to go after Garcelle but she can't. She's still getting blowback about Denise. So instead, she clearly pulled Dorit off camera and started using certain language. "It's a pattern, she goes after people, ect." Except she said everything but bully. She saw that Dorit is tonedeaf on the topic of race (and most likely racist)- and would walk right into it. So Dorit uses the word "bully" not at all noticing how racially charged that would be. Rinna gets someone to go after Garcelle without getting her hands dirty. Well, played Rinna.

[Maximona]

2 hours ago, amarante said:

While I don't believe in conspiracy theories, there is something about Rinna's continued unquestioned - almost defiant support of Erika that leads me to suspect there is something going on that is more than support for a friend.

There have been allegations that Erika's, uh, company invested sizeable amounts in Rinna's makeup line.  Both Erika & Rinna have denied the allegations.  But who knows?

My favorite quote of the episode:

Dorit:  We're gonna plow her with alcohol.  

Erika's got a legal strategy and by gum, she's sticking to it.  As much of a bully and intimidator as Erika has proven herself to be in past RHOBH seasons, I find it difficult to believe that if she'd really wanted a look at those LLC books, she couldn't have gotten one.  But I kinda think it's irrelevant; like Jack McCoy used to say on Law & Order, "Ignorance of the law is no excuse"; and I suspect if that legal instrument has her name on the dotted line anywhere, she is liable for any illicit $$$$ that may have funded it.  I'm not a lawyer, though, so what do I know?

Sutton was very much the Steel Magnolia!  I've always liked her.  I particularly liked her whisper campaign to try and get Garcelle to say, "Hello," to Erika.  I like Garcelle, too.  

I don't get any sense of legitimate friendship between any of this season's players.  (Kyle & Teddi were besties last season, so in a sense, I was pleased to see Teddi at the dinner.  It was an acknowledgment that some RHOBH friendships at least are legitimate.  Though it's true Teddi doesn't add anything.). So, it's bonkers to me why any of the Housewives would decide their storyline this season has to be undying loyalty to Erika.  What can they possibly get out of it?

Edited August 19, 2021 by Maximona
Typos! 😊

[Pop Tart]

39 minutes ago, eleanorofaquitaine said:

As for Erika being pitiable - my feeling is that if she was completely innocent, then yes, her situation is bad. And I can understand why someone would pity the situation she's in. But she's generally so cold and so judgmental - and her stories make so little sense in succession to each other - that I find it difficult to be empathetic towards her.  But I can understand why another person might.

Oh I'm not actually feeling all that sorry for her as I do think she knew a lot more than she's admitting to. I'm a pretty empathetic person so it was more just a thought puzzle for me. If I take everything into account with her circumstances as they were at that dinner? She's pretty pathetic and yet I'm feeling about as cold towards her as she's projecting to everyone else. 

44 minutes ago, eleanorofaquitaine said:

I agree with a lot of this - I don't think Rinna's anger at Denise was ever really about Brandi, it was about the way that Denise was trying to control her story line to the point where she wouldn't show up, would walk out, and use the "Bravo" trick to stop any discussion on camera.  That was part of the reason I didn't really warm up to Denise, either. And I can imagine it's worse if you are a coworker. 

You've stated it better than I did and its why I never liked Denise. When things got even a little inconvenient or uncomfortable, she stopped showing up.

[Boofish]

Erika is showing up and "taking it" because they are coming at her with a whisper. They are not the aggressive pack of rabid dogs they have been in the past.  

[bichonblitz]

I wish that little dumbass Kim Richards would come back. She's the only one that wasn't above putting Rinna in her place. I miss that. Bunny and all. She was having none of the phony bullshit called Rinna. 

Edited August 19, 2021 by bichonblitz

[SemiCharmedLife]

6 hours ago, CainF said:

Garcelle wins MVP this episode.  Sutton and Crystal were good assists.

But something tells me that as soon as Sutton called the group together to discuss Erika sans Erika that Kyle and Rinna went straight to Erika and they hatched a plan to get Erika's denials out there full force at what everyone suspected was going to be an uncomfortable, antagonistic holiday gathering.  The about-face reversals that some of these women did when they went into full talk-show mode with Erika is disgusting, particularly Dorit.  Teddi's back, too, so that she can stick it to all of them, or at least all of them with lawsuits who shouldn't be throwing stones here.

