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Sutton Stracke has addressed Amanda Frances‘ assertion that her former assistant, Avi Gabay, threatened to reveal compromising information about her.
Credit: Instagram
In the latest episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Amanda, 40, claimed that Avi had allegedly mentioned to a friend his intention to divulge secrets. Sutton, 54, responded to Amanda’s allegations, sharing her perspective on the matter, while her fellow cast members also had their say.
“Amanda’s focus on this issue baffles me,” Sutton remarked on the January 15 episode of RHOBH: After Show. “There are so many facets of my life she could be curious about—like my 17-year marriage, my three children, my career, and my experiences growing up in Georgia and New York. These are the things that truly define me.”
In her conversation with Kyle Richards, 57, Amanda reflected on her statement regarding Avi, acknowledging that it might have been uncomfortable for Sutton, especially since they weren’t well-acquainted at that point.
Meanwhile, in her own segment with Kyle Richards, 57, Amanda said that her comment about Avi likely didn’t sit well with Sutton due to the fact that they didn’t know each other very well at that time.
“She didn’t know me. She didn’t know what I was about. She didn’t know if I was being honest; she didn’t know if I’m an honest person. So to her it’s like, ‘Who is this girl and what is she saying?’” Amanda reasoned.
“I think she thought that you were coming in like, being sneaky, but I kept telling her, I can promise you she’s not,” Kyle replied.
Of her decision to bring up the issue to Sutton, Amanda said that while she didn’t like what it “brought out in her,” she felt it was the right thing to be honest, and Kyle and Kathy Hilton, 66, agreed.
“I think she did the right thing in sharing that with [Sutton]. If she hadn’t, then it would be sneaky,” Kathy noted.
But Jennifer Tilly, 67, and Sutton felt otherwise.
“I think she was looking for a reaction,” Jennifer suspected, as Sutton said she “didn’t have to bring it up at all.”
Jennifer then noted that, before it was brought up to the group, Kyle had encouraged Amanda to share the information with Sutton.
“I think that Kyle is smart enough to know that if Amanda brought it to Kyle, Amanda’s got to bring it to me,” Sutton responded.
“I would want to know if my ex-employee was talking like that, and Amanda said she would also want to know,” Kyle stated. “To know that and hear that and withhold that information felt wrong. And by the way, if [Amanda] had not said anything and she had heard that [she] knew that, she could’ve been upset about that, too.”
Erika Jayne, 54, seemed more skeptical of Amanda, asking, “What does she think is gonna be our reaction as women in this group? It’s like, well, [I] definitely don’t want to get close to you.”
“Exactly. You’ll do this to me,” agreed Rachel Zoe, 54.
As for Dorit Kemsley, 49, she said she was being a “girls’ girl” in not asking more questions after hearing what Amanda said about Avi.
“Never mind what happened last year. I felt in that moment she really didn’t want anyone asking questions, and I could’ve. I could’ve because I wasn’t buying the whole, ‘Just, my life had changed and I didn’t need [him],’” she admitted.
“Well, of course, nobody bought that,” Bozoma “Boz” Saint John, 48, replied.
“It was such a pass, and it was, I felt for her. Like, I didn’t like her being in that position,” Dorit continued, with Boz stating that she didn’t “like anybody being surprised by information like that.”
“He will know the time when she has wronged somebody. He will know the times when she was maybe not in her right mind. He will know so much. The amount of like, critical information that he has and is walking around with, that’s terrifying for her if they have ended so sourly that he would be willing to tell other people,” Boz suggested.
Following the dinner, Sutton said she wasn’t 100 percent convinced that Avi said what he was accused of saying.
“I don’t even know if Avi said that. It doesn’t sound like him,” she noted as Kathy said she didn’t “think he would,” and Jennifer agreed that it “[didn’t] sound like Avi.”
“Why would he say that to a perfect stranger, and how does he even know that Amanda has joined our group? Because it wasn’t Amanda. He said [it] to a friend of Amanda’s,” Jennifer shared.
“It doesn’t make sense. It was weird. That’s when I said, ‘Well, what’s her name?’” Sutton recalled.
Regarding whether she felt that Amanda could have made up the story, Sutton said that the friend could have also been behind it before concluding, “I don’t know. I don’t care enough to actually put a lot of thought into it.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 15 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Bravo.