Gizelle Bryant is clarifying comments she made to her “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” castmates Alexia Nepola and Marysol Patton about only speaking English in her presence.
In the first episode, Bryant, Nepola, Patton and the other cast members were settling into their villa in Thailand and getting to know each other over welcome drinks.
“I have a rule, no Spanish,” Bryant said to Nepola and Patton, who are of Cuban descent.
“What? It’s like Spanglish [a mixture of Spanish of English],” Patton responded, taken aback.
The “Real Housewives of Potomac” star doubled down during dinner later that evening.
“Nah uh, we’re not doing that y’all,” Bryant said to her “Real Housewives of Miami” castmates.
“Doing what?” Porsha Williams asked.
“They’re speaking Spanish.” Bryant answered.
“But why not?” Nepola replied. “We’re from Miami, and in Miami we speak Spanglish. We don’t even realize we’re doing it.”
Watch their interaction below:
Later in the episode, Bryant explained that her daughters speak Spanish around her to get under her skin, because she doesn’t understand what they’re saying.
Despite her explanation, many viewers took offense to what Bryant said. Page Six gathered some of the most vocal reactions, which labeled Bryant “narrow-minded,” a “bigot” and a “Karen” — the slang term for a woman (often white) who feels entitled to complain about or insert herself into situations she doesn’t need to. (Note: Bryant identifies as Black.)
Bryant clarified her comments to TheWrap in an interview just before the public backlash.
“I understood why immediately [Nepola and Patton] had a problem with it,” Bryant told TheWrap. “And so I was happy that I explained it to them.”
“I was getting PTSD because my kids do this to me,” Bryant explained. “And they make fun of me. And it’s not nice. So that’s what I thought was happening. If you’re gonna throw shade at me just do it in English was my point. But I don’t ever want to take anything away from their culture, and who they are, and how they communicate with each other.”
In addition to Bryant, Nepola and Patton, “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip 3” also stars Porsha Williams from “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Leah McSweeney from “The Real Housewives of New York City,” and Heather Gay and Whitney Rose from “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”
The first three episodes of “Ultimate Girls Trip” are streaming on Peacock, with new episodes added each Thursday.