REAL Housewives Of Beverly Hills' Ericka Jayne feels Bravo "wants to embarrass her" and "use her scandal for show ratings" amid her ex Tom Girardi's embezzlement lawsuit, a source exclusively told The Sun.
The 50-year-old reality star has found herself in hot water after filing for divorce from the disgraced LA attorney last year.
Tom, 82, is being sued for allegedly stealing millions from the families of plane crash victims, and lawyers are arguing Erika knew as he funded her glamorous lifestyle.
She has strongly denied the claims, but a judge ruled last month that some of her ex's former clients may pursue a collections lawsuit against her, relating to money he allegedly owes.
Erika is now said to be at war with Bravo producers after they reportedly encouraged co-star Garcelle Beauvais to ask about her divorce on camera, to which she admitted Tom still calls her "every day."
Lisa Rinna also took to Instagram to reveal she had a "screaming fight" with producers, which never aired, as source claims she didn't realize her mic was still on when she made the confession.
'HUNG OUT TO DRY'
A source told The Sun: "Erika's relationship with Bravo isn't in the best of places now for a few reasons, mostly because she feels that she has been hung out to dry.
"She promised them that she would be more open before the season started because of criticism she'd faced about not sharing enough.
"Unfortunately, that promise came back to bite when she announced her divorce because producers wanted her to address everything directly.
"When the other cast mates refused to probe any deeper on camera Garcelle was encouraged to ask the difficult questions."
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The insider claims Erika feels "hurt" by the production team because she senses that they don't believe her stories and that the editing of last week's episode "made her look bad."
BLOCKBUSTER RATINGS
The source says Erika has had fleeting thoughts of leaving the show, but knows she needs it as a source of income now she's had to downgrade her lifestyle.
She also hopes to promote future business ventures on the program, including her upcoming lingerie line which is currently on hold.
The insider said: "Bravo isn't going to fire her because the legal case could easily span over two seasons and guarantee blockbuster ratings.
"She really feels like she's in an impossible situation, but has been advised by her camp not to call out the producers publicly because she has to work with them for the foreseeable."
The Sun has reached out to Erika's rep and Bravo for comment, but did not hear back.
The source also claims she's "pissed" at former co-star Lisa Vanderpump – who has made digs about her in recent months, including during an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen back in March.
Lisa said at the time: "It's been absolutely fascinating this whole thing, the way it's played out, but I actually just feel so bad for the victims, you know this whole situation, as they've kind of been watching this unfold.
"I don't know, I just don't understand that whole $40,000 a month glam squad, but when you see these poor people, yeah it's devastating."
The Sun's insider said Erika feels the question was "set up to embarrass her" and believes it isn't fair that Lisa wasn't asked to address claims that she is being sued for breaking minimum wage laws.
'ERIKA IS PISSED'
The insider added: "Lisa then jabbed her again during a recent episode of podcast and it really pissed Erika off because she feels that Bravo has done or will do little to address Lisa's legal woes, but-as far she sees it, encouraged her to address hers for ratings.
"She really doesn't like Lisa. In her mind, she is in no position to talk about ethics and morals and is annoyed that she is being criticized while Lisa's alleged problems are swept under the rug."
In October 2020, Ernest Bennick, an employee from Lisa's restaurant Pump, filed a class action lawsuit against Lisa, her husband Ken Todd, and their LA restaurant – on behalf of both him and staffers.
The documents state that staff were permitted to "work off clock" – including "requiring employees to be on-call" without compensation as the restaurant "failed to pay" for the hours or "paid at improper rates."
Lisa hit back, with lawyers claiming : "Defendants compensated and documented Plaintiff in a manner that Defendants believed, in good faith, complied with the Fair Labor Standards Act, Labor Code and IWC Wage Orders."
A post-mediation status conference is now scheduled for August 16 in LA.
WAR WITH LISA
In a recent episode of RHOBH, the cast traded Los Angeles for the desert as they stayed at Kyle Richards’ La Quinta home.
During the getaway, Erika went on a hike with Garcelle, 54, and Crystal Kung Minkoff.
As they sat atop a mountain with a stunning view, Garcelle asked Erika intimate questions about her 20-year marriage.
After the conversation, they walked back down the mountain as Erika then revealed the the disgraced attorney has attempted to win her back EVERY single day since she left him last year.
“I cannot talk to him and I will not talk to him but he still calls me every day," she confessed.
The TV personality continued: "Tom in legal jeopardy. I can’t talk to him. The truth is I haven’t talked to him since the day I left.
"He keeps leaving voicemails 'I love you, I miss you, come home, come back to me honey, are you sure?' And he needs help! He needs serious help and I can't give it."
Later in the evening, their discussion continued back at Kyle's house in front of the other ladies not present earlier, where Garcelle told the group that Tom had been calling Erika everyday.
A furious Erika snapped at Garcelle and yelled that her repeating that "private" information in front of others was a "dirty" move.
Following several minutes of sobbing to the point where she could barely talk, she went inside a locked bathroom to cry some more.
Fans believe that this was around the moment that Erika would’ve gotten in the blowout fight with producers.
The former broadway performer’s divorce and legal drama has been documented on the most recent season of the Bravo show.
Since she filed for divorce from Tom in November after 21 years of marriage and has since moved out of their shared Pasadena mansion.
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