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Did the RHONY Cast Not Want Jenna Lyons on the Show? Ubah Hassan's Comment, Explained
The ladies seemed confused when Ubah Hassan suggested they didn't want Jenna Lyons to be cast on The Real Housewives of New York City, but there was an explanation for the comment at the reunion.
Jenna Lyons may have been the most well-known 'Wife when the revamped cast of The Real Housewives of New York City was announced at BravoCon in October 2022, but that didn’t stop some of the other ladies from judging her — just a bit.
The trendsetter became a household name during her 26-year fashion career with J.Crew, serving as president and executive creative director before leaving in 2017. She then went on to appear on Max’s Stylish With Jenna Lyons in 2020.
But at the Season 14 reunion, Ubah Hassan suggested Jenna’s casting was not met with open arms by all of the other Housewives.
“I think we should focus on why you guys didn’t want Jenna on the show,” Ubah said during Part 1 of the reunion, to which Andy Cohen replied, “OK, well, that’s a side bomb.”
The other ‘Wives seemed confused by the remark — so what happened?
Why did Ubah suggest the Housewives didn't want Jenna cast on RHONY?
We didn’t get an explanation for Ubah’s comment until Part 2 of the reunion. Andy asked Jenna if she had a concern, and she responded, “Oh, I was just confused, you said that nobody wanted me on the show.”
Sai de Silva took over, explaining it came from a gathering between Sai, Ubah, Jessel Taank, and Erin Lichy at Erin’s home before filming.
“Before we met Jenna, us three, I believe, said, ‘Oh, I don’t think she’s going to fit into the group,’” Sai said. “Which, I stood by that at that time. I didn’t think you were going to fit into the group. I thought you were a wild card — you are a wild card — everybody said it.”
Jessel added that the women were just making an assumption because they didn’t know Jenna.
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“Yeah, because you’re like a professional, normal person, and we’re all nuts,” Erin said.
Ubah apologized for her part in misunderstanding the conversation, adding she “shouldn’t have said that.”
Still, Andy asked if Jenna’s feelings were hurt by Ubah’s comment and Sai’s explanation.
“It goes back to people making assumptions about you before they know you,” Jenna said. “And that is so hard, because it’s so hard to combat them, because you’re starting from behind, as opposed to walking into a situation like on an even playing field. And so, yeah, I felt it.”
Catch up on Season 14 of The Real Housewives of New York City now on Peacock.
