Crystal Kung Minkoff is one of the only The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills who refuses to be fake. Some fans of the show feel she's cold; however, compared to other franchises, Beverly Hills is the number one spot where playing nice is the name of the game. Los Angeles, in general, is a culture where niceties and political correctness reign supreme and authenticity equates to vulnerability. Crystal knows how to maintain boundaries, but she doesn't pretend to be something she's not, making the RHOBH cast and fans nervous.
At the beginning of season 11, Crystal called out Sutton Stracke for claiming she didn't see color. Sutton immediately grew defensive and emotional and centered the conversation on herself. Crystal had no patience and asked, "are you really that girl who doesn't see color?" before Sutton fell apart completely. When the ladies continued the conversation, Crystal laid it out thick, saying, "I can't deal with crazy people" and that Sutton's behavior felt "kind of manic." Sutton's effort to self-soothe with a roller to her face only added fuel to Crystal's point of view. Then things got worse when Sutton walked in on Crystal naked while attempting to return her coat. Instead of abruptly turning around, Sutton proceeded to walk into the room and awkwardly comment on Crystal's nudity.
Throughout the beginning of season 11, Sutton continued to defend her problematic stances and strange behavior. Crystal thought Sutton was stirring the pot. Meanwhile, Crystal calmly but assertively argued that she deserved an apology from Sutton because she felt violated by the "peeping Tom" moment, as Kathy Hilton not so subtly dubbed it. The rest of the RHOBH cast struggled with the term "violated" in the context of the Me Too movement and the weight it carried. No matter how much they pressured Crystal, she stuck to her truth. This year Crystal looks like she's bringing even more confidence based on her Rinna Beauty launch party photo.
She refused to rephrase her feelings but did clarify how she felt looking back on the circumstances at Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. Crystal said she felt awful for Sutton and "awful for herself as a woman with body dysmorphia and an eating disorder." When Andy followed up about the word "violated," Crystal said that the term was still indicative of her feelings but felt bad Sutton got mixed up in her struggles with body image.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills producers told Crystal to speak up this season because, frankly, a specific and unyielding personality goes a long way in the housewives universe. Crystal isn't a people pleaser with her castmates or her audience. It's refreshing to see someone in reality television be unapologetically themselves rather than save face. Hopefully, fans will grow to appreciate Crystal's fierce confidence and authority over her own narrative.
Sources: Crystal Kung Minkoff/Instagram