Season 18 of The Real Housewives of Orange County was already shaping up to be absolute pandemonium. The Tres Amigas are on the outs. Shannon Beador has to face the music after drunkenly crashing her car. Her ex, John Janssen, is now dating Alexis Bellino, who’s slated to make a return to filming as a “friend-of.” And, notorious master of mess and Bravolebrity, Jeff Lewis, was expected to film some scenes since he and Shannon are close friends.
However, Jeff shared that he recently decided to back out of the plan. Read on to find out why he’ll no longer be a part of Season 18.
Jeff’s decided against signing Bravo’s Orange County filming release
Just a few weeks ago, Jeff seemed to annoy Andy Cohen when he prematurely revealed on Watch What Happens Live that he would be filming for RHOC. But, on Jeff’s January 24 episode of his SiriusXM show Jeff Lewis Live, he announced he’ll no longer be filming for RHOC.
Jeff began, “I was supposed to film today for Real Housewives of Orange County … It was a big lunch with Shannon … I know all the details of the accident, the John Janssen relationship. I know everything.”
Surprisingly, the plan failing wasn’t because of messy Jeff’s sharp tongue pissing off the wrong people. Actually, Jeff says he backed out because he and his lawyer had concerns about Bravo’s contract.
“They feel like, I guess, that I need them because when we did the release, they wouldn’t indemnify me and in turn they want me to indemnify them,” Jeff said.
He explained further. “So what that means is basically if I say something and I get sued they’re not going to protect me … And then in turn if I say something, they’re expecting me to be responsible if they got sued. So my attorney’s like ‘I don’t know what you’re getting out of this here. You’re not getting paid … Why do you need to do this?’”
Jeff’s legal concerns are understandable
Jeff’s concerns are valid, especially since his pal Shannon once got burned for something she said publicly. He stated, “Shannon totally understands why I’m not doing it, because of what happened with her with Heather McDonald and Tamra [Judge]. She did a podcast and she wasn’t protected, they didn’t edit it, and she ended up getting sued.”
Jeff was referring to a 2018 lawsuit involving Shannon and Tamra. They were sued for defamation by former Househusband of Alexis, Jim Bellino, after things they said on Heather’s Juicy Scoop podcast.
It’s probably a smart move for Jeff to sit this one out. He has a big mouth – literally and figuratively – and uses it often without ever thinking to shove a foot in there!
You can catch Jeff on Jeff Lewis Live on SiriusXM or his show Hollywood Houselift on Amazon Freevee. RHOC has started filming and will likely air on Bravo later this year.
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