Are Bravoholics Boycotting ‘RHOC’ Over Kelly Dodd?
Are viewers really boycotting The Real Housewives of Orange County due to star Kelly Dodd? Earlier this month, fans threatened to boycott after the reality star posted a “Drunk Wives Matter” hat that she got as a wedding present. Could ‘cancel culture’ be successful and make Bravo finally firing Kelly Dodd?
Kelly Dodd Stokes Controversy During the Off-Season
The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 14 aired the finale in late December. The show was halfway into filming Season 15 when the coronavirus pandemic struck. As fans know, television production was shut down and most people went into the isolation of quarantine.
During the months that followed, RHOC star Kelly Dodd made several controversial comments about the pandemic. Among other things, she said it was, “God thinning the herd.” She also earned ire from her followers by ignoring quarantine guidelines. Not only did she repeatedly travel back-and-forth between NYC and LA, she rarely wore a mask.
But what really set fans off was a gift Kelly Dodd wore in a post to her Instagram Stories. One of her bridal shower guests gave her a hat that said, “Drunk Wives Matter.” Many fans felt the hat was mocking – or diminishing the importance – of the Black Lives Matter movement.
For many fans, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. They flooded her Instagram comment section with threats of boycotting the new season.
We are just two episodes into the new season. Did fans make good on their threats?
Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge Did Not Return for RHOC Season 15
It’s impossible to say if the RHOC ratings reflect Kelly Dodd’s comments of the absence of two fan-favorites. OG of the OC Vicki Gunvalson and her bestie, Tamra Judge, both left the show earlier this year. Their separate announcements came within days of each other back in January. While both originally said they left by choice, they have made statements since that imply they were let go.
While Vicki Gunvalson irked fans at the reunion by calling RHOC “her show,” fans do miss her “Whoop It Up” presence. As for Tamra, she may not physically be on-screen, but she was part of the latest episode. Braunwyn Windham-Burke brought the Cut Fitness owner up during a conversation with Shannon Beador.
Online Fan Sites Boycott RHOC Over Kelly Dodd
Viewers aren’t the only ones boycotting RHOC due to Kelly Dodd. Several online fan pages have banded together to boycott the show. They don’t plan to watch or post anything about the Bravo show. While fan pages don’t make money off their posts, they do help promote the show.
Vice reports that Bravo fan pages can have “10,000 followers to well over 400,000” followers! Additionally, many of the fan pages have podcasts, too. That’s a long reach.
Fan account @bravooomg posted an explanation as to why they are boycotting RHOC this season. They wrote that they aren’t boycotting over “quality.” Rather, they are boycotting due to Kelly Dodd’s “uneducated and incredibly racist” behavior.
How Are the Ratings?
Many fans speculated that Bravo pushed the RHOC season premiere from October 7 to October 14 so they could edit Kelly Dodd out of the show. However, the Positive Beverage founder featured in the season premiere, but not as much in the second episode. Nor does she feature heavily in the preview for the upcoming episode.
But none of that means that Bravo did edit her out. She’s still affiliated with the show. But it seems that fans may be making good on their threat to boycott. Reality Blurb reports that viewership for Season 15 is down 25%!
Do you think Kelly Dodd is the reason for low ratings? Are watching RHOC or boycotting? Scroll down below to the comments and let us know!
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Wednesdays on Bravo.
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