The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills newcomer Diana Jenkins is apologizing for a recent comment she made on Instagram that she later deemed as “racially insensitive” and had Bravo fans quite upset. The social media mess began on Thursday when the 49-year-old founder, chairwoman, and CEO of drink and lifestyle company Neuro Brands got in a heated disagreement with a Bravo fan account called @philly.diva run by a Black woman named Kristen Dionne after she shared side-by-side photos (seen here) of Diana looking nearly unrecognizable from the before photo to the after. Emphasizing the difference in the photos, which were taken years apart, Kristen wrote, “uhhhh I guess the first @sdjneuro was the one that shopped in stores and the 2nd is allergic to dust and doesn’t know what an outlet is.”
Diana saw the post and decided to share her disapproval. “That picture was actually taken At UCLA law school talking about war crimes in my country and setting up human rights clinic that i financed Before war criminals were brought to justice,” she wrote, according to Page Six. “I was probably 20 or 30 Pounds skinner and having glam was last thing on my mind,” she continued. “Also looks like picture is manipulated. But shame on you!!!! You and your bulls–t shopping!!!”
Kristen seemed to be shocked by Diana’s response, and commented back that Diana must have had “some time” on her hands to do so. She then continued by rehashing her original point. “But the fact is…. both pics are you. However neither of them look alike! Welcome to the bravo-sphere!” Kristen then asked Diana to criticize other who posted the same photos — not just the “Black content creators”.
The reply got Diana even more heated, because she then responded with the comment that got her in some hot water. “It can’t feel good being a Black content creator,” she rudely remarked, as she used the same term Kristen used to describe herself. Bravo fans immediately noticed the rude remark and exploded with disappointment online, and made sure to let Bravo know by tagging Andy Cohen, the executive producer of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. “Just goes to show- money can’t buy you class!” one person slammed. “Diana is done for,” another hypothesized. “She just showed her card and we aren’t having it. she needs to be fired.” A third annoyed user added, “Does Diana not know what show she’s on? People are going to talk about you, and comparing an old pic to a new one is not an insult.” Yet another unamused commenter said they were “worried Diana is going to lie and blame the comment on a language barrier.”
Diana, who was born in Bosnia, did mention a misunderstanding in her apology, which came on Friday and was screenshot and shared by Page Six. “I assumed ‘Black content creator’ was a title referring to a page that would be focused on snarky content,” she wrote after noting she was woken up by co-star Crystal Kung Minkoff “screaming” at her over the comment. “I copied the term because I thought that’s what it meant. I didn’t realize it was referencing to you as a Black woman and a content creator.”
Noting the language and cultural barrier, she continued, “Please understand i am not from this country @philly.diva so deeply sorry. I’m devastated that this was taken to mean something racially insensitive. I understand now why it was taken that way and that was never my intention. I am truly sorry.”
The new drama with Diana follows the hectic June 15 episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, in which Diana hit back at rumors she was running a “secret call girl ring”. The rumors started after she published a photography book in 2009 that included some sultry snapshots of celebrities like Ashanti and Lindsay Lohan. “It’s very, very dangerous,” Diana said of the rumors during a confessional for the episode. “All you need to do is leak a bunch of fake rumors and you can actually destroy somebody’s life.” She added, “It’s honestly so ridiculous that I can’t even believe, actually, that it caught on.”
Bravo has not officially responded to concerns about Diana’s actions as of this writing.