Bethenny Frankel Responds To ‘RHONY’ Star Jessel Taank Calling Her The “Most Overrated” Housewife: “They Need The Relevance”

Jessel Taank was not forgettable on a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live, despite what her Real Housewives of New York City co-star Brynn Whitfield might think. Days after Taank deemed Bethenny Frankel the “most overrated” Housewife, the ex-RHONY star has responded.

According to Frankel, the franchise — which replaced its entire cast at the start of Season 14 — has “already peaked” and is currently on the “back end.” She claimed it “doesn’t do well” and only gets “a couple hundred thousand” viewers a week — even though half a million people tuned into the episode that aired on Sept. 27.

Therefore, Frankel told her ReWives podcast listeners that Taank — who she said is “not relevant yet” — named her as the most overrated Housewife because she “needs the press.”

“If you have someone who’s on the New York Housewives now in a post-successful era, they’re gonna wanna squeeze that sponge for any amount of liquid they can squeeze it for,” Frankel said on her podcast. “And you can never blame them. You cannot blame the talent because they need the relevance, the fame — it’s why they went on the show. It’s why I went on the show.”

However, a source close to production told Page Six that Taank has “become a breakout” star.

“Jessel, in particular, has recently been on the cover of Vogue India, done interviews with Variety and CNN, has been a guest on Access Hollywood and Crooked Media’s Keep It! podcast, among several others,” they told the outlet. “She also just wrapped Page Six’s very own Virtual Reali-Tea podcast.”

Frankel went on to slam Watch What Happens Live, which she claimed is “designed to get someone to trash someone else.” She added that the talk show is “successful at having women demoralize” each other, while the “stink is always off of” host Andy Cohen, who asks the “provocative” questions.

“The way it works on Watch What Happens Live is, in the dressing room, Andy comes in and talks about what he wants to talk about,” the former reality star alleged.

In response, a production source shut down Frankel’s accusation as “absolutely false.”

“WWHL does not conduct pre-interviews,” they told Page Six. “Naturally, Andy stops by the green rooms to greet his guests before the show, but he does not discuss specific questions or topics in advance, unless the guest initiates a topic that is personally sensitive to them. And certainly Andy nor any WWHL producer is feeding answers to questions.”