Former “Real Housewives of New York” star Jill Zarin has been fired from an upcoming reunion series following a racist video rant on social media about Bad Bunny’s halftime performance at Super Bowl LX.
E!’s “The Golden Life” will no longer feature Zarin among its cast of housewives, series producer Blink49 Studios announced in a statement on Tuesday. The series was set to begin filming in the spring and follow Zarin and fellow housewives Kelly Bensimon, Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan in South Florida, according to Deadline. The studio cited her “recent public comments” and said it remained “committed to delivering the series in line with our company standards and values.” Variety broke the news.
A representative for Zarin, who appeared on “RHONY” from 2008 to 2011, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the reality TV star defended herself in a statement to InTouch. Producers “didn’t even give me a chance,” she said.
“I took it down right away,” she said of her video. “People make mistakes. I’m human.”
Following Grammy winner Bad Bunny’s Spanish-language Super Bowl spectacle on Sunday, Zarin took her thoughts to Instagram. Clearly, the historic performance — one that attempted to illuminate and celebrate the Latin community, people and their past — left her feeling triggered.
“It was the worst halftime show ever,” she said in an Instagram rant that has been deleted but was much circulated on social media. In the video, Zarin observed that Sunday’s game celebrated 250 years since the founding of the United States of America and that she “didn’t think it was appropriate to have it in Spanish.”
Zarin decried Bad Bunny’s “inappropriate” dance moves, claiming he was grabbing his groin “every five seconds.” She clarified she doesn’t speak Spanish and said she would have preferred to understand Bad Bunny’s lyrics. She then took issue with the look of the performance.
“To me it looked like a political statement because there were literally no white people in the entire thing,” she added. Perhaps she looked away from the screen when Lady Gaga delivered a salsa-fied take of her song “Die With a Smile”? Or when influencer Alix Earle was partying it up on the field with Cardi B, Pedro Pascal and Karol G.
“I think it was an ICE thing and I just think the NFL sold out,” she doubled down, “and it’s very sad.” Bad Bunny notably called out the federal immigration enforcement branch at the 68th Grammy Awards a week prior as he accepted the prize for album of the year.
Zarin concluded her video by commenting on Lady Gaga’s appearance, claiming the pop star had gotten a facelift and that she needed Google to help identify her. “That was kinda fun in the middle of halftime, at least it gave me something to do ’cause it was so hard to watch,” she said.
Maybe Kid Rock’s pretaped Turning Point USA counterprogramming would have been a better fit.