Defamation or the Reality TV “Edit”?: Litigation as a Tool for the Court of Public Opinion

In 2002, NBC (now NBC Universal) bought Bravo for $1.25 billion.[1] Then known for its pioneer programming—which brought independent and subtitled foreign films to the US market[2]—the purchase marked the beginning of NBC’s entertainment programming and the acquisition of “one of the most upscale audiences of any cable entertainment network.”[3] Bravo began developing reality television in 2003 with the premiere of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, followed by Project Runway in 2004.[4] Then, in 2005, inspired by the neighbors in his Orange County gated-community, producer Scott Dunlop proposed what would be a mashup of MTV’s Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and ABC’s Desperate Housewives: The Real Housewives of Orange County.[5] Dunlop was sure his neighbors “would air their dirty laundry (dustups, career woes, drug abuse, and the like) in exchange for merely a whiff of screen time.”[6] From this inkling emerged The Real Housewives franchise, which has run casts across ten (soon to be eleven) US cities, licensed twenty-nine overseas shows, and premiered at least twenty Real Housewives-related spinoffs over the past twenty years.[7]

Today, The Real Housewives—which made Peacock $3 million in subscriber revenue in Q3 of 2024[8]—undoubtedly serves as a business tool. For more established women, it is a marketing tool: Jenna Lyons, former Executive Creative Director and President of J. Crew, said sales for her eyelash brand could be directly correlated by time zone to when episodes of The Real Housewives of New York (RHONY) aired,[9] and designer Rebecca Minkoff admitted to joining season fifteen of RHONY to promote her eponymous brand.[10] For those previously unknown, the franchise presents the opportunity for entry into the market: In 2009, Bethenny Frankel (an original cast member of RHONY, which premiered in 2008) launched Skinnygirl Cocktails, a low-calorie bottled margarita, which sold for $100 million to Jim Bean in 2011;[11] Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA) star, Porsha Williams, leveraged her debut season to launch “Go Naked Hair,” a line of wigs, extensions, and false eyelashes;[12] and twenty-four housewives have hosted podcasts as of 2022.[13]

But the chance at success comes with a trade-off. Not only are housewives expected to air their dirty laundry, but they are expected to relinquish control of how it is portrayed, allowing the production team to edit together whatever story they want. Audiences have seen everything, from the dissolution of Lisa Hochstein’s marriage on The Real Housewives of Miami to the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills exposing Taylor Armstrong’s husband’s domestic violence, which led to his suicide.[14] Through it all, housewives have not taken legal action against Bravo for what stories make it to air—that is, until now.

RHOA’s season sixteen premiered March 9th, 2025, welcoming Brit Eady, a "successful business woman and loving wife.”[15] While the season started off like any other, things heated up in episode four when an argument between Eady and Kenya Moore—a longtime fan-favorite—culminated with Eady yelling that she has “whips, [expletive] pistols, everything.”[16] In the following episode, Eady brought flowers to Moore’s event in an attempt to apologize but left after being ignored.[17] Moore, while Eady was leaving, delivered a speech explaining that she had researched Eady.[18]Moore presented this research through a series of photos printed on posters, which were pixelated in post-production so the television audience could not see, with the title “who is this [expletive]?”[19] Moore’s research found that Eady had rhinoplasty surgery and lip filler, and that she was a “trap [expletive] video [expletive].”[20] The audience does not see Moore’s final poster because it is interrupted by a title slide reading, “due to the graphic nature of these photographs, Bravo has chosen not to exhibit them,” but exclamations from fellow housewives are heard—all insinuating the photos are of Eady performing oral sex.[21] The episode ends with another title slide explaining, “Based on Kenya’s behavior, the decision was made to cease filming with her this season.”[22]