I agree that Erika had a heads up about the previous meeting and questions that were going to be brought up.  She drove herself as an excuse not to drink and could leave at any moment.  She stayed clear-headed (sort of) and had prepared answers, including "diminished capacity."  The Farce Fox Five probably had an agreement to throw Sutton under the bus and not stand by their statements at the planning meeting- though it was all filmed, ladies!

[ancslove]

I think Kyle and Dorit are just terrified of Erika.  They don't want her hair-trigger temper aimed at them.  It's easy to talk big when she's not in the room, harder to do so to her face.  Plus, Dorit may have pulled back after Teddi mentioned everyone else's lawsuits.  She doesn't want Erika turning things around on her and PK.

[Juliegirlj]

Erika may not have had any idea where all that money came from, but the question is- did she care? I think not. 
 

In my opinion Tom Girardi is far too vain to fake dementia. The photos of him looking feeble, frail and confused look legitimate to me. 
 

If there was any love in their marriage why did Erika bail when Tom needed her the most? In sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, in good times and bad… 
 

I hope the forensic attorneys go ham on all the RHOBH footage and document every lavish, braggadocio second. Tom and Erika are greedy, vapid posers. 

[RealHousewife]

2 hours ago, oakville said:

I find it interesting that Mauricio's legal problems over selling the home where the show had the Great Gatsby's party a few years ago wasn't discused in more detail.

Didn't one of Dorit's creditors chase her around the pool when the show was filming at Bahamar , Bahamas. The show edited that clip out.

The producers like to protect Kyle & Dorit.

Yup. I don't think Kyle and Mauricio stole Kim's goddamn house, but sounds like Mauricio is shady regardless. 

There's way too much sketchiness about PK and Dorit for them to be innocent. 

[KenyaJ]

4 hours ago, StevieRocks said:

Bwah! Dying laughing about next week when Garcelle says, "F you, F you, and F you." Please say, "Who's next?" ala the barbershop scene in Coming to America. 

That would be amazing, especially since Garcelle was in Coming to America. Now I'm gonna be sad when it doesn't happen.

3 hours ago, Carolina Girl said:

In fact, in the Hulu doc, one of the attorneys dealing with him says specifically that he had interacted with Tom a few months previously and there was absolutely nothing wrong with his demeanor or his cognitive skills.  

At a dinner party a couple of months ago, we got on the topic of Tom, and my boss told a story about being at a hearing a three years ago in Atlanta. The hearing was to determine which firms would be lead counsel in a huge class action case. There were so many lawyers in attendance that some had to wait outside the courtroom until they had their chance to speak before the judge. My boss is really well-respected in the class action bar, but he'd only met Tom once, about 15 years ago in Vegas. Despite the huge crowd and the lack of personal familiarity, Tom called out my boss's name and waved across the courtroom at him. It's difficult for me to remember some of the lawyers I've met multiple times at different events, so I find it hard to believe a cognitively diminished Tom could recognize my boss and other attorneys he knew only in passing.

It's a convenient story for his lawyers and Erika to tell, but I don't buy it at all.

[Glama]

17 hours ago, bosawks said:

And, good lord, they had to drag it out of her.

This! She didn't mention them all voluntarily. No way. Good job Garcelle! 

17 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

LOL! Am I the only one who thought she sounded like she wanted them killed when she said that? 

I didn't, but now that you said it.... 😅 

 

 

Edit: Adding the fact that I loved Sutton's TH look! It's a weird blouse/shirt/top or whatever it is but I love it on Sutton! I also liked her longer hair look. I think she's mighty beautiful and I love her style 😊

Edited August 19, 2021 by Glama

[RealHousewife]

2 hours ago, eleanorofaquitaine said:

The thing about Erika not being angry with Tom is that she was perfectly willing to perform anger towards him when it was all about him supposedly being domineering and cheating on her. But when it comes to defrauding clients, none of that anger is to be found.  So I don't really buy the argument that Erika isn't angry about Tom's actions because she loves him so much. I just think that she literally does not view the victims as worth her time or energy. 

Much like Sutton, there are elements of Garcelle's personality I don't like. But I'm not going to give her a hard time for putting a finger on the fact that Erika's lack of anger towards Tom regarding what he did to other people is... curious. She was right to call that out to Erika. If my loved one destroyed other people's lives, you can be sure as hell I would be angry, even if I loved him, for doing so. 

All this! Except I think Garcelle is a goddess. lol

The stuff about Erika supposedly loving Tom oh so much and not having heart to put him down. Um, she's done so plenty, she's only complained about how cruel and awful he was TO HER. 

