‘RHONY’ Star Eboni K. Williams: Why Bravo Shouldn’t Fire Ramona Singer

BY: Walker

Published 3 years ago

Real Housewives of New York star Eboni K. Williams is giving her thoughts on her controversial cast member Ramona Singer.

via: Page Six

The cries from Bravo fans for the network to fire Ramona Singer from “The Real Housewives of New York City” have persisted since Season 13 finished airing in September 2021.

Advertisement

But Eboni K. Williams — the woman who made history last year as the series’ first black star and had a front-row seat to some of Singer’s most polarizing behavior — tells Page Six in an exclusive interview that she feels the OG cast member shouldn’t have her golden apple snatched away when production eventually resumes.

“If I’m just looking at what was on the show, I don’t think anything on the show warrants the firing of Ramona,” says Williams, 38, a former public defender whose penchant for facts and evidence rivals Singer’s taste for pinot grigio.

“That is my opinion,” adds the lawyer-turned-TV host, comically repeating the sentence over in the style of “Orange County” icon Tamra Barney. (She is a “ride-or-die” fan of the first “Housewives” iteration after all.)

Jokes aside, Williams believes that terminating the Singer Stinger entirely could put the “Real Housewives” ecosystem at risk.

Advertisement

“Andy [Cohen] kind of speaks to this in different interviews — and I agree with him: Ramona’s way of thinking and the way she presents on the show is very representative of a significant portion of our country, OK?” she says of the Mar-a-Lago party guest.

Williams expressed support for President Biden in the 2020 election, while Singer, 65, is thought to be a pro-Trump Republican.

“If the answer is, ‘Well, we don’t like that,’ or, ‘We’re going to decide that is not “mainstream” and we’re going to silence it,’” Williams continues, “[Then], personally, I think that’s where radicalization and other really dangerous things take place.”

“RHONY” viewers largely perceived a contentious dynamic between Williams and Singer, but the former “Fox News Specialists” co-host — who is well-versed in brokering peace with those of contrasting views — clarifies that the women were able to connect on multiple levels throughout filming.

Advertisement

Even if Singer didn’t care to engage in meaningful discussions about race as the U.S. experienced unprecedented sociopolitical unrest amid 2020’s Black Lives Matter movement, Williams says she can appreciate parts of the veteran Bravolebrity’s persona.

“The gag is I enjoy Ramona Singer, I really do. There’s a lot of quirky personality elements that we actually share in terms of taste and lifestyle,” she notes. “We’re both savvy businesswomen, we’re both about our coins, we’re both about being self-made … We have points of connectivity, fun and similarities.”

However, Williams is distinctly aware of her differences, or “limitations” as she calls them, with Singer.

“You see it in the scene last season where we’re in her apartment and we reach an impasse as to whether she can have a celebratory moment for a woman in the White House in the capacity of vice president,” she says, recounting how the mere mention of Kamala Harris’ name briefly drove Singer out of her own living room.

Advertisement

Despite Singer’s swift exit, Williams did not leave the couch. Instead, she sat there until Singer was ready to come back and carry on with their conversation — which did not include any more talk of Vice President Harris.

Rather, a frantic Singer tried to impress Williams with erroneous trivia about Madam C.J. Walker, a beloved figure in black history who is recorded as America’s first self-made female millionaire.

“She had some of her facts wrong, but that’s OK because that’s what happens when you cram!” Williams says with a laugh.

“But I [didn’t want to leave her apartment] because I believe better of Ramona. I believe Ramona can sit there like a big girl and have a conversation that doesn’t have agreement, and still enjoy her champagne and have a lovely night with a friend.”

Advertisement

Though Williams repeatedly demonstrated grace in the face of Singer’s antics, a vast portion of “Housewives” devotees have not been nearly as forgiving from afar.

Viewers strongly urged Bravo to give Singer the boot last fall after she endorsed a Twitter video likening COVID-19 mandates to “Nazi territory.” “Bye, @ramonasinger! Hey @Andy time to get to clipping!” one person wrote at the time, echoing many others.

The online outrage came in tandem with Page Six’s exclusive report in November 2021 about Singer’s alleged racist comment that launched an internal investigation by WarnerMedia, the parent company of Shed Media, which produces “New York City,” with Bravo’s support.

Singer reputedly said, “This is why we shouldn’t have black people on the show,” in reference to Williams after Luann de Lesseps asked Williams to leave her home following a tense “RHONY” scene. (Singer, who was cleared after the investigation, has denied making any such remark.)

Advertisement

The investigation — which ultimately halted reunion plans — occurred after Singer had already raised eyebrows for things she said while filming the latest installment of “RHONY.”

For example, at a “Black Shabbat” dinner hosted by Williams, Singer complained that Jewish people hated her and also claimed she was a victim of racism because a black nurse allegedly refused to give her pain meds while she was in labor years ago.

When asked about the “racist” label Singer has been seared with by countless social media users, Williams shares a personal anecdote to illustrate her thoughts.

“I reposted a photo Ramona had posted of me and her in the Hamptons [last year],” she recalls. “I thought it was a cute photo and we were new friends. And Sonja [Morgan] and Luann said I was being silly and getting played because Ramona was using me … to change a narrative that is already out there that Ramona has a problem with black people.”

Advertisement

The “Pretty Powerful” author elaborates, “I was shocked, not because I never heard it before in the ethos, but because this was Sonja, her friend of 30 years, and Luann, her friend of 20 years, who were saying that to me.”

With this in mind, Williams points out that she did not start the “negative thought around Ramona and race” as some of Singer’s supporters have suggested.

“I don’t have enough experience with Ramona Singer to have any thought about her relationship with race,” she says. “It’s from her lifelong friends and castmates in which that thought was planted, really, into the relationship.”

Williams, who has remained closest with castmate Morgan, 58, during the “RHONY” hiatus, tells Page Six that she is looking forward to establishing a stronger bond with Singer should they both return for Season 14.

Advertisement

“We know we’re limited. So there’s no need to revisit [our conflict] because I did my ‘investigation,’ if you will, during the season, to kind of kick the tires,” she says. “Where is there similarity and where is there discord? And now that we are all clearly established around that, let’s have some fun.”

In the meantime, fans can catch Williams on “Beyond the Edge,” CBS’ new reality series that sees celebrities competing alongside each other in “Survivor”-style challenges while raising money for charity. Williams, a board member of Safe Horizon, was able to raise thousands for the nonprofit organization benefiting victims and survivors of violence.

“This is me in a different world,” she says of her time roughing it in the jungles of Panama. “I learned I am uncomfortable not being in an environment where I’m used to winning. But even though it was a struggle, it was so rewarding.”

“Beyond the Edge” airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount+.

Advertisement
Share This Post