After the firestorm earlier this month caused by racist (and deleted) Facebook posts by “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” cast member Jennie Nguyen, Bravo announced Tuesday that she has been fired from the show. It had recently begun filming its third season in Utah with Nguyen, Heather Gay, Whitney Rose, Jen Shah, Meredith Marks and Lisa Barlow returning. All of the cast members have posted critically about Nguyen’s deleted social media posts — with Shah especially blasting her — and Nguyen had offered an apology.
On Tuesday, Bravo announced it has cut ties with Nguyen.
More from Variety
Nguyen is Vietnamese American, and the story of her immigration to the United States was a big part of her introduction to the cast in Season 2. In the Facebook posts, which were from 2020 during the anti-racism uprisings after the murder of George Floyd, Nguyen compared Black Lives Matter protesters to “thugs,” re-posted racist memes and espoused pro-police rhetoric: “If you follow the officers [sic] orders, you won’t get shot,” reads one deleted meme over an image of Ken Jeong.
In Bravo’s statement, the network wrote that it has “ceased filming” with Nguyen. The network also took responsibility for not properly vetting Nguyen, and said: “Moving forward, we will work to improve our processes to ensure we make better informed and more thoughtful casting decisions.”
Nguyen’s main storyline during the show’s second season — which is still unfolding — has been about not wanting to have another child after multiple miscarriages, and clashing with her husband over that decision. Nguyen, who was introduced to the show ostensibly through Barlow, has also fought with Cosby. She’s defended Shah, who was arrested for fraud during the filming of Season 2, saying Shah is innocent until proven guilty.
But after Nguyen’s apology for the racist social media posts, which Shah deemed weak, she criticized Nguyen on Instagram, calling the posts “infuriating” and the apology “insufficient.”
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