[CainF]

Am I the only one here who liked (as in 'really liked') Garcelle's outfit at the holiday gathering?  Maybe men view women's styles differently.  I usually like Dorit's get-ups, too.

All of this 2nd and unnecessary post is really just to establish that I am in fact male (why anyone would think Cain is a female name is a mystery to me, but I get that a lot (even in person, when people can see I am a man)).

[Ss55]

4 hours ago, Mar said:

I remember that when the season previews first came out there was a clip of all of them at a dinner table and Erica was angry with Sutton and told her something like that she would come for her. With my bad memory, I can’t remember if that scene was in last weeks show or an earlier episode. It seems like it would have fit in this episode. Am I forgetting it?

I'm wondering about this scene too - I saw it in a preview but I don't think it's aired yet?  Bravo better not drop it!

[Glama]

9 hours ago, Vanderboom said:

I know, right?! The Sutton Redemption Arc is awesome. Sutton the Performatively Fragile becomes Sutton the Heroic Legal Analyst who can't be stopped, not even by the bus Dorit threw her under. I hope Sutton, Garcelle, and Crystal end up on the same side of Andy at the reunion.

Your descriptions win my personal internet tonight! 😅

[byrd]

19 hours ago, Boofish said:

I dont get the fear of Erika. Are they scared she's going to beat them up after school?

yes, she'll be waiting for their asses at the bus stop ! 

[RealHousewife]

3 minutes ago, byrd said:

yes, she'll be waiting for their asses at the bus stop ! 

lol I think most people don't want to deal with someone screaming and cursing them out the way Erika does. 

[Baltimore Betty]

44 minutes ago, CainF said:

Am I the only one here who liked (as in 'really liked') Garcelle's outfit at the holiday gathering?

I liked it but it made her look wide, extra fabric like ruffles just add bulk albeit it was beautiful bulk.  I tried to find it on line, it is not Chanel or Dior, I am just curious what it cost.

Teddi looked great but I think Sutton won the prize, she looked amazing.

[Maximona]

55 minutes ago, CainF said:

Am I the only one here who liked (as in 'really liked') Garcelle's outfit at the holiday gathering?

I liked the outfit.

I didn't like it on Garcelle.  😊

[kassa]

18 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

Erika is so poor now she had to drive herself. 🙄

Nah, that was so that she could get away when she wanted and not be stuck standing around while the show-hired limo was purposely held back from letting her leave. She already knew it was a trap - she provided her own escape.

3 hours ago, Julyolo said:

I now actually think it was a bit of both by Tom WITH the complicity of Erica. When he was competent she let him dump money into her accounts, and he told her how to justify it as  "business expenses". Now that he has become incompetent she literally doesn't know what to say anymore. Nevertheless, she is still as accountable for it as he is.

I suspect it's more than that.  There's a big difference between a  husband embezzling to lavish a lifestyle on his wife (with her knowledge or not) and husband and wife playing a game where they play up her lifestyle so they can SAY her business costs 10 million/yr but it's really only 2 and the other 8 goes into secret accounts. The show would be a great way to make it seem like she was just blowing endless stacks of cash out of proportion to what was actually going out. (Or more confusing, if she was running a scam on HIM and doing some private banking on the side while he was running his scam at work.)

She may not have seen the books but she would have been signing those tax forms. Her freedom depends on which side of the fence the evidence lands - duped but not an active participant, or up to her nose in it. 

3 hours ago, eleanorofaquitaine said:

Like it or not, when it comes to their current careers, Kyle has the most successful one of the three. Kathy can burn her all she wants, but what exactly has Kathy done other than give birth to children who became reality stars? Kathy is on this show because of her relationship to Kyle,

With Paris having a baby, it wouldn't surprise me if Kathy gets a Goofy Grandma Hilton spinoff.

3 hours ago, HotHW said:

I detest Garcelle and this is just another example of why. EJ was married to Tom for 20+ years. He raised her son like his own. Whether or not all the recent stories about his side action is true or not, she loves/loved him. And she is watching her life with a man she loved crumble around her, while watching the life of that man be destroyed, knowing full well the outcome is going to be him dying alone in jail. This isn't a person she lived a hellish life with and divorced a decade ago. This man was her current world. 

I like Garcelle, and would take everything you say above and think that it favors Garcelle's position more than Erika's.  When Erika was blasting Tom's emotionally abusive behavior she didn't temper it with his kindnesses.  And when she switched to "poor man he's got dementia" she didn't square it with his crimes.  

