Jill Zarin Is Still Angry With Bravo; ‘They Wanted to Make Me Look Bad’
Jill Zarin spent several seasons starring in The Real Housewives of New York City. The Manhattanite was a reality TV star thanks to the series and Bravo. The network has made many people stars. Still, only some people who have worked for Bravo are happy with how they were treated. Jill Zarin isn’t one of them. In a recent interview, Zarin revealed that she’s still angry at Bravo after the network published allegedly false information about her salary demands.
Jill Zarin is still angry at Bravo
Jill Zarin is years removed from her time with Bravo and The Real Housewives of New York City, but that doesn’t mean time has healed old wounds. Zarin is still angry at the network over a news story that painted her as money-hungry.
In a chat with The Cut, Zarin claimed she was offered a “pittance” for a legacy show that would have featured the original RHONY stars. She tried to negotiate a better salary, but she didn’t go about it traditionally. Zarin told the publication that she wanted the cast to band together for equal pay like the cast of Friends did in the 1990s. It didn’t work out in her favor.
While Zarin seemed fine with stepping away from the potential project, she still takes issue with how Bravo treated her afterward. She said the network published a story claiming she was asking for $1 million per episode, like the cast of Friends. Zarin claimed she was “punished” by the network and was not included in future projects. Zarin insists she did not demand $1 million per episode.
Zarin’s issues with Bravo are well-documented. Despite being one of the original The Real Housewives of New York City cast members, she called the show a “toxic” environment. She cited that toxicity as her reason for stepping back from public life for a while.
How much do cast members actually get paid?
Jill Zarin confirms a pay dispute ended her relationship with the network, but she didn’t share exactly how much they were offering or what she was asking for. While Bravo has never revealed how much The Real Housewives franchise stars are paid, Bethenny Frankel has been open and honest about where she started. According to Cosmopolitan, the podcaster revealed that she was paid less than $10,000 for her first season on the show. Her pay increased as her notoriety rose. She never revealed exactly how much she was making when she left the show. Frankel left Bravo after season 11.
Frankel was quick to note that each cast member has their own contract. There is no set figure. She said stars negotiate individual agreements with the network. Some stars garner better pay based on their star power when entering the series. She said that some cast members make as little as $25,000 a season. Others can make seven figures. Frankel also said cast members can negotiate a per-episode pay or full-season rate.