Eady continued filming following Moore’s exit from the show, however, it was later discovered that neither attended the reunion, which was filmed on June 5th, 2025.[23] That same day, it was reported that Eady filed a lawsuit against Bravo, NBCUniversal, and two involved production companies (collectively, “Defendants”).[24] Eady’s suit claimed defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false light, respondeat superior, sexual harassment, and hostile work environment.[25] Eady’s claim stems from the incident with Moore, and allegations that Moore “displayed posters containing written[,] false[,] and defamatory statements regarding [Eady] and her occupation[,] as well as an explicit photograph depicting a woman engaged in graphic sexual conduct.”[26] Further, Moore “falsely claimed that the photograph depicted [Eady,]” and “the manner in which the episode was aired falsely yet unmistakably implied” so as well.[27] Eady claims that the Defendants “knew that the photograph did not depict [her] or, at the least, were reckless or grossly negligent in failing to [investigate]. . . .” and that she was not shown the photographs despite numerous requests.[28] As relief, Eady seeks the “immediate removal of the episode from public access[,]” an issued statement of apology from Defendants, and a monetary award—punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.[29]

The Right of Publicity and Reality TV Contracts

The heart of Eady’s claim is, arguably, how RHOA portrayed her. Broadly, public figures are granted the Right of Publicity—a quasi-property right to control their name, likeness, and other recognizable characteristics of their persona.[30] The Right of Publicity “prevents unauthorized commercial use” of these characteristics, granting individuals “the exclusive right to license the use of their identity for commercial promotion.”[31] In White v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Vanna White—long-time television personality and co-host of Wheel of Fortune—sued Samsung over a series of advertisements.[32] One advertisement for Samsung video-cassette recorders, captioned “Longest-running game show. 2012 A.D.,” featured a robotic White on a set reminiscent of Wheel of Fortune.[33] Because the robot was modeled after—and the advertisement made reference to—White without her permission, she prevailed in the suit.[34]

The right of publicity seems particularly well-suited for traditional media, where the person is disconnected from their work persona. However, in the creator economy—where people are famous for and make their livings off of being television or social media personalities—the line between person and persona is virtually nonexistent. This makes the right of publicity more nuanced. This is especially true of reality television stars. Typically, an actor signs a fixed duration contract that includes negotiable terms such as exclusivity, back-end payment, and merchandising.[35] By contrast, a reality television participant signs away their likeness in perpetuity in exchange for an episodic rate.[36]

Here, Bravo and the production companies present a take-it-or-leave-it offer, and because few Real Housewives participants have meaningful bargaining power, the resulting agreement functions as an adhesion contract.[37]Participating housewives are giving up much more than rights to their likeness in perpetuity: They agree to give Bravo a percentage of any future earnings, seemingly because these earnings are a direct result of the platform Bravo has provided them.[38] Further, by agreeing to being filmed for the show, participants are essentially agreeing to being filmed and edited in furtherance of the producers’ storylines; this includes the possibility that a scene/storyline is fabricated through “Frankenbiting,” or the process of editing together various soundbites to create a conversation that may not have actually happened.[39]

Thus, by giving producers the right to control (or even fabricate) characteristics of their personas, Real Housewives participants effectively relinquish their right to publicity. Surely, this air-tight arrangement protects networks and production companies from scorned participants and legal recourse…

Claims of Defamation

Defamation Claims are brought because a statement by one injures another’s reputation.[40] Fortunately, Contract terms that bar claims of defamation are prohibited as a matter of policy under the First Amendment.[41] Per Tort law, a statement is defamatory if it tends “to harm the reputation of another as to lower him in the estimation of the community or to deter third persons from associating or dealing with him.”[42] However, the standard for meeting the elements of defamation are higher if the plaintiff is a public figure: The New York Court of Appeals affirmed, in Huggins v. Moore, that a public figure must prove “actual malice,” meaning that the allegedly defamatory statement was made “with either knowledge that it was false or reckless disregard for the truth.”[43]

But does Eady qualify as a public figure when, at the time of the RHOA incident, she had yet to appear on television or be announced as joining the cast? The law accounts for this nuance with the concept of “limited-purpose public figures.” A limited-purpose public figure is someone that “voluntarily injects himself or is drawn into a particular public controversy and thereby becomes a public figure for a limited range of issues.”[44] Such individuals “may fairly be considered public figures only where the alleged defamation relates to the publicity they sought,”[45] so, in such cases, defendants must meet the actual malice standard.[46]

Eady reasonably qualifies as a limited-purpose public figure. She voluntarily joined (“injected” herself into) the RHOA season sixteen cast, likely knowledgeable that the show is full of controversy (as any Bravo show is known to be) and with the intent to grow her own platform. By this standard Eady can be considered a public figure with regards to all-things RHOA.

