Should Reality Stars Have a Union? With Bethenny Frankel

The Town with Matthew Belloni

The Ringer

Society & Culture

4.3 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 November 2023

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Matt is joined by entrepreneur, media personality, and former Bravo star Bethenny Frankel to discuss the abusive and oppressive working conditions on reality shows, the mistreatment of their participants, and why she is pushing for the unionization of reality TV. She discusses why a union is the best way to protect reality TV stars, the forces preventing this from happening, and how she sees her role in this process. Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Disney’s buyout of Hulu. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here. Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Bethenny Frankel Producer: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For all your fantasy football needs, check out the Ringer Fantasy Football Show with me, Danny
0:05.2	Kelly, along with Danny Hyfitz and Craig Horrellbeck.
0:07.9	That's the Ringer Fantasy Football Show on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast.
0:14.5	It is Thursday, November 2nd.
0:17.2	Should reality TV stars have a union?
0:20.0	It's an interesting question
0:21.0	and one that has been gaining traction in Hollywood
0:22.9	over the past few months
0:23.9	as the writers and then the actors went on strike
0:26.2	with better pay and working conditions.
0:28.7	After all, unscripted TV is now a pretty mature genre.
0:32.9	Manufactured storylines, pre-selected heroes and villains,
0:36.3	characters that return season after season,
0:38.4	and spinoff after spinoff. SAG AfterA includes actors and personalities like the host of a reality
0:44.2	show. Why shouldn't it include the participants in the show? The answer to that is that there
0:48.9	just isn't coverage for those people in the current contracts, at least not yet. When we touched
0:53.8	on this topic the other day,
0:54.9	I mentioned how much Bethany Frankel has become a key advocate.
0:58.3	If you're not familiar with Frankel, she's a former real housewife,
1:01.2	probably the most successful of anybody who's ever been on the Bravo shows.
1:04.6	She did it for eight seasons, a couple spin-offs, a talk show, now a podcast.
1:09.0	And as an entrepreneur, she's founded the Skinny Girl brand,
	...

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