Gretchen Rossi Denies Slade Was Behind RHOC Blogger Finale Call Controversy, Addresses Homophobic Posts She’s Accused of Liking as She’s Seen With Trump Hat in Resurfaced Clip
Gretchen Rossi is speaking out amid claims that Slade Smiley was the person behind the distorted male voice heard at the end of the finale episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County.
After the unidentified person accused Tamra Judge, 58, of leaking stories about the show, Gretchen, 47, addressed the rumors in a comment after Zack Peter, of the No Filter with Zack Peter podcast, alleged that it was “1,000 percent true” that Tamra had been in touch with podcasters and bloggers throughout season 19, and had leaked information about what was going down behind the scenes.
“I can say that with full conviction. I’ve known about this since at least July,” Zack began in a video shared to Instagram on October 31.
According to Zack, he believed the finale phone call and the DMs that preceded it likely came from a producer.
“This happens in reality TV a lot, where producers will get info and they’ll leak it through like a DM or through like an anonymous Q&A question or something, and it’s to push the storyline forward. It happens in reality TV all the time,” he explained.
Whatever the case, Zack said he can “guarantee” that “Tamra’s absolutely been leaking things for months.”
“She’s been reaching out to podcasters, she’s been telling them not to have Gretchen on their show, not to interview Gretchen because, ‘Just wait. At the finale, Gretchen’s gonna be exposed. There are these homophobic posts, and Gretchen’s been ‘liking’ them.’ I can probably name at least five people that have gotten this info from Tamra over the last several months,” he stated. “She’s absolutely been planting seeds all summer long.”
Zack then criticized Teddi Mellencamp, 44, for dragging Scheana Shay, 40, into the storyline by suggesting she was involved in the passing on of the rumor regarding the supposed drugging and hospitalization of Gretchen.
“She knew exactly what she was doing by throwing Scheana Shay’s name into the mix because the Bravo fans already hate Scheana that it was just a greater adversary for them to direct their heat onto, and they got their pitchforks, and the fans loved it, and they came for Scheana’s neck,” he suspected.
Following the sharing of the post, someone suggested that the voice heard on the finale was that of Slade.
“They all leak stuff to the bloggers. In all the franchises. However the difference with Tamra is when every podcaster or a blogger interviews her she straight up comes out and says what she has to say boldly … We see it in the replays. Why would she ‘leak’ things that she says out right? Even on their Two Ts in a Pod. Gretchen and Slade clearly set this up and that voice sounds like Slade,” they alleged.
But Gretchen denied it, suggesting there is proof to the contrary.
“It’s not Slade [and] all the cast [and] production can verify that,” Gretchen replied.
Another fan said that while they didn’t believe that Gretchen had “liked” the homophobic and anti-abortion rights posts, they didn’t understand how the screenshots could’ve been manufactured.
“If you watch they said they found the original posts and they were not showing Gretchen liking them, I think it gets exposed at the reunion that the [screenshots] had been faked,” someone replied.
And after seeing the second fan’s comment, Gretchen confirmed, “Yep.”
Then, after Scheana reacted to Zack’s video with a series of clapping emojis, someone else asked, “So are bloggers going to be the main topic on every housewives show now?”
“It’s a fabricated post, I didn’t like that … and that is NOT Slade on that phone call,” Gretchen insisted.
Another IG user asked why Tamra was getting heat for “leaking” Gretchen’s supposedly “liked” posts when it was Gretchen who reportedly “liked” them.
“Because as we spoke about this morning, those posts are old. Tamra has known about them for a long time but strategically waited until the finale to use them against Gretchen. Tamra’s circle is surround by MAGA people. But suddenly she takes issue with it, to jab at Gretchen? And then leak it MONTHS before airing?” Zack shared.
Meanwhile, in another video shared on Instagram by Bravo OMG, Gretchen was seen with a Trump hat in a years-old video as she held her daughter, Skylar Gray, now 6.
“Go Trump, go! I got a Trump hat!” Gretchen declared.
Then, after Slade warned her of a Biden hat, she added, “No, burn that one!”
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 19 reunion begins next Thursday, November 6, at 8/7c on Bravo.
VIDEO: See RHOBH Season 15 Trailer! Kyle Seemingly Admits She’s Bisexual as Dorit Meets With Mauricio! Plus Jennifer Accuses Sutton of Being Selfish, Erika & Dorit Feud, Denise Admits She’s “Afraid” of Aaron, & Rachel Zoe and Amanda Frances Join Cast
Kyle Richards seems to confirm that she’s into both men and women in the just-released trailer for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 15.
As Dorit Kemsley, 49, and Mauricio Umansky
, 55, are seen at a restaurant, Erika Jayne, 54, goes public with her new boyfriend, John “Shrek” McPhee, and Denise Richards, 54, admits she’s afraid of Aaron Phypers
“Look, I’m a girls’ girl. But in order to be friends, I want to know the information so that I can also be helpful,” Boz tells Kyle as the clip begins.
“Well, why don’t you ask what you really want to ask: I could go Brad; I could go Angelina,” Kyle replies.
Boz then tells her co-star, “I have to know what you want,” and Kyle says, “Someone who likes sex.”
During another moment, Kyle opens up about her ongoing estrangement from Mauricio.
“You need to go out there and do whatever makes you happy,” Erika tells her.
“I’m trying,” Kyle replies as she’s later seen having a tear wiped away by Mau.
Another relationship in turmoil is that of Dorit and Paul “PK” Kemsley, 58.
“He’s never [texted] me once asking to see the kids,” Dorit tells Mauricio during an outing at a restaurant.
“I’m hearing different stories,” Mau replies.
With her castmates struggling to work through the ends of their marriages, Erika is enjoying the start of her new romance as she makes it “official” with her boyfriend.
