Bravo stars spilled plenty of piping hot tea on Tuesday night at Page Six’s “Virtual Reality” “Summer House” Alumni Watch Party held at Brunch New York, a members-only private social club at the Park Terrace Hotel in New York City.
For the event, hosted by The Cocktail Collection, “VRT” co-hosts Danny Murphy and Evan Real assembled a panel of Bravo personalities including “Summer House” alum Stephen McGee, “Real Housewives of New Jersey” alum Margaret Josephs and “Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard” alum Jordan Emanuel.
Much of the night’s explosive discussion centered on the ongoing fallout involving West Wilson, Amanda Batula, and Ciara Miller after Batula secretly pursued a romance with Wilson behind Miller’s back despite once being considered one of her best friends.
During the first part of the reunion, Ms. Emmanuel harshly criticized Ms. Batula’s behavior, claiming that she had not shown sufficient remorse for hurting Ms. Miller.
“The attitude, the reaction,” said Emmanuel, who co-starred with Batula on Season 2 of “The Winter House” and once considered Batula a good friend. “You literally didn’t even include them in that awful statement and now you want to be mean to them? It’s unrealistic.”
The reality star also reflected on how deeply Miller cared for Batula before their friendship fell apart.
“The only reason I had Ciara’s phone number the year before last was because Ciara was organizing videos of all of Amanda’s friends and sending them birthday messages,” Emmanuel said. “So it’s very alarming to see how this comes full circle and comes to fruition.”
Emmanuel added that he had not spoken to Batula since July.
“I thought about[reaching out]but I didn’t really know what to say,” she admitted. “I’m a very honest person. I don’t know if Amanda can really handle me like that.”
Meanwhile, Josephs was not shy about discussing claims that her friend and former RHONJ co-star Jennifer Fessler had an affair with Wilson. The rumor was first brought up by Miller on social media this month.
“Do you think West might have said something to Ciara? Absolutely,” Josephs said. “Do you think Ciara is lying? Absolutely not.”
Josephs speculated that Wilson had instigated the rumor himself, branding Wilson a “shithole” who “spoke for influence.” She also flatly denied that anything physically inappropriate occurred between Fessler and Wilson.
“I would have known at the time,” Josephs insisted. “I think Jen confided in me. She’s known for being dirty and is always very sensitive, but nothing happened.”
Bravolebrity also joked about Wilson’s leaked nude photos, which became a hot topic online and at the reunion itself.
“They really went viral. I got one, too,” she said jokingly. “I’m not happy that I got a picture of my penis. I’m not going to lie, it was against my will.”
Mr. McGee was not impressed with Mr. Wilson’s package. “There wasn’t much to talk about,” he joked.
The event planner then joked about the chemistry between Josephs and Wilson and Batula after analyzing their behavior during the reunion.
“It’s so embarrassing. They’re so pathetic,” Josephs said. “I’m literally so embarrassed because…we were all friends with Amanda. I really loved her, but she’s starting to look more and more stupid, these two assholes. I’m so embarrassed…she’s like brain dead!”
This take led to Maggie casting her own shadow.
“But looking at this, I think they might be a good match,” he joked, before elaborating, “And she’s very insensitive in this regard. I think insensitive is the right word. Not only is she insensitive, she’s stiff.”
Emanuel couldn’t help but note that Wilson was fairly quiet and chose not to come to Batula’s defense when he had his foot held to the fire multiple times during the taping.
“West is over there, and Jiminy Cricket is sitting there (silently),” she said. “Is anyone there? Hello? I’m not ready!”
“Summer House” airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET on Bravo, with new episodes streaming the following day on Peacock.
