Caroline Manzo is suing Bravo over an alleged incident between herself and Brandi Glanville.
via: Page Six
Glanville responded to Manzo’s lawsuit against Bravo and Peacock that accuses the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum of sexually harassing the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” OG.
“Sadly, Brandi had to wake up to yet another lawsuit that includes defamatory, false accusations about her,” a rep for Glanville exclusively tells Page Six.
“While filming, Brandi followed what the producers asked of her, and there was no sexual assault. She is innocent of these absurd accusations that have weighed on her mental and physical health for far too long without a word of support from Peacock, Shed or Bravo.
“This painful storytelling seems endless and needs to stop. She is looking to move on and upward and get her life back.”
Manzo, 62, claims in her lawsuit, obtained by Page Six, that Glanville, 51, forced herself on her and kissed her without consent during the January 2023 filming of “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” in Morocco.
The suit claims Glanville “[mounted] Manzo on the couch holding Manzo down with her body, forcibly squeezed Manzo’s cheeks together and thrust her tongue in Manzo’s mouth, while humping her.”
The documents also assert that the incident resurfaced Manzo’s “dormant and horrific memories” of sexual abuse that she endured at age 7.
However, Manzo didn’t place all the blame on Glanville, accusing Bravo, Peacock and Shed Media — the production company behind “RHUGT” — of coercing her into such activity.
“Defendants, including Bravo, regularly ply the ‘Real Housewives’ cast with alcohol, cause them to become severely intoxicated and then direct, encourage and/or allow them to sexually harass other cast members because that is good for ratings,” the lawsuit claims.
“Caroline Manzo is a victim of those harmful actions.”
Rather than suing Glanville, Manzo is taking legal action against the network, production and showrunners for allegedly encouraging her co-star’s “sexually offensive and harassing content.”
Manzo is suing for negligence, sexual harassment, sex/gender discrimination, sexual battery and other causes of action that she says violate state laws in California and New York.
Bravo and Peacock declined to comment on the suit.
Manzo’s attorney, Derek Smith, lambasted the NBCUniversal properties in a heated statement to Page Six.
“We are outraged by Bravo, Peacock and NBC’s conduct and look forward to having the issues decided by a jury. Sexual harassment should never be entertainment!” the lawyer said.
“We believe this case is about the networks selfishly sacrificing the well-being of their talent for ratings and profit,” he elaborated. “Brandi Glanville stated she was simply doing what the producers told her to do.”
Smith concluded his comments to us by saying reality TV is “leading to severe emotional and physical harm of its talent” and declaring, “This must stop.”
During an exclusive interview with Page Six in September 2023, Glanville — who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing — lamented that the narrative surrounding her headline-making interactions with Manzo felt “very unfair.”
Prior to filming in North Africa, the “Brandi Glanville Unfiltered” podcast host appeared on “RHUGT: Ex-Wives Club,” filmed in 2021 at Dorinda Medley’s Bluestone Manor estate in Massachusetts’ Berkshires region.
That installment of the spinoff series saw a portion of the cast drinking, smoking marijuana and engaging in same-sex flirtations.
“We got drunk and high, and I made out with Taylor [Armstrong] and gave people lap dances,” Glanville told us at the time.
Glanville was previously mentioned in a lawsuit filed in October 2023 by Marco Vega — the butler who appeared on “RHUGT: Ex-Wives Club” in Massachusetts — who accused her of ripping off his shirt to reveal his torso during a raucous display.
Vega alleged the incident occurred after a strip-tease show. Once the fun ended from the show, he claimed producers encouraged him to “go over and get the women dancing!”
Vega sued Bravo for sexual abuse and harassment, claiming the network has a history of condoning inappropriate behavior from its stars. He is asking for damages.
At the time, a rep for Glanville told us, “She has the utmost respect for Marco. Anything that occurred on the set that evening was requested by the producers and approved by Marco Vega himself.”
When she came back for another season in Morocco, Glanville thought the “assignment” to deliver more of the same content remained the same — but feels she was only alerted of “new rules” once her incident with Manzo landed her in hot water.
“If they’re going to have rules for us, we can’t be shooting 15 hours a day, drinking all day long,” she said, “and [producers] telling us to ‘bring the party [because] we don’t have a show.’”
In response, a source close to production told Page Six that Glanville was “never forced to drink and, like all cast members, was only encouraged to be her authentic self” while filming.
Page Six broke the news in November that Peacock was debating whether to even air the Morocco installation of “RHUGT” in light of the scandal plaguing the season.
Meanwhile, Glanville told Page Six in September that she wants the footage to air so that fans can draw their own conclusions.
“The longer they push [my season] back, the more speculation there is,” she sighed. “I just want it to air and be done, so everyone can have their takeaways.”
The post Brandi Glanville Calls Caroline Manzo’s Sexual Harassment Accusations ‘Absurd’ As ex-Housewife Sues Bravo appeared first on LOVEBSCOTT.
