Updated on 10/14/22 at 11:35 am E.T:
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But waitโthereโs even more! Two days ago, Bethenny Frankel posted and then deleted a TikTok video to her page where she addressed her critics. She stated:
โJust because someone has a tiny little fuzzy microphone doesnโt mean they know what theyโre talking about and people on here just spread fake news...Yes, I do have a team of lawyers and yes I will send a cease-and-desist and guess what? I will take a motherf**ker to court if they start to f**k around with my business.โ
According to another TikTok user, she โbasically admittedโ that Meredith Lynch was speaking โcorrectly and accurately about her business filings.โ The user also gave greater insight into Frankelโs rant:
โ[Frankel] starts with like a rant about social media...honestly it reveals her bigger agenda. Itโs not about Meredith, itโs about all of us. She doesnโt think that weโ people with phones and fuzzy microphones as she saysโshould be able to share our opinion on this app. Nor does she like the fact that people get to follow us and we get to build an audience doing so. She called us โdum dums,โ she calls us fake news, she says weโre not credible...it is precisely why we donโt want celebrities on [TikTok].โ
Bethenny Frankel knows exactly how to keep herself in the spotlight. Just last month, she made headlines for her disparaging remarks about Meghan Markle. In the now viral video, Frankel called the Duchess of Sussex a โterrible businesspersonโ and said she had a โsanctimoniousโ disposition.
Many considered Frankelโs commentary thinly veiled racism from a white woman who vehemently going after a Black woman with power. As one user, Bryetta, on TikTok pointed out:
โThereโs a very specific subset of white womenโspecificallyโwho do not know or understand...they donโt have enough self-awareness to know that theyโre actually racist. [Bethenny] is upset that a Black woman has achieved a level of recognition that [her] and [her] whiteness donโt feel she deserves.โ
However, Markle isnโt the only celebrity that Frankel has belittled.
The Skinnygirl founder, 51, has carved a niche for herself on TikTok by giving candid reviews of beauty products. Frankel has given her thoughts on products by everyone from Rihanna to Kim Kardashian. Most recently, she called Kylie Jennerโs lip products a โscamโ and Hailey Bieberโs skincare line โbasic.โ
But Frankel has now set her sights on TikTok. She is suing the Chinese social media platform, The Washington Postย revealed last week, for allegedly failing to regulate the use of her image on scam ads that used her to promote counterfeit products.
According to the lawsuit, Frankel quickly posted a TikTok video letting her followers know about the fake ad. She also claimed to have reported the ad through TikTokโs content-flagging system. Shortly after, Frankel stated, her video about the matter was removed for bullying.
Frankel is asking TikTok to pay for the harm that the fake ad has caused to her brand. She also wants the company to agree to ensure better policies regarding a creatorโs likeness. But even though Frankel is demanding TikTok to do better to protect creators, she also came after smaller ones for calling out her hypocrisy.
As one creator, Shannon Hill, pointed out to the mogul: โSmaller creators on [TikTok] actually have a very large influence and larger influencers, such as yourself, people who have been in the media for many years, people who have brands and businesses, donโt necessarily get on this app and have as much of an impact as us.โ
Meredith Lynch, who has made a slew of videos addressing Frankelโs antics, allegedly received a cease-and-desist from โa former Real Housewife of New York.โ Lynch has critiqued various celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, Gywneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt about their ventures into the worlds of skincare, health and wellness.
The knowledge that Lynch shares and assesses with her followers is all public information. To Frankel, itโs ok to rip apart peopleโs brands and products because she wants to tell her fans the โtruth.โ But when Lynch did it, it was considered defamatory and she was legally forced to stop.
Frankel claims that cease-and-desists were sent to two women because misinformation was being spread about her non-profit organization, B-Strong, as well as her trademarks and business dealings.
However, as PR expert Molly McPherson noted, Frankel is retaliating against and trying to squash small creators which led to her having a PR crisis on her hands. Sadly, for a Karen as big as Bethenny, her hurt feelingsโelevated by white woman entitlementโwill allow for the perpetuation of such ridiculous behavior.
Hopefully, it will only encourage more people to speak out about Frankel and how her conduct has become part of the cultural norm.
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