Not one to be overshadowed by cast mate Bethenny Frankel, the mentally unstable Kelly Bensimon is reportedly getting her own reality show as well! Well, sort of…
In a surprisingly coherent interview with Out.com Kelly talks about her lunatic antics in Season 3 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, chalking them up to her aversion to fighting, having to do her job (which is to entertain) and not caring about what her co-stars think or had to say. (Of course all of that is contradicted by the fact that she was the one starting and continuing the fights a lot of the time, and she seemed obsessed with what Bethenny and the others thought about her.)
Here’s some of what Kelly had to say about the most recent season of RHONY:
What’s your take — that this was just a “normal” season for you?
It’s my job to create content and they asked me to be on the show because they wanted me to legitimize the brand and they wanted a real socialite. They wanted a real New Yorker, if you will, on the show. And it was a great opportunity for me because it’s obviously got everything that I love, whether it’s my safe sex initiative or anti-bullying or working on my jewelry line or just having my books be — literally, I mean, you can’t even get any of my books anymore — they are not available. So… it’s been just unbelievable for that and to put my name on the map. Whether or not you watch the show, everybody knows my name so that’s a huge honor and I am really grateful to Bravo for exposing me and exploiting my name like that.It’s created that platform —
Yeah. I don’t really see it as anything else. It’s really entertaining television — it’s really nothing more than that. But it’s my job I get paid to entertain that’s my job on television. Like when I am working for a magazine I get paid to write, I get paid to edit. When I am on television, I get paid to entertain that’s my job. It’s really no more and no less.
Kelly Bensimon at “Dressed to Kilt” charity fashion show April 5, 2010
You say you get paid to entertain. So are those reactions absolutely real or is there some hyperbole to live up to those expectations?
No, my reactions are incredibly authentic, but it’s like being in a bad improv class. I’m responding to something that I wouldn’t necessarily respond to but because I am getting paid I have to respond to it. Is it a normal occurrence to me? I would never engage in fighting. It’s really not my game and I don’t find it interesting and I don’t find it evocative. I mean I find incredibly creative people evocative. I find architects evocative. I find amazing artists evocative. Do I find fighting with someone I don’t know evocative? Not really. Does it make great TV? Absolutely.
So what’s next for Kelly Bensimon? Apparently she is going back to work as some sort of editor and we’re all going to be able to watch her every minute she’s “on the clock!”
And these days you’ve got your hands in a lot of things – the jewelry line, the writing. Can you talk about what’s coming up?
We just finished the third season of The Real Housewives Of New York City and my jewelry line just launched. I am in the process of working on a really, really new project that is confidential and I can’t tell you about, but its going to be very, very exciting. It’s coming out in a couple of weeks and it’s a really big deal for me. I am going back to my roots and going back to being an editor, which is exciting. And that’s the biggest news for the fall. Kelly goes back to work. And I am really excited about exposing myself to the world and what I love, which is art, entertainment, architecture, people that are doing interesting things.…
Maybe that’s what your show could be about?
Because I want my show to be about back-door education! [Laughs]. You know this new program that I am doing? I said there’s only one thing that I want. I only want one thing. I want live stream. So every time I walk into the office, I want to be live. They’re like, “What are you talking about?” I said every time I walk into to the office I wanted to be live — on me in every single meeting. How do I work, how do I do things, how do I get things done? Because people are always asking me, “How do you do so much in a day? How do you get all the stuff done?”
Kelly Bensimon attends the Alice + Olivia Cosmetics launch in NY July 14, 2010
To be clear, you’re talking about people being able to tune in and watch you at any point of the day to see what you are actually doing at work?
Yep, at any point of the day.And that’s what you’re going to be doing? That’s going to happen?
Yep. It’s going to happen.That’s really interesting —
While everyone else is so worried about what they are going to look like, I want people to see me. I want people to see me making really bad mistakes and how I come up with a solution to fix it.
When asked about the logistics of the “show” Kelly explains that she will use her iPhone to live stream herself and that she doesn’t want to do any editing.
I don’t know about you, but an unedited Kelly Getting a Job? sounds ten times more entertaining than Bethenny Getting Married? does! I absolutely want to see Kelly Bensimon “making really bad mistakes” and how she comes “up with a solution to fix it!” I just wish I knew what magazine it is so if I have any stock I can go ahead and sell it now.
(It should be noted that toward the end of the interview Kelly made it very clear how appreciative she is to Bravo for putting her on The Real Housewives of New York, admitting that the exposure has allowed her to do lots of things that nobody would have given a crap about before – like getting a job.)
Read the complete interview at Out.com!
