‘RHOBH’: Erika Jayne Is ‘Trying to Be Human’ – Former Hollywood Publicist Walks Back Shade [Exclusive]
Former Hollywood publicist Amir Yass went viral in 2020 with his story about Erika Jayne’s extreme diva behavior during a book tour.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star snarked at Yass when he stepped in to work the event for a friend. She then later complained to Yass’s boss about him. He was eventually fired.
Yass shared the story on TikTok and in an interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet as news broke about Jayne’s divorce from Tom Girardi, followed by the string of bizarre legal events tied to the couple.
Years later, Yass’s opinion of Jayne has softened. “Maybe she was having a really bad day when she came for me,” Yass said in a new interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “But listen, she did what she did. And I talked about it and it was my truth. And I’m moving on.”
‘RHOBH’ Season 12 paints Erika Jayne in a new light
Yass admitted that seeing Jayne drunk on the yacht and a lot less icy on RHOBH Season 12 was a big change. “But just seeing her be a little bit less, ‘We’re good. We’re good.’ You know, so aggressive. It was refreshing,” Yass said. “She was having fun. And, you know, she’s trying to be human with Sutton [Stracke]. I think she’s trying.”
“And listen, she has a lot of trauma,” he continued. “Her mom is very intense, very aggressive. So I know that she’s had a tough time. And I’m like such a softie. I had that publicist side and that kind of aggressive social media persona, but generally I’m very soft, like I’m like a marshmallow. So let bygones be bygones. I honestly have no ill will towards her at all.”
Amir Yass thinks Erika Jayne has been dragged enough
Last season Jayne was dragged harder than anything Yass could have said about his encounter with her. Plus she continues to face new allegations including being unable to pay taxes and her refusal to turn over diamond earrings she received from her ex-husband that are worth millions.
Yass thinks enough is enough. “If the roles were reversed and she was the one [who was suspected of committing the crimes]. Would they treat her this way?” he wondered. “I don’t think so. The patriarchy is still alive and well in this country. Men are still running the show.” Yass thinks Girardi is getting off much easier because he’s a man and Jayne’s bearing the brunt of the backlash.
“But something about a woman like how dare her, she’s a mother, she’s maternal,” he said. “Even if she did take the money, she was in a system where he was taking a hell of a lot more money. And just because we’re saying now he has Alzheimer’s, which I don’t believe. That’s just an excuse. He’s a lawyer. It’s a very smart thing. If you say you’re incompetent, they can’t take your money, they can’t come for you. And there was a time I kind of thought she was maybe colluding with him, but her life has imploded so much that I’m like, would she do this? I don’t I really don’t think so.”
‘RHOBH’ and every ‘Housewives’ series needs a villain
Yass said every Housewives series needs a villain and Jayne played the part well. “You have Teresa [Giudice] on [The Real Housewives of] New Jersey,” he pointed out. “We need that person because otherwise, it tends to be boring if it’s Kumbaya. And so she’s kind of a contentious one. And she plays that part really well. Whether it’s a part, whether she really is evil, I don’t really know. What I know is that like there were glimpses of what I saw was a very entitled person.”
“And remember when I worked with her, she had all the money,” he said. “She was spending $500,000 on glam. She was living the life. But even for her, I understood really genuinely when she said, for a lot of people, it’s like, why are you spending this money? But for her fashion makeup, it’s an art. It’s like her role.”
Yass added, “People spend their money differently. So I think we just need to stop judging. But again, watching Housewives part of the fun is to judge.”
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