The drama on Season 12 of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills took a very real and very scary turn in its premiere episode as it focused on main castmate Dorit Kemsley literally the morning after armed robbers had broken into her California home. No one was physically harmed during the incident, but the culprits reportedly made off with several expensive items. The cast rallied around Kemsley, who was visibly shaken by the events, save for one notable exception: Sutton Stracke. And since that time, Erika Jayne has called Stracke out for what she deemed an “insensitive” reaction to the home invasion.
When initially discussing the ordeal with Kyle Richards on the show, Sutton Stracke indeed did not appear to have much sympathy for Dorit Kemsley, going so far as to remark that she herself was “putting out fires” all morning concerning a fashion designer’s travel arrangements to her boutique. And after Richards became uncomfortable, the 50-year-old sarcastically added that she was sorry she didn’t have a gun to her head for her own problems (like how Kemsley did amidst the robbery). Her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills co-star Erika Jayne was understandably none too pleased by it all, saying on the May 19 episode of The Wendy Williams Show:
Sutton was very insensitive to Dorit’s home invasion. And I don’t think that’s okay. I know we’re doing a television show under the guise of entertainment. But here’s the reality: Dorit could have lost her life. Those children could have as well. So don’t tell me that, you know, ‘Oh, well, I just got caught up in it.’ She’s 50, I’m 50, we’re not kids, we know what’s coming out of our mouths. … Crime is real. Crime is real. You have to be sensitive to people who are victims of crime, violent crime.
Both on and off the reality series, Dorit Kemsley has shared several harrowing details about the home invasion. Evidently, the two robbers present in the home had repeatedly threatened her life, forcing Kemsley in turn to beg them not to kill her for the sake of her 5-year-old and 7-year-old, who were sleeping in the next room over. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star in fact revealed how close of a call it actually was that her kids weren’t exposed to the circumstances, given how she had just put them in their own bed right before it all happened.
Erika Jayne wasn’t the only one who considered Sutton Stracke’s reaction to be inconsiderate. Kyle Richards, too, said the same, right to her co-star’s face in the May 19 episode of the reality series. Stracke defended herself at the time, saying that she doesn’t “deal well” with the idea of violent crime. (As if everyone else in the world is just peachy with the topic.) Later, the Bravo alum expressed regret to Page Six that it was actually “insensitive” of her and that she hadn’t been “focused” on her priorities.
Nevertheless, the statement coming from Erika Jayne about Sutton Stracke is a bit ironic in hindsight. Because in the past, Erika Jayne has been accused herself of being insensitive toward the alleged victims of her ex-husband Tom Girardi, who reportedly stole millions of dollars from the likes of widows, plane crash victims and other clients at his law firm with the help of Erika. She denies any wrongdoing on her part there, but her empathy is supposedly an ongoing topic of discussion still in Season 12. Erika Jayne was even heard saying in the trailer that she cares about no one but herself amidst a future argument with co-star Crystal Kung Minkoff about the victims.
On that legal front, the former Broadway star said on The Wendy Williams Show that it is a “long and arduous process” to find resolution. (Currently, she’s still facing several major civil lawsuits alongside her ex.) However, she added that she’s in a “much better place” than last year and that there’s a “light at the end of the tunnel.”
As of this writing, the suspects in Dorit Kemsley’s home invasion have yet to be identified. Kyle Richards has said that reliving the nightmare as episodes release has been rather difficult for her friend, but that Kemsley is still in therapy to deal with her trauma. Viewers can check out Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airing every Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo, and next-day with a Peacock Premium subscription.
