Crystal Kung Minkoff and Sutton Stracke are relatively new to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and while they got off on the wrong foot last year, the two made amends before filming season 12. Last year Sutton managed to offend Crystal in almost every way possible. Between claiming to be color blind when it comes to race and walking in on Crystal naked in Lake Tahoe without knocking, it seemed highly unlikely they would ever get on the same page.
When the pair confronted each other regarding their conflicts, Sutton took to passing a roller on her face as her anxiety heightened minute to minute. Crystal, a realist who rejected the fake niceties of RHOBH, looked bewildered and irritated. Despite being relatively harmless and good-intentioned, Sutton's victim complex seemed to have no end. By the end of the year, Crystal and Sutton did share some laughs, primarily thanks to Garcelle Beauvais' positioning between them. Garcelle embraced Sutton's quirky behavior and outsider status and Crystal's no-nonsense attitude.
The word on the street is that Crystal and Sutton are on a united front going into season 12. The new friends reconciled at a baseball game ahead of filming and started on a fresh note. With Garcelle already friendly with both of them, the three of them could become the new "Fox Force Five." The original cast members stay incredibly tight-knit, and it's high time another alliance emerges in Beverly Hills. In January, Sutton even posted an Instagram photo of her and Crystal in matching cowboy hats while filming season 12.
Garcelle has frequently noted how difficult it is to be a black woman in a cast of all white women and was especially hurt by Lisa Rinna's betrayal. Lisa unequivocally had Erika Jayne's back last year when her lawsuit drama endlessly pinned her in every corner. Kyle Richards and Dorit Kemsley have a more subtle but strong alliance as the lingering proteges of Lisa Vanderpump's calculated Hollywood warfare tactics. Everyone's insecurities are a potential target for plot lines, and Sutton and Crystal need each other. When their new budding alliance, Sutton and Crystal may be the duo fans have been looking for to shake things up on RHOBH.
Time will tell if the Fox Force Five become as formidable as Lisa and Erika's solidarity, but they stand a good chance. Sutton doesn't care about conforming. Crystal doesn't care about dragging everyone for antiquated and problematic behavior. Finally, Garcelle established that she needs to be able to defend herself and show emotions without the other women latching onto stereotypes about black women. All of them have set the stage to be unapologetically themselves, and the rest of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast better get the memo.
Sources: Sutton Stracke/Instagram