Every time there's a news story about a bigamist, or a heinous criminal who fooled family, friends and neighbors, the overriding reaction is disbelief. All of us could swear our spouses were incapable of such things, but say you slowly grew to realize they DID do stuff. Sure you'd think it must be a brain tumor or dementia or something - anything to make sense of it.  Has Erika ever expressed dismay? 

Unless I missed it, that's the missing link that makes Erika's behavior so peculiar. The confusion and frustration that none of it makes sense because your core concept of who somebody is has been turned upside down.

Instead it's 

Part A - I escaped my toxic marriage in which I was never a true partner and kept up a facade even though he was a monster

swiftly pivoting to 

Part B - It's so sad, I love this man, tried to help him, the disease got him, I have no idea what's going on.

instead of 

"None of this makes any sense to me. He'd never have done such a thing if he were in his right mind. Yes, our marriage got toxic towards the end, and maybe whatever's going on with him played a part in his behavior, but I can't believe the man who raised my son and always was so passionate about the people he helped would ever have done this. If he DID do it that means our whole marriage was a lie and I should hate him, but I can't just flip a switch and stop caring about him so it's tearing me UP."

I understand she doesn't wear her emotions on her sleeve - I've kind of always liked her for that because I'm the same way.  But she hasn't even expressed even a cold intellectual dismay that somebody kept in the dark would naturally express. 

[chlban]

2 hours ago, Maximona said:

There have been allegations that Erika's, uh, company invested sizeable amounts in Rinna's makeup line.  Both Erika & Rinna have denied the allegations.  But who knows?

My favorite quote of the episode:

Dorit:  We're gonna plow her with alcohol.  

Erika's got a legal strategy and by gum, she's sticking to it.  As much of a bully and intimidator as Erika has proven herself to be in past RHOBH seasons, I find it difficult to believe that if she'd really wanted a look at those LLC books, she couldn't have gotten one.  But I kinda think it's irrelevant; like Jack McCoy used to say on Law & Order, "Ignorance of the law is no excuse"; and I suspect if that legal instrument has her name on the dotted line anywhere, she is liable for any illicit $$$$ that may have funded it.  I'm not a lawyer, though, so what do I know?

Sutton was very much the Steel Magnolia!  I've always liked her.  I particularly liked her whisper campaign to try and get Garcelle to say, "Hello," to Erika.  I like Garcelle, too.  

I don't get any sense of legitimate friendship between any of this season's players.  (Kyle & Teddi were besties last season, so in a sense, I was pleased to see Teddi at the dinner.  It was an acknowledgment that some RHOBH friendships at least are legitimate.  Though it's true Teddi doesn't add anything.). So, it's bonkers to me why any of the Housewives would decide their storyline this season has to be undying loyalty to Erika.  What can they possibly get out of it?

I think it's because of the blowback they got from going after Denise last season. Problem is they are stupid to understand that what Denise was accused of doing is literally nothing compared to what Erika is accused of. We are not dealing with a group of Mensa members here. In fact, it appears the most intelligent of the group, are at least leaning to the right side of this. 

[OFDgal]

Kyle is a bitch.  She assigned the seating and seated Sutton next to Erika.  She did this knowing what was going to be said to Erika after attending the meeting at Dorit's.  

[dmeets]

How "nice" to see the real Door-it again. The wishy-washy asshole who thought that Eileen owed an immediate disclosure of her mother's passing to LVP prior to the reunion, who can't remember what her accent sounds like half the time, and who thinks nothing of disposing of animals as if they're dresses from last season.

Oh, and also the financial shadiness and possible coke. Allegedly

Edited August 19, 2021 by dmeets

[chlban]

8 minutes ago, OFDgal said:

Kyle is a bitch.  She assigned the seating and seated Sutton next to Erika.  She did this knowing what was going to be said to Erika after attending the meeting at Dorit's.  

I don't know why all of these women have not yet figured out what a stealth bitch Kyle is. She turns on her own famy, so do these dumb bitches really think she has their back?

[Straycat80]

14 minutes ago, OFDgal said:

Kyle is a bitch.  She assigned the seating and seated Sutton next to Erika.  She did this knowing what was going to be said to Erika after attending the meeting at Dorit's.  

I’m going to bet Bravo producers set up that seating arrangement for the most drama. Also going to bet Rinna tipped Erika off about the non-Erika meeting they had so Erika came prepared to answer the questions. 