Is This Likely to Succeed?

Since Eady qualifies as a limited-purpose public figure, she will have to show Defendants had actual malice; that is, that either Defendants had knowledge that the woman Moore showed engaging in sexually explicit acts was not Eady, or Defendants had reckless disregard for the truth when choosing to air the RHOA episode in question. Eady’s lawsuit names four defendants: Truly Original, LLC (RHOA’s production company); Bravo Media LLC (the network and parent company of the Real Housewives franchise); NBCUniversal Media, LLC (Bravo’s parent company); and Endemol Shine North America (Truly Original’s parent company).[47] Beyond field producers and editors, there are likely hundreds of eyes who review each episode prior to air; while producers are focused on telling the most entertaining story, studio executives and legal counsel work to mitigate any legal risks and potential lawsuits that could arise.[48] One would think this large team of people would confirm the woman depicted is, in fact, Eady before allowing the episode to be aired. Considering the levels of clearance each episode must pass, coupled with the fact that Eady willingly signed on to participate in RHOA after seeing fifteen seasons of controversy, makes it difficult to prove Defendants had any actual malice in airing the episode.

So Why File the Claim?

Arguably, to garner public favor. Filming for RHOA season sixteen commenced in May 2024,[49] and lasted approximately three-and-a-half months.[50] Episode five, during which the incident between Moore and Eady occurred, aired on April 6th, 2025.[51] Eady filed her claim on June 5th, 2025, the same day the season sixteen reunion was filmed.[52] In the interim, everything with Eady seemed to be business as usual: on April 13th, 2025, she appeared on Watch What Happens Live, Bravo’s late-night show, to address the incident;[53] and, on April 14th, 2025, she sat for an interview with E! News, explaining it was shocking that Moore would want to “degrade [her] and shame [her],” but that she was excited for the remainder of the season.[54] She even posted on Instagram ahead of the premiere for episode twelve, to tease it would show her "previewing the pre-launch of [her] new shapewear & lounge line Bare and Naked.”[55] On May 25th, 2025, the day episode twelve premiered, “Bare and Naked” launched its Instagram account.[56] This timing implies that Eady was developing “Bare and Naked” when she joined the cast of RHOA, and the promotional rollout demonstrates a plan to use the show as the primary marketing tool to launch the business and garner customers—as many housewives have previously done.[57]

Eady, like most housewives, had many motivations to join RHOA. With one season of RHOA under her belt, she had the opportunity to join the creator economy and make her living as a public figure or “influencer.” This, and similar suits, can be effective attempts at reshaping narratives; sometimes, these suits are less about the alleged conduct than they are about ensuring continued media coverage, power, and control.[58] When Eady’s public perception and new business venture did not perform as well as she had hoped, she likely decided to pursue litigation as a way to mitigate the harm she was experiencing.

[1] Agnes Poirier, NBC buys Bravo for $1.25 billion, Screen Daily (Nov. 5, 2002), https://www.screendaily.com/nbc-buys-bravo-for-125-billion/4011148.article.

[2] Id.

[3] NBC Acquires Bravo from Cablevision, MediaPost (Nov. 4, 2022), https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/7444/nbc-acquires-bravo-from-cablevision.html.

[4] Emily Kirkpatrick, Everything is Bravo: How the cable network’s brand of reality TV became a template for real life, SSENSE (May 7, 2024), https://www.ssense.com/en-us/editorial/culture/bravo-network-american-culture-real-housewives.

