What made Kelly Dodd a great Real Housewives star is also what led to her downfall

Decider

"There was really no choice," says Lea Palmieri. "Kelly Dodd’s time on The Real Housewives of Orange County had to come to an end. If the viewers had their way, that would’ve been the case at least one season ago, but alas, we sat through the Covid season of RHOC as she spread misinformation on her social media at the worst, mocking others at best. As Bravo course corrects by nudging conversations on race and political correctness in every corner of every franchise, it’s clear there is no place for Kelly Dodd, a woman who is going to be who she is at every turn. Except, that’s also what made her a great Housewife. These days, it’s hard to come across a Housewife that isn’t simultaneously editing herself, imagining how their behavior and outfits will read on screen, and sometimes, preemptively coming up with Instagram captions for apologies they know they’ll have to publicly give when the show airs. Kelly didn’t seem to do any of those things. Like her friend Ramona Singer, who set her up with her now-husband, Fox News correspondent Rick Leventhal, Kelly was always Kelly. Now, in 2021, that’s a bit less of a compliment, but just a few years ago, yelling at another woman’s husband that he was a 'twerp' and a 'dork,' well, that was great TV. As Kelly often was! Kelly never seemed to notice when the cameras were on — only when they were off, in which case she turned her own on, which is ultimately what got her in trouble."

ALSO: 

• Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah alleges cops used “deception and trickery” so she would waive Miranda rights when she was arrested for fraud
• Andy Cohen weighs in on The Real Housewives of Orange County shakeup and the recent ABC News documentary on Tom and Erika Jayne Girardi: "I don't think that documentary will affect her future on the show," he said. "I will say the idea that Danielle Staub and Dana Wilkey are the experts in this documentary about Erika is questionable at best. So I kind of realized I wasn't gonna learn anything new from them about Erika."