[sistermagpie]

6 hours ago, amarante said:

He was actually giving speeches before professional meetings up to the end. I am not sure what the timeline was for those speeches but one of the lawyers interviewed on the Hulu documentary described interacting with him and viewing the speeches and doubting he was impaired. I realized that AZ patients can have lucid moments but it seems unlikely that he would be able to have carried on as a professional person as well as meeting multiple people in his persona of big shot/power broker and NO ONE would have noticed.

And yet here's Erika claiming it's so obvious that people in the office are calling her in tears telling her to do something.

4 hours ago, HotHW said:

I detest Garcelle and this is just another example of why. EJ was married to Tom for 20+ years. He raised her son like his own. Whether or not all the recent stories about his side action is true or not, she loves/loved him. And she is watching her life with a man she loved crumble around her, while watching the life of that man be destroyed, knowing full well the outcome is going to be him dying alone in jail. This isn't a person she lived a hellish life with and divorced a decade ago. This man was her current world. 

So according to G, she should be putting on her best party dress and running around town yelling how happy she is to be free and cursing him out to every news outlet that will listen. 

Garcelle has obviously never loved or been in love. 

Garcelle didn't say she should be anything at all like that, though. She was noting that Erika was claiming that she was the real victim here, and yet didn't have a shred of frustration at the person who put her into this situation. Even if Tom had done this because he was addled (a story that doesn't add up at all), that would still mean that he'd put her in this situation partly by refusing to let her help him.

So whichever way, no, this is not the man she loved according to her. The man she loved was either a mean guy who treated her badly and now has gotten her into this mess in one version, or he was a sweet man who pushed her away instead of letting her help and then got her into this mess. 

Even she was madly in love with him she'd have some form of anger and frustration at him. To quote an actress playing a wife who was duped on a TV show, who was herself quoting the wife of the Green River Killer, "I love my husband. I hate the man who took him from me (who is also her husband.)"

Erika, though, when pressed on these details seems to be striking a pose of cold anger at *the world* who is not going to get away with taking them down. Like when she said "if this all really happened" about the stealing he was doing. Yeah, maybe she's intentionally not admitting this theft happened for legal reasons, but that's kind of another defense situation where it seems she's suggesting she and Tom are both victims of unscrupulous liars who are falsely accusing him.

1 hour ago, Juliegirlj said:

In my opinion Tom Girardi is far too vain to fake dementia. The photos of him looking feeble, frail and confused look legitimate to me. 

I think getting hit with all this at his age might, though, actually show on him physically.

14 minutes ago, OFDgal said:

Kyle is a bitch.  She assigned the seating and seated Sutton next to Erika.  She did this knowing what was going to be said to Erika after attending the meeting at Dorit's.  

It would certainly be her style, since she seems to see her job as facilitating conflict wherever she goes (and maybe she's not wrong there) but it's not like Sutton wouldn't have been making those same accusations from a different side of the table. Production might even have made a suggestion about putting them next to each other since everybody including Kyle knew Sutton wanted to confront her about it.

[janiema]

34 minutes ago, kassa said:

Nah, that was so that she could get away when she wanted and not be stuck standing around while the show-hired limo was purposely held back from letting her leave. She already knew it was a trap - she provided her own escape.

I suspect it's more than that.  There's a big difference between a  husband embezzling to lavish a lifestyle on his wife (with her knowledge or not) and husband and wife playing a game where they play up her lifestyle so they can SAY her business costs 10 million/yr but it's really only 2 and the other 8 goes into secret accounts. The show would be a great way to make it seem like she was just blowing endless stacks of cash out of proportion to what was actually going out. (Or more confusing, if she was running a scam on HIM and doing some private banking on the side while he was running his scam at work.)

She may not have seen the books but she would have been signing those tax forms. Her freedom depends on which side of the fence the evidence lands - duped but not an active participant, or up to her nose in it. 

With Paris having a baby, it wouldn't surprise me if Kathy gets a Goofy Grandma Hilton spinoff.

I like Garcelle, and would take everything you say above and think that it favors Garcelle's position more than Erika's.  When Erika was blasting Tom's emotionally abusive behavior she didn't temper it with his kindnesses.  And when she switched to "poor man he's got dementia" she didn't square it with his crimes.  

