Following their tense confrontation on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 13 reunion, is there any hope of Garcelle Beauvais and Dorit Kemsley ever being friends again?
“I’m sure that somewhere down the line, I think we can get to a friendship,” Garcelle said on March 8. “But … I can’t control somebody’s life. So I’m going to meet people where they’re at. If you choose to be ignorant, I’m not going to stoop to your level. But I see you, and I’ll deal with you as such.” Powerful words, Garcelle.
During the reunion, Garcelle called out Dorit for her “unconscious Karen behavior,” as well as her cultural insensitivity.
Garcelle wasn’t alone
Garcelle had backup for calling out Dorit’s lack of sensitivity. One of the only other non-white co-stars, Crystal Kung Minkoff, objected to Dorit calling her a “child bride” during a confessional. In the Asian community, the practice of taking child brides was historically used as a cover for pedophilia. It’s very understandable that Crystal would be offended by the term, and Garcelle agreed with her.
“I think the whole thing with Crystal also sort of solidified what I was saying,” the Haitian actress told E! News. “I think it’s just about awareness. That’s all. I’m not saying you should know everything about everyone, but there should be some kind of awareness there. I would hope somebody would do that.”
“To me, if I said something that was off-color, they’d be like, ‘Hey, you don’t say that. You don’t do that,'” Garcelle added. “I mean, that’s what friends are for.”
There’s nothing wrong with educating someone about a culture or community that they may not be aware of. Friends don’t let friends use microaggressions, or be flat-out bigoted.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 13 concludes Wednesday, March 13, at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF GARCELLE AND DORIT AT THE RHOBH SEASON 13 REUNION? CAN THEY REPAIR THEIR FRIENDSHIP?