Stars That Got The Chop From Bravo Shows

Bravo has pretty much cornered the market on a very particular type of reality TV. It's like a continuous train wreck of glamorous rich people who are hell-bent on pretending they're friends with people they can't stand as they have explosive arguments at fancy charity events and dinner parties. Occasionally, someone gets a divorce or throws a glass of wine at someone's weave. Maybe there's a marriage or a handshake over brunch. Lather, rinse, and repeat. Honestly, it's hard to look away.

Unfortunately, the very thing that makes Bravo's programming so intensely captivating is also the very thing that causes the network to have a constantly revolving door. Either a Bravolebrity quits over the toxic drama or is ultimately sacked because things get too out of hand. From The Real Housewives of, well, all of them, to the larger-than-life personalities on low key hits like Flipping Out and Below Deck, these Bravo stars were all fired by the network. Luckily, a firing in Andy Cohen's world is more like an adult time out. It seems like most of them just can't stay away for too long.

Jeff Lewis has been a Bravo staple since 2007, but 11 years after his home renovation series first premiered, the network seemingly let him go. During an appearance on Jenny McCarthy's SiriusXM show, the Flipping Out star admitted that he wasn't on the best terms with Bravo, and his poor press certainly wasn't helping.

"Because of all of the issues that have been going on with me — you know, the pending lawsuits, and then also the radio show has created a lot of problems for me at Bravo because I have talked about behind-the-scenes, I've talked about contracts," he told McCarthy. "And so ... I've had a lot of heat from Bravo ... They have not renewed my contract."

Prior to Flipping Out's likely cancellation, the star had a falling out with his friend and co-star Jenni Pulos, who started as his assistant and eventually became an executive producer on the series. The explosive argument, which led to Pulos' firing, aired during Season 11 in 2018. Following the incident, Pulos allegedly reported Lewis to the network for "abuse and victimization," according to People. Around the same time, Variety reported that Lewis and Flipping Out's production company was being sued by his daughter's surrogate mother. The suit alleged that they filmed her birth without permission and Lewis reportedly humiliated her on national television by making "disgusting" comments about her private parts. The lawsuit was later dropped.

Bravo's ever-growing cast of Real Housewives generally seem to dislike all of their friends — at least enough to flip tables and threaten them with shards of glass. If that's par for the course, it's hard to imagine what Brandi Glanville did to make her castmates hate her enough that she was actually sacked from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Most of us know Glanville as the woman on the very unfortunate end of one of the biggest cheating scandals of the last two decades, but the drama wasn't enough to keep her on RHOBH. Her feuds with Kyle Richards, Lisa Vanderpump, Eileen Davidson, Lisa Rinna and pretty much anyone else with whom she came into contact were well-documented during Season 5, according to People. In fact, a source told the outlet that Glanville was ultimately ousted because she "couldn't get along with anyone, and no one wanted to shoot with her." Andy Cohen later confirmed to Howard Stern that the rest of the cast "genuinely hate[s] her" and "Brandi hates them" back. "The issue with Brandi was that she got isolated to a point over two seasons where ... she was on an island, and she is now in a place where none of them want to be with her," Cohen told the shock jock.

Glanville did return to RHOBH for a Season 9 cameo, and although fans wanted her to permanently return in Season 10, it was to no avail.

Jill Zarin, the longtime Real Housewives of New York troublemaker, was fired from the series ahead of the show's fifth season. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network terminated the star's six-season contract two years early — but Zarin wasn't exactly sure why. In true Real Housewives form, the spunky designer confronted Andy Cohen on live TV about getting the boot (which would probably be a Louboutin, if we had to guess).

"The viewers were the ones that, to us, dictated that they wanted something to change," Cohen told her during a post-firing appearance on Watch What Happens Live. "That last reunion — I think that you would agree — was incredibly toxic for everyone involved, and when it was over, I think the viewers and then the producers and then Bravo all kind of separately said, 'Well, what can we do to change it?'"

Zarin admitted that her firing "felt like a death." She added, "It felt like my funeral. I was heartbroken." But time might heal all wounds. Rumors, which have been perpetuated by Zarin herself, claim the former RHONY star will return to the series in Season 12 following Bethenny Frankel's exit.

Thomas Ravenel's Southern Charm co-stars have admitted that the series is lacking without the former congressman, but sometimes Bravo actually does the right thing regardless of how it will affect the ratings. The network ousted the disgraced politician following two reports of alleged sexual assault (though, of course, he claimed that he was quitting).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first accusation came from a real estate agent named Ashley Perkins, who accused Ravenel of sexually assaulting her mother, Debbie Holloway Perkins, in December 2015 after Debbie and Thomas met on the dating app Tindr. Ravenel's attorney denied the claims, but shortly after, the Southern Charm star had additional sexual assault accusations leveled at him by Dawn Ledwell, the star's former nanny. 