Every time there's a news story about a bigamist, or a heinous criminal who fooled family, friends and neighbors, the overriding reaction is disbelief. All of us could swear our spouses were incapable of such things, but say you slowly grew to realize they DID do stuff. Sure you'd think it must be a brain tumor or dementia or something - anything to make sense of it.  Has Erika ever expressed dismay? 

Unless I missed it, that's the missing link that makes Erika's behavior so peculiar. The confusion and frustration that none of it makes sense because your core concept of who somebody is has been turned upside down.

Instead it's 

Part A - I escaped my toxic marriage in which I was never a true partner and kept up a facade even though he was a monster

swiftly pivoting to 

Part B - It's so sad, I love this man, tried to help him, the disease got him, I have no idea what's going on.

instead of 

"None of this makes any sense to me. He'd never have done such a thing if he were in his right mind. Yes, our marriage got toxic towards the end, and maybe whatever's going on with him played a part in his behavior, but I can't believe the man who raised my son and always was so passionate about the people he helped would ever have done this. If he DID do it that means our whole marriage was a lie and I should hate him, but I can't just flip a switch and stop caring about him so it's tearing me UP."

I understand she doesn't wear her emotions on her sleeve - I've kind of always liked her for that because I'm the same way.  But she hasn't even expressed even a cold intellectual dismay that somebody kept in the dark would naturally express. 

Bravo (no pun intended) Kassa. You hit the nail on the head.

[MMLEsq]

3 hours ago, eleanorofaquitaine said:

.... If my loved one destroyed other people's lives, you can be sure as hell I would be angry, even if I loved him, for doing so. 

Sadly, I got a call two and a half years ago about one of my siblings who -- completely out of the blue -- had been arrested for a horrific crime.  Our entire family was in shock and it's ruined my parents' lives (they're in the their 80s and don't know if they'll still be alive when this sibling is released -- the sentencing is in October.....I've heard my dad say on multiple occasions that he doesn't want to live anymore).  I can tell you, 100%, that our entire family's response (other than my sibling's spouse, who walked away the day after the arrest after 25+ years of marriage with hardly a look back and cut off all contact for our entire family with my nieces and nephew, although evidence came out that implicated my sibling's spouse in some of the crimes, so they were apparently all too eager to throw my sibling under the bus and look out for themselves, but I digress) was that you hate the sin, but can still love the sinner.  We're supporting the sibling, but would never downplay or try to excuse away the crimes.  Therefore, I'm baffled by Erika's behavior -- a "fair weather" wife who walks (runs) away when things get bad (so much for "for better or for worse") and who appears to view HERSELF as the real victim.  It's about as different a reaction as I can imagine to my family's reaction to our current situation.  

2 hours ago, Maximona said:

...Erika's got a legal strategy and by gum, she's sticking to it.  As much of a bully and intimidator as Erika has proven herself to be in past RHOBH seasons, I find it difficult to believe that if she'd really wanted a look at those LLC books, she couldn't have gotten one.  But I kinda think it's irrelevant; like Jack McCoy used to say on Law & Order, "Ignorance of the law is no excuse"; and I suspect if that legal instrument has her name on the dotted line anywhere, she is liable for any illicit $$$$ that may have funded it.  I'm not a lawyer, though, so what do I know?...

 

Yeah, the "I had no idea" defense didn't turn out too well for Teresa Giudice.

[amarante]

3 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

And yet here's Erika claiming it's so obvious that people in the office are calling her in tears telling her to do something.

 

It's the reason why Erika is doing herself no favors by being on the show. Everything she has said and claimed - all of the inconsistencies - are recorded and will be used against her. 

It is astounding that anyone would like about easily disproved stuff like her claiming she wasn't contacted by the LA Times when the article actually stated that both she and Tom had been contacted for comments but hadn't responded. 

That is the kind of stuff that makes people realize that the person is a pathological liar - because they start lying about stuff that you know is factually incorrect.

In the scheme of things most people don't listen or remember closely enough to catch people in lies - especially when the lies don't impact their lives. So Erika has gotten away with lies all her life because her the people she has interacted with don't care enough to listen closely to what she is saying and/or have no reason to call out her lies because it isn't important enough for them to antagonize her.

By her own admission she had no friends. We have only seen her interacting with her paid entourage and her cast members and the cast members have never been her "friends" so this whole charade of their actually being friends is really nauseating - and again undermines the credibility. 

