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Jill Zarin, an OG cast member of "The Real Housewives of New York City," has been fired from the E! reunion series "The Golden Life," which was announced on Feb. 3, before the show has even entered production. Zarin -- famously a master of disaster -- has been ousted due to a self-inflicted wound.
Through E!, the show's producers Blink49 Studios issued a statement on Tuesday, cutting ties with Zarin: "In light of recent public comments made by Jill Zarin, Blink49 Studios has decided not to move forward with her involvement in 'The Golden Life.' We remain committed to delivering the series in line with our company standards and values."
Here's how we got here: On Super Bowl Sunday, after Bad Bunny's halftime show performance, Zarin saw fit to go on a rant on Instagram: "We all agree -- it was the worst halftime show ever. It's 250 years that we're celebrating right now in the United States, and I just don't think it was appropriate to have it in Spanish." Zarin went on to say it was also "inappropriate" for Bad Bunny to be grabbing his crotch in front of kids -- "and he doesn't have to be grabbing himself every five seconds: Is he so insecure?" Zarin, who said she doesn't speak Spanish, said his performance "looked like a political statement, because there were literally no white people in the entire thing" as she made a sweeping arm gesture that excluded Lady Gaga (among others). Zarin deleted the post almost immediately from her Instagram on Sunday night, and has turned off her comments on her grid posts, but the video was captured and posted in full by content creator Gibson Johns.
"I think it was a political statement, and I'm not taking a side one way or the other," Zarin continued. "I just do. I think it was an ICE thing." She then went on to say it was "very sad" that the NFL had "sold out" -- "shame!"
She wasn't done. Lady Gaga then caught a stray when Zarin remembered that she, a white person, had actually been featured during Bad Bunny's performance: "And Lady Gaga got a facelift -- I didn't recognize her! I literally had to Google her face to see who it was. We all couldn't agree who it was," Zarin said as she chuckled. "So that was kind of fun in the middle of halftime. At least it gave me something to do, because it was so hard to watch."
Since Sunday night, the Bravosphere has risen up as one against Zarin's remarks, with "Real Housewives of Orange County" cast member Tamra Judge tweeting at Johns, "What the actual F*#k"; "Real Housewives of Dubai" star Chanel Ayan tweeting, "I had to unfollow disgusting," with a vomit emoji; and Margaret Josephs of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" writing, "I'm horrified, disgusted and disappointed, but that's my feeling everyday. BUT elated by the NFL and Bad Bunny's beautiful representation of America."
Zarin's firing is the most recent setback in the cursed attempt to reunite the original cast members of Bravo's magical series, "The Real Housewives of New York City," which premiered in 2008. After a messy 13th season in summer 2021 that was derailed by racism, Bravo put the show on pause. Then, in March 2022, the network announced that it was rebooting "RHONY" from scratch with an entirely new cast, but that veteran cast members (Zarin presumably included) would get their own series. Complicated contract negotiations (especially with Zarin's demands) quickly got in the way, though, and the vets had to settle for a poorly received "Ultimate Girls Trip" instead -- starring Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer, Kelly Killoren Bensimon and Kristen Taekman -- which came and went on Peacock in December 2023.
The so-called "legacy" cast members from the original "RHONY" have only become more controversial. Singer, for example -- also at fault during "RHONY's" unlucky Season 13 -- was disinvited from BravoCon 2023 on its eve for using an abbreviation of the N-word in a text exchange with a Page Six reporter. Putting aside the cast's toxic behavior, several of the women's geographical considerations have become more complicated, too: Singer, Zarin and Sonja Morgan have moved to Florida, which is why it's the setting of "The Golden Life." (Countess Luann and Kelly Bensimon will transplant themselves there, perhaps, for the duration of production.)
Zarin's post exposed just how little Bravo wanted to do with this project -- the network would have had the right of first refusal. On his SiriusXM radio show on Monday, "Real Housewives" executive producer Andy Cohen called Zarin and Taylor Armstrong (formerly of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills") "two people who are not employed by Bravo anymore." (In protest of Bad Bunny's performance Sunday night, Armstrong had posted in her Instagram stories a "Gladiator" meme with her head on Russell Crowe's body, writing, "Were you entertained? I'm embarrassed for the NFL and Apple for the Super Bowl half time show totally in Spanish with a Cuban Flag!!")
"Call E!" Cohen concluded.
Even Zarin Fabrics, the legendary fabric store on the Lower East Side once owned by Zarin's late husband, Bobby, wanted to distance itself from Jill. On Monday night, the company's Instagram account posted a photo of Zarin with a huge red "X" over her face. The message began by saying, "Zarin Fabrics stands firmly against racism, discrimination, and rhetoric that seeks to exclude or diminish people based on identity, culture, or background," and then made clear that Jill has nothing to do with the store anymore, and that the business condemns language that undermines "creativity, collaboration, and respect for the diverse communities that shape art, culture, and expression."