People reported that Ravenel ended up settling with Debbie Holloway Perkins for $200,000, but he was arrested and charged with assault and battery over the Ledwell's allegations. According to Deadline, he "pleaded guilty today to third-degree assault and battery" in September 2019 and was given "a $500 fine and a 30-day suspended jail sentence." In addition, he settled Ledwell's civil suit the following month with an $80,000 charity donation, according to Fox News. Ravenel now reportedly regrets ever agreeing to star on Southern Charm in the first place.

Phaedra Parks was a Real Housewives of Atlanta staple until some salacious rumors ended up driving a ridge so far between her and her fellow cast mates that it could not be mended. According to E! News, the rift centered around Parks' phony story that Kandi Burruss and her husband, Todd Tucker, planned to drug and sexually assault Porsha Williams in their alleged 'sex dungeon.' Honestly, you can't make that stuff up — or can you?

A source who spoke to TMZ claims Parks was "mad as hell" because a producer was the one who told her the salacious lie in the first place (though she didn't exactly have to repeat it). She believes she was fired when she "called them out" for spreading the hot goss. Strangely enough, Andy Cohen didn't see it the same way. He told E! News that Parks was fired because nobody "wanted to have anything to do with her" after the explosive Season 9 reunion in 2017. "How do you shoot a show about a group of friends when no one is speaking to one of the friends?" he said.

Ultimately, Parks' firing might have just been a two year time out. Fellow RHOA castmate NeNe Leakes seemed to be actively campaigning for Parks' return in early 2019, and fans have also started to itch with rumors. 

Jacqueline Laurita didn't just leave The Real Housewives of New Jersey, she left the Garden State behind altogether. The star packed up her belongings (after attempting to sell a few of them on Facebook amidst foreclosure proceedings) and went out West to get back in touch with her Nevada roots.

It's no secret that Laurita clashed with her jailbird co-star Teresa Giudice and Giudice's sister-in-law Melissa Gorga. In fact, Laurita continues to slam Giudice in the name of defending her own sister-in-law, Caroline Manzo, who Giudice alleged turned her in to the feds. Ain't no one calls a Manzo a snitch. It was this very feud that reportedly led to Laurita's firing from the series.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Laurita revealed that she believed the network thought she didn't have an "authentic connection" with "two" cast members from Season 7 (we wonder if those two happen to be a certain set of sister-in-laws). "I think they feel I no longer fit in with the group," she said, adding that the network initially tried to demote her, but she declined because it "didn't feel right" to have to "kind of tryout again" after being with the series for seven years.

Kenya Moore's removal from The Real Housewives of Atlanta didn't have anything to do with the salacious text messaging scandal involving Phaedra Parks' ex-husband Apollo Nira (which she was eventually cleared from). In a rare twist of events, the reality star was allegedly fired for keeping secrets — and here we thought it was physically impossible for a housewife to remain tight-lipped about literally anything. 

According to Radar, the apparent arbiter of all things Real Housewives, Moore was let go after the network found out she was secretly married and refused to put her husband on the show. A source told the tabloid that Moore's firing "was a warning for the returning and new cast" in case anyone else chose to cherry pick their life and hide things from the cameras. 

Moore told People that leaving the show "broke [her] heart," but it looks like her firing wasn't permanent (that or the five-person protest at NBC's headquarters actually worked). Radar reported that the star was brought back as a "friend" in Season 12, which came with a "$1 million pay cut." She's allegedly managed to atone for her previous reality TV sins by opting to air a vow renewal ceremony with her husband. It's almost like Bravo got to film her secret wedding, only everyone cares a whole lot less.

Danielle Staub is known for many great contributions to our society, including her adult video, Teresa Giudice's attempted table flip, 21 engagements (yes, for marriage), and that time Jacqueline Laurita's daughter pulled out a piece of her weave, causing the ladies to get banned from a country club. Unfortunately, this just wasn't enough to keep her on The Real Housewives of New Jersey. 

According to a report by Life & Style (via The Huffington Post), Staub was fired ahead of Season 3, though she did attempt to make it look like she quit. When Entertainment Weekly asked her who made the choice that she was leaving, she didn't exactly deny that she was fired, and claimed her "family" and "loved ones" begged her to leave the show. A long-winded rant is, indeed, good for dancing around the point. Much like a scorned former employee, she also told Us Weekly, "I'm way too good for this. They have used me about as much as I can be used."

