Chef Ryan Trolls Bravo for Paying ‘Convicts’ Like Jen Shah From ‘RHOSLC’ – but Not ‘Below Deck’ Crew
Chef Ryan McKeown from Below Deck Down Under slammed Bravo for paying Housewives embroiled in legal scandals like Jen Shah from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City – but the Below Deck crew was left off the payroll.
Days after the Shah drama erupted at BravoCon, McKeown tweeted that at least three Housewives were involved in suspicious activity but still got paid.
Chef Ryan drags Bravo and Jen Shah from ‘RHOSLC’ after BravoCon
McKeown, who joked he would attend BravoCon (he didn’t) tweeted, “Why does BravoTV pay a bunch of convicts like the #RHONJ #RHOSLC #RHOBH but not the cast of #BelowDeckDownUnder #BelowDeck #belowdecksailing?” he wrote. Then he called out specific former and current cast members. “LisaVanderpump steals from staff, TheRealJenShah steals from the elderly, Teresa_Giudice fraudster.”
Teresa Giudice from The Real Housewives of New Jersey and her ex-husband were convicted of fraud and they both served prison sentences. Lisa Vanderpump from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was accused of employee wage discrepancies. And Shah recently pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud in association with a telemarking scam.
‘Below Deck’ yachties don’t get paid like Bravo’s ‘Housewives’
Other Below Deck yachties have addressed how they aren’t paid an additional salary to appear on the show. They earn their normal wages and tips, which often shakes out to thousands of dollars, but they don’t come close to Housewives money.
Former Below Deck first officer Eddie Lucas said being in yachting is a decent living. But it doesn’t compare to the type of salaries Housewives make. “The yachting industry that I did gave me more of a foundation to be able to reach those goals, but I still have student loans to pay off,” Lucas told The New York Post when talked about his first home purchase.
“There is somebody monetizing off of the show, but it’s definitely not us,” Lucas claimed. “Below Deck — regardless of it being the most popular show on Bravo — we are the lowest-paid cast members.”
He added that it was “frustrating” to see other reality personalities making bank when yachties go through special training and have to secure specific licenses for their jobs. “While we do get paid better than a normal yachtie, of course, we are still not getting paid what people like the Housewives are making, which is a little frustrating, because they’re not really working — they’re just going out to dinner and fighting,” he said.
Jen Shah disputes the assertion she crashed BravoCon
Most new Housewives make about $60,000 for their first season. But their salaries increase through the years, with a few cast members who made seven figures. So McKeown continued to hammer away at Shah, calling her a “crook” on Twitter when she fought against accusations that she was uninvited from BravoCon and had tried to crash events during the weekend. Shah’s BravoCon invitation was rescinded after she pleaded guilty, executive producer Andy Cohen said at BravoCon.
“Once we wrapped [filming] she pled guilty, I think that was kind of, unfortunately, the end of, you know, the engagement there,” Cohen said. But Shah still came to BravoCon.
Tamra Judge from The Real Housewives of Orange County said Shah showed up at her hotel room and crashed her small gathering. Shah even used Judge’s glam team and said she was going to crash Watch What Happens Live. Later Shah tweeted that she was paid to attend BravoCon and she was the party.