[5] Tanner Stransky, Inside ‘The Real Housewives’, Ent. Wkly. (Mar. 27, 2009), https://ew.com/article/2009/03/27/inside-real-housewives/.

[6] Id.

[7] Laura Martin, ‘I’ve always likened it to Andy Warhol’s The Factory’: The surprising depths of the Real Housewives franchise, BBC (Jan. 2, 2025), https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20241231-the-surprising-depths-of-the-real-housewives-franchise; Peacock, https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/home/bravo-a-z.

[8] Christofer Hamilton, The ‘Real Housewives’ Franchise Has Made Peacock Nearly $300 Million, TheWrap (Feb. 12, 2025), https://www.thewrap.com/real-housewives-streaming-value-peacock-bravo/.

[9] Matthew Schneier, This Is What a Real Housewife Looks Like: Can Jenna Lyons’s reality-TV turn reinvent her as a beauty mogul without trashing her reputation?, The Cut (Sept. 12, 2023), https://www.thecut.com/article/jenna-lyons-rhony-profile.html.

[10] Christine Lagorio-Chafkin, Rebecca Minkoff Double Down, Says ‘Real Housewives’ Is Good for Business, Inc. (Oct. 21, 2024), https://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/rebecca-minkoff-doubles-down-says-real-housewives-is-good-for-business/90991913.

[11] Jessica Dickler, For ‘Real Housewives,’ it’s all about the right deals, CNBC (Jun. 26, 2025), https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/26/for-real-housewives-the-money-is-in-the-merchandise.html.

[12] Atlien, Wanna See Porsha Stewart Naked?? [PHOTOS], Straight from the A (Aug. 22, 2023), https://straightfromthea.com/2013/08/22/porsha-stewart-williams-naked-hair-weave/.

[13] Dave Quinn, All the ‘Real Housewives’ Stars Who Have Gotten Into the Podcast Game, PEOPLE (Aug. 11, 2022), https://people.com/tv/real-housewives-stars-with-podcasts/.

[14] Jennifer O’Brien, The Most Gripping Real Housewives Storylines of All Time, Reality Tea (Sept. 11, 2024), https://www.realitytea.com/2024/09/11/most-gripping-real-housewives-storylines/.

[15] Jocelyn Vena, Who is RHOA Cast Member Brit Eady? Meet the Season 16 ‘Wife (VIDEO), Bravo (Jan. 30, 2025), https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/who-is-rhoa-season-16-cast-member-brit-eady-career-family-details.

[16] The Real Housewives of Atlanta: The Vault (Peacock television broadcast Mar. 30, 2025).

[17] The Real Housewives of Atlanta: About Last Night (Peacock television broadcast Apr. 6, 2025).

[18] Id.

[19] Id.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Armando Tinoco, ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ Season 16 Reunion Photos: Phaedra Parks, Porsha Williams & All The Outfits From The Bravo Special, Deadline (June 25, 2025), https://deadline.com/gallery/the-real-housewives-of-atlanta-season-16-reunion-photos-bravo/.

[24] Liza Esquibias, Brit Eady Files $20 Million Lawsuit Against Bravo Alleging Sexual Harassment and Defamation Over Explicit Photo Scandal, PEOPLE (June 6, 2025), https://people.com/brit-eady-files-20-million-lawsuit-against-bravo-alleging-sexual-harassment-11749853.

[25] Brittany Eady v. TRULY ORIGINAL, LLC, et al, Case No. 0157248-2025, 2025 WL 1726580 (N.Y.Supp. June 5, 2025).

[26] Id.

[27] Id.

[28] Id.

[29] Id.

[30] Publicity, WEX, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/publicity.

[31] Id.

[32] White v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc., 971 F.2d 1395 (9th Cir. 1992), as amended (Aug. 19, 1992)

[33] Id.

[34] Id. at 1402.

[35] Hayden Field, An Actor’s Guide to Contracts, Backstage (Feb. 15, 2024), https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/read-first-contract-1570/.