“That was a hard launch,” Kyle declares after John is seen on a FaceTime call.
Erika is then seen sitting down with Denise.
“How could you release pictures of your wife naked?” Denise wonders.
“Are you afraid?” Erika replies.
“Yeah,” Denise, whose estranged husband has been accused of abuse, confirms. “Very.”
While Kyle high-fives Dorit in one scene, all isn’t well between them, as they are later seen engaging in a tense moment during dinner with their castmates.
“You’re lying. And you know what doesn’t lie? The cameras,” Kyle declares.
Meanwhile, speaking to Kathy Hilton, 66, Dorit says, “Those days of me sitting there, grinning and bearing it, swallowing it, taking it, those days are f*cking over.”
Kyle and Dorit are also seen with Erika, who appears to be trying to intervene.
“I’m not gonna stop talking,” Erika tells Dorit.
But Dorit isn’t interested in what Erika has to say and storms off, telling her co-stars, “Go f*ck yourselves.”
As Rachel makes her grand entrance into the group, she reminds viewers, “My name’s Rachel Zoe. You may or may not remember me from Bravo because I’ve lived here before.”
She then accuses someone of being “fake” and playing “both sides” before a scene shows her crying about her failed attempt at a “hot girl summer.”
During their cast trip to Florence, Italy, the group is introduced to Amanda, whom Sutton immediately welcomes.
“To Amanda, our new friend,” she announces amid a meal.
“And Rachel’s our new friend, too,” Boz notes.
“She’s been here a minute, though. I’m new-new,” Amanda fires back.
Although Sutton seems to take a liking to Amanda, not everyone else does.
“Something’s off with this girl,” Erika suspects.
And Boz later tells the newbie, “You are not being clear about your life.”
Once back home, during a chat with her partner, Amanda suspects that one of the women is intimidated by her “because I’m young and successful and I’m not financially dependent on a man, and she outsourced her financial well-being to a man and it didn’t go well.”
Elsewhere in the trailer, Rachel confirms her divorce from Rodger Berman to her two sons, Skyler, 14, and Kaius, 11, Boz undergoes surgery and seems to get bad news, and drama erupts between Sutton and Jennifer.
“That’s why Garcelle left: Because it’s always all about Sutton,” Jennifer declares, signaling Garcelle Beauvais, 58, and her March exit from the series.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 15 premieres on Thursday, December 4, at 8/7c on Bravo.
Fire Country's Diane Farr Got Candid About Billy Burke's Exit, And Revealed How He Broke The News To The Cast
We’re five episodes into Fire Country’s fourth season; however, as the show continues to air on the 2025 TV schedule, Vince’s death is still making a huge impact. Billy Burke leaving the show and his character tragically passing were arguably the biggest shakeups we’ve seen on the CBS hit. Now, Diane Farr, who plays his wife Sharon on the show, has opened up about his exit and how he broke the news to the cast.
Following the end of Fire Country’s third season, there were questions about who was staying and who would be leaving due to reports about Stephanie Arcila and Burke exiting the show and the disastrous cliffhanger the finale ended on. And while it seemed logical that Vince would tragically die, it wasn’t confirmed. It wasn’t confirmed to the cast either until their summer break, as Diane Farr told Us Weekly:
I found out over the summer. None of us knew what was happening. Billy, Jeff [Fahey] and I went into the fire and we didn’t have any more information.
So, not only were fans left on a cliffhanger about who would survive the fire that Sharon, Vince and Walter were stuck in, but the cast was too. Sadly, the story didn’t have a happy ending, and that meant bad news had to be broken to the actors as well as the fans.
It turns out, Burke himself was the one to relay that news to the cast. Speaking about the note the Vince actor shared with his co-stars when he learned that he wouldn’t be returning for Season 4, Farr said:
It was very clear that the producers or writers were going to make some kind of change. It was Billy who told us all. He told the cast in a group note saying that he wasn’t coming back — it was pretty devastating. Everyone was sad and I felt like I was coming back in with only half my character because they’re so tied.
This really is a monumental loss, especially for Sharon, so it makes sense why Farr was so emotional about it. She also made it clear that she wanted her character to grieve the loss of Vince “for a really long time.”
Up until the start of Season 4, Fire Country’s cast of regulars had’t changed. While guest stars came and went, the actors who played Bode, Sharon, Vince, Gabriela, Manny, Eve and Jake were always there. However, that seriously changed this year. That was hard for all of them to swallow, it seems, but I’m happy Burke was the one who got to tell them. I’m sure it all meant a lot to everyone involved.
After explaining how she learned about her TV husband’s departure from Fire Country, Farr said she hopes Burke (and Arcila) will come back. While it would be easy to work Gabriela back into the story following her exit in Season 4’s premiere, it will be harder to incorporate the Vince actor back into the story. However, the Sharon actress has ideas, as she said:
I think now we’re always going to have the OG cast — the original seven. The hope for all of it is I would love to see Gabriela and Bode have a more adult version at some point. I would love to see Sharon start to have dreams where she sees Vince. This is the risk we take when we let these amazing actors go out and be free. They may be unavailable [to come back].
Well, I certainly hope all these dreams can come true, too. However, for now, the characters on the show are still very much grieving and dealing with the fallout and consequences of Vince’s death (like the situation with that note).
Also, behind the scenes, Farr did admit that she’s “still worried” about more characters leaving. That’s because the tragic reality of being a firefighter is that everyone’s lives are on the line, and that point was really emphasized by Vince’s passing.
So, now, to see how the story continues, you can watch new episodes of Fire Country on CBS every Friday at 9 p.m. ET, and you can stream new episodes the day after they air with a Paramount+ subscription. Oh, and if you have that subscription, you can always go back and watch old seasons of the show to see Billy Burke in action as Vince Leone.