[MissFeatherbottom]

2 hours ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

I agree that Erika had a heads up about the previous meeting and questions that were going to be brought up.  She drove herself as an excuse not to drink and could leave at any moment.  She stayed clear-headed (sort of) and had prepared answers, including "diminished capacity."  The Farce Fox Five probably had an agreement to throw Sutton under the bus and not stand by their statements at the planning meeting- though it was all filmed, ladies!

Oh I agree with this too and she must have loaded up on xanax too. We all saw how she reacted last week to Garcelle bringing up that Tom still calls her, and that wasn't even that big of a deal. And this week they ask all sorts of intrusive questions and she is all cool as a cucumber? That just doesn't add up to how she normally acts. 

[emmawoodhouse]

48 minutes ago, Straycat80 said:

I’m going to bet Bravo producers set up that seating arrangement for the most drama. Also going to bet Rinna tipped Erika off about the non-Erika meeting they had so Erika came prepared to answer the questions. 

Totally agree that Rinna tipped off Erika. She was expressionless when the secret meeting was revealed. 

[Cosmocrush]

1 hour ago, Maximona said:

My favorite quote of the episode:

Dorit:  We're gonna plow her with alcohol.  

Hahaha!  I loved that too.   Dorito is a DumDum. 

[Lady of nod]

6 hours ago, Mar said:

I remember that when the season previews first came out there was a clip of all of them at a dinner table and Erica was angry with Sutton and told her something like that she would come for her. With my bad memory, I can’t remember if that scene was in last weeks show or an earlier episode. It seems like it would have fit in this episode. Am I forgetting it?

I’ve been waiting for this but haven’t seen it yet. It brings to mind rhony’s comment by Alex “You’re a thug in a cocktail dress”  Is Erika in some kind of street gang now? Who talks like that?

[nosedive]

6 hours ago, JenE4 said:

This is the LA Times article:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-17/tom-girardi-erika-jayne-rhobh-divorce%3f_amp=true

It’s longer than a typical news article  but, jeez, I read it all as a nosy viewer after it came up last week. I can’t imagine how her “best friends” couldn’t make it to the end without consulting professionals to just recap the gist for them?!

Because the coven, whoops, I mean her "best friends" are semi-literate, with the exception of Rinna who has starved to death most of her brain cells from years of a diet consisting of Sweet n' Low packets and celery leaves.  She's preserving the few that remain to grace the world with her Volume 2 Sex Manual.  

And what's with Rinna's wardrobe this season?  Did she hijack the clown costume car from a circus parade?  You're trying too hard, girl.  

Why is Kathy Hilton on this show?  I like her.  She's good for a chuckle.  But she has absolutely no storyline going, and if she's even in the scene, she's like wallpaper.  

And should we assume Kyle "forgot" to give her a heads-up that there would be cameras at the Christmas feast?   She looked so normal, almost like a real person, while all the others were glammed to their eye teeth.  Not that Kyle would be passive-aggressive like that.

The kissing up and bowing down to Erica is nauseating.  It's bad enough that the cast does it, but the producer, too?  "You've been so strong!"  Please.  

This whole season of allowing her to have center stage is downright gross.  

[Mrs peel]

16 hours ago, amarante said:

On a shallow note, Erika’s face looked bad at the dinner party

Is it because she doesn’t have the expensive glam squad or because her stress level is impacting her face?

Of course the picture in the attic might not be working its magic any longer and so her face is reflecting her moral depravity. 🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️

The picture in the attic is probably being auctioned off.  Which reminds me, other lies by Erika.  First it was she dropped Tom off at work (note that was to further encourage the “he’s out of it” narrative, hmm. But that negates the he’s a controlling heartless sob narrative) and just left the house with nothing.  Then it was well, she took a sofa or two.  She rented a large truck to move (oops have the paid friends move) all the clothes and the very large but ugly photos.paintings of herself.

can’t keep the lies straight.

Edited August 19, 2021 by Mrs peel
Typos, always typos

[emmawoodhouse]

1 hour ago, nosedive said:

Because the coven, whoops, I mean her "best friends" are semi-literate, with the exception of Rinna who has starved to death most of her brain cells from years of a diet consisting of Sweet n' Low packets and celery leaves.  She's preserving the few that remain to grace the world with her Volume 2 Sex Manual.  

And what's with Rinna's wardrobe this season?  Did she hijack the clown costume car from a circus parade?  You're trying too hard, girl.  

Why is Kathy Hilton on this show?  I like her.  She's good for a chuckle.  But she has absolutely no storyline going, and if she's even in the scene, she's like wallpaper.  

