This morning Real Housewives of New Jersey’s favorite big spender faced The View panel, and it was almost painful to watch. Almost. If it were for that morphine blast of schadenfreude that goes coursing through your veins when you watch this you might actually feel bad for her.
This morning she faced Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, and guest hosts Bryant Gumbel and Marion Cantone. Bryant and Joy were especially inquisitive (and snarky) towards Teresa and wouldn’t accept her vague answers. Early into the conversation Joy straight up asks Teresa if her husband is a slumlord, and after Joy explains what a slumlord is Teresa pretty much says “yes,” and explained that The Economy caused tenants in their four “huge” apartment buildings to lose their jobs and be unable to pay rent. Bryant points out that Joe’s business partner (who is currently suing Joe) told People that Joe was actually receiving rent money, but wasn’t even keeping the utilities on. If is walks like a Slumlord . . .
In fact, in that People article Joe’s partner even says that Joe took the money that he invested in the business venture and used it to buy their massive Xanadu.
Here’s the best parts of the conversation:
Elisabeth Hasselbeck: “On your show we’ve seen you spend $100,000 on your wardrobe, on your home, etc., and then, come to find out . . . you and your husband Joe filed for bankruptcy, and you’re $11 million in debt? ANnd you had no idea?”
Teresa Giudice: “Well, no. There’s two reasons why we filed. The first reason is that we own apartment buildings, and due to the economy people lost their jobs, and then they couldn’t pay their rent. By then not able to make their rent, we couldn’t make our mortgage payments.”
Joy: “Is you husband a slumlord?”
Teresa: “A slumlord?”
Joy: “Yeah, those kinds of tenement buildings where the people are poor, so you hit a recession, he can’t collect his money because they don’t have any money.”
T: “We own four huge apartment buildings in East Orange, New Jersey. Due to their economy, the people lost their jobs and they couldn’t make their rent.”
Bryant: “Your husband’s partner said it wasn’t just that, that he was collecting the rent, but he wasn’t even paying the utility bills, that he let the buildings fall into disrepair.”
T: “My husband’s partner just put the money upfront to buy one or two buildings. That’s it. He just put a quarter of the money upfront. Then he was supposed to step up the plate. My husband renovated these buildings. He put his blood, sweat, and tears into these buildings. I saw that.”
B: “The absence of rent money doesn’t explain the, what is it, $11 million in debt?
T: “It’s all in the buildings!”
B: “$11 million?”
T: “You can’t always believe everything you read. It’s not $11 million. They exaggerate.”
B: “So what is the number?”
T: “I don’t really know the number. You would have to ask my lawyer?”
B: “$10 million?”
E: “Does you husband turn to you, obviously I know a lot of it has come from the business he has created, does he look at you and say ‘If you didn’t go and spend $5,000 on shoes!'”
T: “No. I always live within my means.”
J: “How would you live within your means if you are $11 million in debt? I don’t get that.”
