Bethenny Frankel fired back after Real Housewives of New Jersey alum Dina Manzo and her daughter, Lexi Ioannou, accused her of not crediting their brand for one of her recent outfits.
âI donât usually respond to things like this but I think thereâs a business lesson here,â Frankel, 55, insisted via TikTok on Saturday, May 16.
The drama kicked off on Friday when Frankel showcased a strapless, polka dot sundress and received compliments about her black peep-toe pumps. She then pointed her fans to a Bloomingdales pair ($375) âfor the same look.â
Ioannou, 30, later revealed that sheâd sent the pumps to Bethenny as a promotion for her own fashion brand, Nou.
âBethenny Frankel is a weirdo,â Ioannou claimed in an Instagram video on Friday. âI sent her a pair of shoes from Nou almost a year ago because I look up to her. [She is a] female entrepreneur [and from the] Bravo universe like me.â
Ioannou pointed out that Frankel never tagged Nou despite wearing the pumps in her social media content.
âOK, that happens, but then she posted a video today thatâs going viral and a bunch of people are asking where the shoes are [from]. Instead of linking them, she linked a dupe with an affiliate link,â Ioannou complained. âI guess sheâs got to get that bag in some sort of way? So, she got the shoes for free from a woman-founded brand, mine, and then she made money sending her followers somewhere else.â
Ioannouâs mom, Manzo, quoted one of Frankelâs iconic Real Housewives of New York City arguments with Ramona Singer while directing followers to buy âthe real thingâ from Nou.
ââWow Bethenny Wow!!â So odd of you to post a dupe of your GIFTED @shopnou shoes instead of giving a young woman entrepreneur credit,â Manzo wrote via her Instagram Stories on Friday. âYou wear them often so we know you like them??â
Frankel later released an âOutfit of the Dayâ video where she did credit Nou. In her TikTok response, Frankel insisted that her decision to link out to another retailer was standard practice in social media.
âThe shoes were sold out so we linked to something similar because the audience gets frustrated when thereâs something they canât buy,â Frankel explained. âWhy would I wear something and talk about it, if they canât buy it?â
She went on, âThis female owner decided to post a scathing video of me. Her body, her choice. I have stated multiple times that if you send me something, I have no obligation to link, like, use, wear, buy, tag. I can do whatever I want.â
Frankel suggested that she was now reluctant to support Ioannouâs brand after being called out.
âThere are about a hundred brands that will watch this video that will message her to tell her how much product I move,â the former RHONY star predicted. âHow many sprinkle cookies for Melissa Gorga, how many dresses for Ramy Brook, how many pairs of jeans for Guess. I move a lot of product because I donât bulls***.â
The reality TV icon argued that Ioannouâs âwhining and being a cry babyâ was playing the âshort gameâ in the business world.
âIt means youâre not a real business person. You have a lot to learn,â Frankel quipped. âI would have worn all of the shoes on your site and you would have sold thousands of pairs and made hundreds of thousands of dollars.â
She added, âMy account. My body. My choice. Once you send those shoes into my house, my shoes. Youâre welcome!â
Us Weekly has reached out to Ioannouâs representative for comment.
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