And should we assume Kyle "forgot" to give her a heads-up that there would be cameras at the Christmas feast?   She looked so normal, almost like a real person, while all the others were glammed to their eye teeth.  Not that Kyle would be passive-aggressive like that.

The kissing up and bowing down to Erica is nauseating.  It's bad enough that the cast does it, but the producer, too?  "You've been so strong!"  Please.  

This whole season of allowing her to have center stage is downright gross.  

Erika's line producer is going to feed her compliments to get her to talk. He's not going to bring up her stealing from widows, orphans, and burn victims. That would only serve to make her hostile and make threats. 

Better to have him buttering her up so we can hear her delusional bullshit. 

[kristen111]

22 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

Erika is so poor now she had to drive herself. 🙄

As soon as she sat in the car, she picked up her phone to call Tom.

[kristen111]

22 hours ago, Maire said:

Ever since someone said that Erika is just playing her Roxy Hart role in real life I can’t see anything else.

Erika always looking down and not looking anyone in their face means she’s lying.

[nosedive]

34 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Erika's line producer is going to feed her compliments to get her to talk. He's not going to bring up her stealing from widows, orphans, and burn victims. That would only serve to make her hostile and make threats. 

Better to have him buttering her up so we can hear her delusional bullshit. 

Oh, that makes sense.  But, ugh, what an awful job he has.  

 

 

[kristen111]

22 hours ago, Thumper said:

I didn’t notice the peas, but have to say I was impressed that Kyle was “cooking.”   With the help of 2-3 cooks, of course!   Must be a BH thing.  😁. 

More than half to cooking is getting all the pots, pans and ingredients out to the counter.  Taking the Turkey out of the cellophane and washing it too.

[mothmonsterman]

No lie, I've watched this episode 4 times already. This was a great episode. It couldn't have been better if someone wrote it. It is so fascinating to see someone deal with a huge scandal in real time. 

I actually clapped when Sutton was talking in the first part of the episode. It is too bad everyone backed off once the dinner rolled around (well, almost all of them), but it was danged interesting to watch them try to protect themselves, not anger Erika, try to not have the fan base turn on them, and be wary of being dragged into some unlawful crap. 

Rats leaving a ship, indeed. 

[blixie]

Quote

Erika may or may not have known Tom was a crook, however, what IMHO, she is most definitely doing is coordinating a defense with and for him, which also saves her own bacon. 

There's a couple of issues for me and the bigger piece of me not buying that she didn't know is aside from the obviously awful orphan/burn victim bilking there is another LA Times piece that revolves around Tom's scam/malfeasance around the California Bar Association, parties he threw, judges he "made" and therefor sort of "owned" all which was clearly in service to covering his ass on the orphan bilking. Even if he didn't download her on every move, I think they were and still are in sync. I can't remember how long THAT was going on, but I think he was already doing shady shit with the Bar and that enboldened him when he started living a Bill Gates life (and that Erika wanted/expected) on merely a famous lawyer salary, and started running at a HUGE deficit to just take the money from the orphans and the burn victims, and that Erika didn't give a tiny tin fuck to do the math when she likes to act as if she's street smart doesn't pass the giggle test. Anyway fuck them both.

Having said that I agree that Kyle/Dorit's are seeing themselves in her story when it's really not even on the same level, and as large as Kyle lives she's still not as gauche about it all as Erika. I do get why the other woman are a little afraid of her, and Sutton for sure lost a little of her nerve sitting right next to her, and of course having Dorit abandon her in the moment. Thank God Garcelle was there, her face was my face. LOL. 

But what really had me heated is how Bravo et al (RINNA) have decided Erika Jayne is the Brave Hill they wanna die on. THE FUCK? And have the nerve to bring up Denise, whose marriage they tried to wreck over Brandi Glanville?!!! Keep Denise's name out of your mouths. I hope the lawsuits from that poor kid in San Francisco, and the families in Indonesia, are amended to include Bravo specifically not the ladies. 

[blixie]

Quote

Better to have him buttering her up so we can hear her delusional bullshit. 

But it's pretty clear she went on the show to get the narrative out there about the car accident and the Alzheimers and it's taken them forever to cast any negative light on her this seasons all that Sutton/Crystal shit for like 8 or 9 episodes and it looks like going forward the plan to focus on Garcelle/Sutton v. erbody else all in the name of Erika. It's fucking wild and it's complicit knock it the fuck off and when she says shit like where is the  money rewind all her grotesque bragging and flaunting of her spending/wealth.