Why Fans Are So Angry With RHONY's Pregnancy Prank

A prank in Season 15 of The Real Housewives of New York has led fans to question the credibility of the once-popular reality TV show. After swapping out the entire cast of RHONY for its 14th season, the new cast has been criticized for being overproduced, too guarded and boring.

New Housewife Rebecca Minkoff's pregnancy prank in Season 15 of RHONY has been declared a new low for the series, with Bravo watchers declaring it “dumb” and “embarrassing” for the franchise.

In the November 12th episode, Rebecca enlisted Erin Lichy's help to trick her co-stars into believing she was expecting a baby. Erin told Brynn Whitfield and Jessel Taank that Rebecca was pregnant but wasn't sure if her husband, Gavin Bellour, was the father. She added that the fashion designer was upset about the situation and that it was all "very early on."

Of course, it didn't take long for Brynn and Jessel to tell the news to Jenna Lyons and Sai De Silva. After their game of dodgeball, Jenna told Rebecca that the other women were gossiping about her.

To keep the ruse up, Rebecca confronted Erin, and the pair had a fake fight in front of the other Housewives. "Erin, you f*****g told her? What did you say?" Rebecca screamed at Erin.

In the final moments of the episode, the two women were giggling, and Erin can be heard saying, "That was good." This season of RHONY desperately needed some drama, but fans weren't impressed that it appeared to be set up by the two women.

Why Fans Hated The Pregnancy Prank On RHONY

Via Bravo

The shock pregnancy was hinted at during the trailer for the 15th season of RHONY. The announcement came during a dramatic moment in the clip when Brynn Whitfield asks Erin Lichy, "Is she pregnant again?"

• Fans of the Bravo show felt scammed to learn that the whole clip was fake.
• Even weirder, in reality, it was Erin who was pregnant, not Rebecca.
• Erin announced her pregnancy publicly after the episode.

Users took to social media to complain about the main plotline of the whole episode being dedicated to a prank set up by two castmates. "The way this manufactured pregnancy prank will go down as one of the worst storylines ever seen on Housewives can not be understated. This show needs to be canceled; the cast is beyond repair. What a horrible season; I'm speechless," @Isbyeathreat posted.

Another wrote on X, "I, as a viewer, feel scammed into watching cuz [sic] the whole season's premise was built on this. Now we come to find out it was a lie/joke. Screw this franchise and this group of boring women."

People who have been watching the RHONY reboot believe they knew why Rebecca Minkoff and Erin played the prank. “It’s pretty obvious Rebecca & Erin pulled this little ‘prank’ to prove Brynn runs her mouth too much and is very boring,” one social media user guessed on X.

Another fan wrote, “We should’ve known this pregnancy rumor was going to be a prank, we’ve already caught editors leaving Brynn and Rebecca Minkoff self-producing in the previous episodes. This is just embarrassing.”

Even Andy Cohen Was Unimpressed About The RHONY Prank

Via Bravo

Viewers were in on the prank throughout the entire episode, and they were not too pleased with the storyline. Even Executive Producer Andy Cohen expressed his displeasure at the joke on an episode of Watch What Happens Live.

Bravo personality Jeff Lewis said on WWHL that the prank was a "bad move." The Flipping Out star explained, "I think it's self-producing, I think that you lose trust in your audience ... I think it's a bad move!"

Andy had previously hyped up the pregnancy storyline shown in the Season 15 trailer. "You know what, I'm not gonna say beyond the trailer, but you’re gonna be into it," he told Extra back in August.

Little did he know then, the fans were not "into it."

The Pregnancy Prank Is Not The First Time The Rebooted RHONY's Credibility Has Been Questioned

RHONY was the first in the Real Housewives franchise to replace its cast when it rebooted the show in its 14th season. The new cast has always faced an uphill battle, with many fans mourning the chaotic days of Ramona Singer, Countess Luann, and Dorinda Medley.

ScreenRant shared that fans were mostly underwhelmed with the Season 14 cast of RHONY.

Biggest Season 15 Criticisms

• Fans criticized the group for not knowing each other prior to joining the reality show and having no off-camera relationships.
• Housewives fans prefer old money or those who marry rich over social media influencers like Sai.
• The women were too concerned with keeping aspects of their lives private and off-camera, which is not what The Real Housewives is used to as a reality TV favorite.
• The cast have been caught on camera trying to produce their own scenes and set up manufactured drama, as noted by ScreenRant.

Season 15 has been met with even more criticism. The audience felt like the show had lost its credibility, forced to set up fake drama because these women weren't interesting enough to organically make good reality TV.

It was revealed that Rebecca Minkoff suggested “fake fighting” with fellow fashion designer and castmate Jenna Lyons. In an interview with Decider, the designer admitted she pitched a fake storyline to Jenna during her freshman season, who didn’t take the bait.

In an earlier episode, a moment is aired showing Brynn Whitfield coaching Rebecca. Brynn tells her to respond to the argument by saying "I have a clothing brand. You sold sweatshirts at BravoCon." Often, these interactions are edited out, but the network is kept in this obvious moment of self-production.

The fashion designer is a household name and appeared to be a huge casting moment for Bravo. Sadly, Rebecca is too guarded about her personal life, career, and connection to Scientology to make a good Housewife. Since joining the show, fans have complained that she was boring and quiet, with the only drama she has been involved in turning out to be fake.