The Real Housewives of New York City star LuAnn De Lesseps has shocked viewers (and producers) by demanding Bravo pay her a $3.5 million salary for next season. The 'Countess' has been apart of The Real Housewives of New York City franchise since the very first season back in 2008, and she's now making big demands for a raise for season 12.
The "Money Can't Buy You Class" singer is currently reported to have inked a deal with Bravo that gets her $20,000 per scene, which has the potential to be a lot of money. Even if she gets one scene each show, it would equal $440,000 per season. However, although this is a pretty hefty paycheck, it is obviously not cutting it for this rich housewife, who is now demanding a 3 million dollar raise from producers at Bravo.
As The Real Housewives of New York City is planning season 12, De Lesseps is gambling with producers to be the highest paid New York City housewife, and if her demands are not met, she threatens to walk away from the franchise entirely. De Lesseps is vying to beat out co-star Bethenny Frankel's contract of $1 million for each season, which is broken down into $40,000 per episode. So, what's the motive behind this nearly 3 million dollar raise? An insider for Hollywood Gossip who is close to LuAnn stated that her motive is simply wanting "more money than Bethenny, which would essentially make her the highest paid Housewife." It looks like she doesn't only want to beat out Bethenny, but is also trying to top NeNe Leakes' $2.85 million paycheck per season for The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
LuAnn is currently dealing with quite a lot of legal drama and struggling to get sober again after being arrested on Christmas Eve 2017 for being drunk and disorderly. However, LuAnn almost broke her probation by drinking again, but thanks to expensive lawyers, she was able to make a deal that kept her from being incarcerated; a deal which requires LuAnn to take a medication called Antabuse which prevents users from drinking, which LuAnn is not happy about.
The Countess apparently joked about her legal issues saying it would make a great storyline for the series, but despite the show being revolved around the housewives' drama, it seems the producers, Andy Cohen and company, are taking her legal and health issues very seriously. The insider states: “Producers are really considering letting her go because she has become a huge liability” and is wondering if "being on the show is just making her problems worse." As fans know, it seems every Real Housewives episode involves some sort of alcohol, which could make sobriety for LuAnn very difficult.
It seems ridiculous to fans and producers that LuAnn would be demanding such an enormous 3 million dollar raise while teetering on the edge of being axed from the show due to her legal issues. That said, it remains to be seen how her demands will ultimately be met, especially since she has such an uncertain future on the show.
New episodes of The Real Housewives of New York City air Thursdays at 9pm EST on Bravo.
Source: Hollywood Gossip