[36] Mariah Espada, Why It’s So Hard for Reality Stars to Get Protection From Exploitation, TIME (Sept. 18, 2023), https://time.com/6314118/reality-tv-unions-protection/.

[37] Adhesion Contracts (Contract of Adhesion), WEX, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/adhesion_contract_(contract_of_adhesion) (last updated December 2021).

[38] Emily Rella, ‘The Bethenny Clause’: How Bethenny Frankel’s Early Contract Negotiations Changed the Course of Her Life For the Better–But Not For the Reality Stars That Came After, Entrepreneur (Apr. 11, 2023), https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/how-bethenny-frankels-rhony-deal-changed-tv-contracts/449494 (Now colloquially known as the “Bethenny Clause,” since Bethenny Frankel had the foresight to remove this from her season one contract before joining RHONY—something she probably had the bargaining power to do in 2008 as The Real Housewives was at the beginning of its life).

[39] Noor Brara, “They Murdered Me”: Reality TV Stars Push Back at Producers’ Cheapest Trick, Vanity Fair (July 8, 2021), https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/07/they-murdered-me-reality-tv-stars-push-back-at-producers-cheapest-trick?srsltid=AfmBOoqG0XYIdNVPEcg54jtz5ST6bX6xUTY12tSpdJZUgD2wCk4i1t9x.

[40] Defamation, WEX, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/defamation (last reviewed June 2023).

[41] New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 269 (1964).

[42] Restatement (Second) of Torts § 559 (1977).

[43] Huggins v. Moore, 94 N.Y.2d 296, 301 (1999).

[44] Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 351 (1974).

[45] Gottwald v. Sebert, 40 N.Y.3d 240, 251 (2023).

[46] Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323.

[47] Eady Complaint, supra note 25.

[48] Nancy E. Wolff, Pre-Broadcast Review, Fair Use & Clearance, CDAS (Oct. 13, 2023), https://cdas.com/expertise/pre-broadcast-review-fair-use-and-clearance/.

[49] Dave Quinn, The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 16 Trailer Introduces ‘a Whole New ATL’ with a Rebooted Cast Led by Returning Faves, PEOPLE (Jan. 30, 2025), https://people.com/real-housewives-of-atlanta-season-16-trailer-8783092.

[50] Jessica Butler, This Is What It’s Actually Like Filming The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Bravo (Oct, 30, 2019), https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/real-housewives-of-new-jersey-behind-the-scenes-secrets-spoilers.

[51] The Real Housewives of Atlanta Episode list, IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1252370/episodes/?season=16.

[52] Esquibias, supra note 23; Tinoco, supra note 22.

[53] Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Brit Eady Reacts to Kenya Moore’s Hair Spa Event | WWHL, YouTube (Apr. 13, 2025), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6GBE4btwNU (Eady did not express any hesitation/confusion at the images but commented how it was a pointed attack by Moore).

[54] Where RHOA Star Brit Eady Stands With Her Castmates (Exclusive), E! News, https://www.eonline.com/videos/2421439043520/where-rhoa-star-brit-eady-stands-with-her-castmates-exclusive.

[55] IMDb, supra note 50; Brittany Eady (@briteady), Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/DKAf-duOvFa/?hl=en&img_index=1 (on filed with the Communications and Entertainment UC Law SF Journal).

[56] Brittany Eady (@briteady), Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/DKF5sSPOrpE/?hl=en (on file with the Communications and Entertainment UC Law SF Journal).

[57] Schneier, supra note 10; Lagorio-Chafkin, supra note 11; Dickler supra note 12; Atlien, supra note 13; Quinn, supra note 14.

[58] Sara Shiffman, Is that Real? How Celebrities Use Lawsuits to Shape a Media Narrative, CBA’s @theBar - The Chi. Bar Assoc. (Mar. 25, 2025), https://cbaatthebar.chicagobar.org/2025/03/25/is-that-real-how-celebrities-use-lawsuits-to-shape-a-media-narrative/.