‘Summer House’ Star Kyle Cooke Criticizes Bethenny Frankel for “Cashing in” on Rachel Leviss’ Drama in Tell-All Interview: “The Irony of It All”

It seems like not everyone is buying Bethenny Frankel’s call for a reality television reckoning.

Summer House star Kyle Cooke just accused the reality star of “cashing in” on Rachel “Raquel” Leviss‘ recent Scandoval drama, after Frankel claimed she was using “her case as an example of exploitation” in reality television.

“The irony of it all: Bethenny cashing in ads as she ‘exposes Bravo exploits’ and gives Rachel ‘a voice,’” Cooke commented on a post shared on Instagram. “She literally has more ad spots than any other podcast I’ve ever listened to. Rachel won’t see a dime lol. I bet she had to pay her way to fly to B just to record this.”

Cooke concluded by stating, “If this was a true PSA it would be ad free.”

But a source close to Frankel cleared up some of Cooke’s claims, telling The Messenger that Frankel “flew out west on her own dime to do the interview.”

They also claimed, “iHeart controls the ads, Bethenny has nothing to do with them.”

The tell-all interview allowed Leviss to share her experience filming Season 10 of Vanderpump Rules after it was revealed she had been having a months-long affair with Tom Sandoval.

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The reality star made a number of surprising claims about being treated unfairly on the show, including stating she didn’t see a “single penny” following Season 10’s success, and that Sandoval had been offered a producer credit on the show. Both claims have since been refuted by VPR creator and executive producer Lisa Vanderpump.

“I haven’t seen a single penny. … It’s not fair. … And I feel like I’ve been portrayed as the ultimate villain,” Leviss said during her interview. “My mistakes that I’ve made on camera live on forever. And you mentioned something about the addiction of doing reality TV and the way and the way that they always dangle that carrot in front of you, like, ‘Well, you need to tell your side of the story otherwise it’s gonna be written for you.’ And that’s terrifying. So I almost went back, I know just because of that.”

Frankel said their affair and its ensuing drama, which became known as Scandoval, was “being marketed” and “pumped through the PR machine” to boost the season.

“I said your name just as an example of what I imagined to be somebody who had been exploited. And for the rest of your life, that content will be out there without compensation,” she told Leviss.

Frankel has been making headlines since she took to social media to call for a reality television strike last month; reality stars do not currently receive residuals despite the fact that their lives play out in perpetuity thanks to streaming.

“Why isn’t reality TV on strike?” she asked in a video shared to her Instagram. “I got paid $7,250 for my first season of reality TV and people are still watching those episodes.”

She continued, “I, myself, have generated millions and millions of dollars in advertising and online impressions, being on reality TV, and I’ve never made a single residual. Either I’m missing something, or we’re getting screwed too.”