On the contrary, Bravo did not use Staub as much as she could be used. The reality star, who was allegedly wanted dead by drug king Pablo Escobar's cartel at one point in time, returned for Season 8, where she had to endure the trauma of watching her 20th fiancé (and now ex-husband) get pushed into a swimming pool.

The Manzo family was arguably the breakout stars of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. It was, honestly, quite baffling to see such voices of reason among a group of people who don't think twice before throwing down at a baptism. Caroline Manzo, the series' resident matriarch, was a breath of fresh air, but eventually — as most level-headed people would probably do — she quit the series. 

"Over the past few years my outlook on the show has changed from something I couldn't wait to show my future grandchildren to something I hope my future grandchildren never see," she wrote in a Bravo blog post. "I've always prided myself on being a good example for my children and my decision to leave is based on advice I've always given them: 'Be true to yourself and be proud of who you are, you are born with a name and you die with a name, don't dirty it up.'" In other words: her co-stars were probably making her look bad by flipping tables, throwing glasses, and as we mentioned before, fist fighting in front of the sacred eyes of the Holy Spirit.

That's not to say the Manzo family left the network entirely. Caroline got her own spin-off called Manzo'd with Children. Unfortunately, Bravo ended up sacking her and her entire family. According to Us Weekly, the spin-off was cancelled after three seasons.

Chef Mila Kolomeitseva wasn't exactly fired by Bravo, but the network went along with Captain Sandy Yawn's ultimate decision. Hey, not everyone is cut out for a life at sea, especially if you're a chef who has a penchant for messing with the food, and no idea how to make pancakes from a boxed mix.

According to People, Kolomeitseva exhibited some head-scratching behavior during her Season 4 run with Below Deck Mediterranean. The chef licked a raw steak (just after recovering from food poisoning). She tried to serve guests canned seafood and nachos made with canned corn and jarred salsa (mind you, the charter guests on comparative yachts pay up to $300,000 per week for said canned corn. Talk about a markup.). Additionally, she reportedly struggled to make pancakes from a box, and anyone who's ever made the Trader Joe's variety knows that you just add some water and stir. It's not surprising that Captain Yawn gave her the ax. 

On the bright side, Kolomeitseva's firing became something of a self-teachable moment for the chef. During the episode, she admitted, "Of course it makes me feel awful. People like me who have big egos sometimes have to be put down to earth a little bit. But it makes me feel like I want to work even harder." Maybe start with learning a pancake recipe?

Top Chef isn't exactly known for its interpersonal drama. Really, the most intense thing that happens is that someone has to craft a dessert out of random items like a quail egg, three spoonfuls of sugar, edible rolling papers and that individual sock you randomly found in the laundry room — sort of. Nonetheless, Season 2 of Top Chef had an incident so severe that principal judge Tom Colicchio wanted to fire the entire group.

According to The Huffington Post, the whole thing started when Marcel Vigneron (above right) asked production if he could get a haircut. They eventually agreed, but only if one of the other contestants cut his hair. This resulted in a drunken plan by Vigneron's fellow contestants, two of whom had shaved their own heads, to try to shave Vigneron's head against his will. Cliff Crooks (above left) ended up being the one who pinned Vigneron to the floor as he frantically yelled for help. He broke free and ended up spending the rest of the night hiding in a bathroom. In short: the chef was physically assaulted under the nose of Bravo's production team.

In a blog post, Colicchio described the scene as "an act of ugly stupidity." In his mind, everyone involved should have gotten the chop, but producers vetoed his call. Instead, Crooks was the only one sent packing since he violated the show's rules regarding "harming or threatening to harm other contestants."

It looks like Bravo's Summer House got a major renovation. In what the Daily Mail called a "Summer House slaughter," the network reportedly fired five of the show's key cast members days before they started filming. This included Stephen McGee, Danielle Olivera, Amit Neuman, and much to the dismay of the Wirkus Circus' dedicated fanbase, twins Lauren and Ashley Wirkus. So, what happened?

A source who spoke to The Daily Mail claimed that Olivera and Neuman "didn't really connect with viewers." Production was apparently "shocked" that McGee was fired but suspected his relationship with the twins might have done him a disservice. As for the Wirkus Circus, apparently the girls "weren't popular with viewers" and were not "likable or aspirational." Clearly, the source is missing the entire point of a show where privileged New York City yuppies rent a mansion in the Hamptons. Do these people even like these people? Their neighbors certainly don't.

Contrary to whatever the British tabloid's "sources" might have said, Us Weekly claimed no one left the series on "bad terms." It seems like the Wirkus twins weren't given the sack entirely, either. They were only downgraded from full-time cast members.