Rebecca Minkoff is facing criticism for a pregnancy prank she played on a recent episode of The Real Housewives of New York. In the episode, the 42-year-old fashion designer, along with fellow cast member Erin Lichy, tricked Jenna Lyons, Sai De Silva, Jessel Taank, Brynn Whitfield, and Ubah Hassan into believing she was expecting. After the episode aired, executive producer Andy Cohen agreed that the fake pregnancy plot was not well-received.
“I’m not a fan of a prank, I’ve got to be honest,” the talk show host said, before Lewis added: “I think it’s a bad move. I think it’s self-producing. I think that you lose trust in your audience. I think it’s a bad move. I don’t like pranks.”
Online, fans agreed that the joke wasn’t funny, with some calling it “dumb” and “embarassing” for the show.
“This whole Rebecca Minkoff pregnancy thing being a prank is very dumb,” one viewer wrote on X/Twitter. “But then to frame an entire episode around it (and also tease it in the season’s trailer) as if it was true is honestly just wasting our time.”
Another fan wrote: “We should’ve known this pregnancy rumor was going to be a prank, we’ve already caught editors leaving Brynn and Rebecca Minkoff self-producing in the previous episodes. This is just embarrassing.”
“Wow, somehow Brynn and Erin managed to manufacture drama that is more boring and tired,” a third user noted, while a fourth said: “The ‘prank’ would have been OK if the producers hadn’t framed an entire episode around it AND put it in the previews.”