Bye-Bye to BravoCon
You know that episode of Real Housewives of New York City where Bethenny Frankel wakes up and, for some reason, is in the same room as Countess Luann de Lesseps? She just sort of gasps and can’t figure out where she is or how she got there? That’s what it was like to wake up on Day 3 of BravoCon. And you’ll have to excuse my use of the B-word (B*th*nny). The former Housewife was both the Woman Who Shall Not Be Named, Voldemort style, at BravoCon, and the only person who everyone would talk about, following her push for a reality-TV “reckoning.” For what it’s worth, every Bravo celebrity I asked about the topic was very dismissive of that conversation. Whether or not that’s a job-saving company line or a true belief, take it for what it is.
By the time things got started on Sunday, everyone at BravoCon seemed a little punch-drunk (or, let’s face it, drunk-drunk) after a long weekend. But, call me corny, there was also a palpable sense of joy and gratitude. It might sound silly, but there was such a sense of community and validation that built up over the weekend from being around the other people who really understand you, a person who has spent the last months delivering Meredith Marks’ “rumors and the nastiness” monologue to friends and strangers.
I keep watching this clip of 84-year-old Ruth, who got huge applause when she asked a question at the RHONY Legacy panel, and then was surprised by Andy Cohen after. I think so many of us feel shame for what our likes and passions are, whether it’s Bravo or any other form of entertainment. It’s shocking how much lighter you feel when you get a weekend when you can stow away all that baggage you’ve been shouldering and, even if for just a few days, make it nice. —Kevin Fallon
Dressed to Impress: The biggest fashion trend for men at BravoCon, apparently, was not wearing clothes at all. Over the course of the weekend, I clocked Carl Radke, Tom Sandoval, James Kennedy, Kyle Cooke, Amir Lancaster, and the husbands of Real Housewives of New Jersey all going shirtless. A desperate cry for fawning shrieks from Bravo fans or a thrilling new trend? My eyes are happy either way. But when it does come to fashion, I was in awe of Below Deck: Med star Kyle Viljoen’s ensemble, which included a denim bolero jacket with flame-like epaulets rising from the shoulder pads designed by Signs of Gemini.
“My main angle at BravoCon was to support queer designers. So everything that people will see me throughout this entire journey will be queer representation,” he told me. And when it comes to queer representation, Viljoen got choked up talking about what it’s been like to connect with fans who have related to his own journey being out and proud as a public figure on Bravo. “It’s a challenging position, because I can’t describe your journey. I can’t describe your feelings,” he said. “But what I can do is say everything is going to be fantastic. It’s going to turn out. I was you back then, and I had no idea my life was going to be where it is today. But through self-belief and saying that, you know what, regardless of anybody’s decisions or thoughts about you, you are more than what the box you are put in.” —KF
Lala and Jason Are a Match Made In BravoCon Heaven: Captain Jason Chambers really made the rounds this year. Half of the interview clips I’ve seen are female Bravolebrities fawning over him. At the RHONY Legacy panel, Luann de Lesseps claimed they had some sort of connection. But it’s his flirtation with Lala Kent over the weekend that’s really got me excited. I’ve always envisioned Lala with a hot, confident, older man who can handle her attitude—and her baby. And based on that one infamous episode of Below Deck Down Under I’ve seen, Chambers seems to be an extremely competent man. After seeing one selfie of them together, I’ve decided they should get married. —Kyndall Cunningham
A Very Coconutty Answer: At the RHOBH panel, an audience member asked whether the cast thought the term “housewife” was a misnomer given how far the franchise has come. Crystal Kung Minkoff, who had lost her voice, volunteered a raspy answer. “The show is like an onion that shows different layers; I actually am a businesswoman, I own the second largest coconut water company in the world.” This would’ve been funny enough without her rasping, until she squeaked out a kicker: “And people don’t know that!” —Coleman Spilde
Of Course Jax and Brittany Came to BravoCon: Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright’s attempts to get Bravo to put them back on television never cease to amaze me. (And apparently, they’ve kind of worked.) For whatever reason, the thirsty couple showed up on Sunday to presumably hang out backstage and (maybe?) walk through the It’s All Happening Room. (They certainly weren’t on any panels.) I’m very curious how this came about. Did they ask to come to all three days and only got approved for Sunday? How many emails did they have to send to Bravo’s PR for an invite? What did they get out of this besides some selfies with fans, which they’re presumably asked for all the time? —KC
The Belle of BravoCon: Sonja Morgan was the undisputable star of the RHONY Legacy panel, delivering gem after gem of soundbites. When asked if the women ran into the pirate Luann de Lesseps infamously shtupped in St. Barths, de Lesseps said he looks entirely different now, with his hair cut short like a finance bro. “You marry finance, you fuck pirates,” Morgan added. “And I never swap spit!” Her cast members tried to intervene, telling her it was too early in the day. “It’s never too early, the best is in the morning,” Morgan said with a wink. —CS
The Bravoleb Arrivals Were the Best Part of BravoCon: My biggest issue with BravoCon’s move to Las Vegas this year is that West Coast Bravoholics are way too chill. I missed the palpable feeling of excitement I could feel upon walking into the Javits Center in New York last year. I wished there was more shouting and heckling from women named Rhonda traveling from Hoboken. I wanted more viral moments of fans behaving badly. However, watching the Bravolebs arrive with a group of desperate, screeching fans dying for a selfie on Sunday allowed me to experience that level of chaos for a brief moment. As much as I mock these overzealous people, I missed watching that level of sheer joy. —KC
Bouncing…Up the Charts?: At her “Pat the Puss” panel, Erika Jayne didn’t just drop the secrets behind her “signature” dance moves (using that term lightly; head twirls are apparently a signature), she dropped some music news. Fans of Jayne’s deliciously mindless music can expect a new single and video for a song called “Bounce” premiering soon. Let’s just hope that’s Taylor Swift soon and not Rihanna soon. —CS
A House Is Not a Home, But It Does Have a Bone: At the RHONY Legacy panel, everyone’s least favorite moderator and Bravo fan Michael Rapaport asked which house was more iconic: Sonja Morgan’s townhouse or Dorinda Medley’s Blue Stone Manor. Morgan immediately relinquished, saying: “Don’t forget, Dorinda’s house was built by Stanford White. Mine’s just an 1890 house that I used to fuck J.P. Morgan’s grandson in.” —CS
The Salt Lake City Vindication: Despite the average height and weight of every Housewife I interviewed being just slightly more than a Polly Pocket figurine, the Bravolebrities were standing very tall at BravoCon. Potomac’s Wendy Osefo and Orange County’s Emily Simpson were among the stars who chose to ditch their stilettos while talking to press. Simpson was quick to assure me that she is actually taller than co-star Gina Kirschenheiter, who was towering over her in her high heels, laughing through the pain. And perhaps no pair of shoes looked more uncomfortable than those worn by Salt Lake City lightning rod Angie Katsanevas, who should thank all her Greek ancestors for a miracle if her toes still have blood flowing to them after BravoCon.
It helped that Angie and the RHOSLC women were riding a high of fan adulation for Season 3’s remarkable rebound following last year’s polarizing season. “It makes you feel grateful and lucky, because the fans are amazing,” Heather Gay told me. “And they give you this energy and this support that makes you think any of the fights you have to deal with are a speck on the windshield, because the community and the culture of it all is just so overwhelming.” Gay’s cousin, Whitney Rose, agreed: “We put our lives out there for everyone to view and comment on, and it’s the fans and it’s the other Bravolebrities who get it—we get each other and what we’re going through. Even if we disagree, it’s that camaraderie and the fans who make it all worth it.” —KF
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