Share and Follow
MTV’s The Real Friends of WeHo has been described by the network as “an unfiltered and honest look at a select group of friends living, loving and pursuing their passions in the West Hollywood community,”
The MTV show follows a group of LGBTQ+ celebrities and entrepreneurs as they navigate their personal lives and careers in West Hollywood. The show follows the lives of Brad Goreski, choreographer Todrick Hall, The Amazing Race’s Jaymes Vaughan, actor Curtis Hamilton, entrepreneur Dorion Renaud and influencer Joey Zaurig.
“West Hollywood is like the epicenter of the gay world,” celebrity stylist Brad Goreski and star of the show explains. “It’s like six degrees of West Hollywood. Like, I might not know exactly who the people are, but I know people who know people who know people.”
But, like all reality TV stars, The Real Friends of WeHo has behind-the-scenes drama and gossip.
8 Brad Goreski Was Advised Not To Participate
Brad Goreski revealed to Us that he was advised not to participate in the MTV show before filming began because of Todrick Hall’s involvement.
Hall has made headlines for various controversies over the year. Todrick is rumored to have not paid his dancers and that he owes $100,000 in unpaid rent for a house he supposedly owned.
The YouTuber, choreographer and performer made headlines in early 2022 after receiving backlash from how he treated Celebrity Big Brother contestants when he appeared on season 3.
Despite Hall’s many controversies, Goreski was glad to get to know his costar. “I was very surprised at how candid he was about everything,” he explained. “We talked for two hours, he got it all out. I asked him everything. And I really appreciated that.”
7 The Real Friends Of WeHo Stars Went To Housewives For Advice
When Brad Goreski was preparing to join reality TV, he originally appeared with Rachel Zoe, he asked his longtime friend Lisa Rinna to share some advice.
The former soap actress appeared on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for eight seasons before announcing her exit recently.
“She basically just said to me, ‘Have fun with it. Be authentic, be genuine,’” he revealed on Thursday. “She was like, ‘If anything comes up, you’ve got my number.’”
Joey Zaurig also went to housewives for advice for his first time on reality TV. “I think the biggest piece of advice was just like, be yourself. And don’t go on trying to be good for TV, don’t go on trying to create stuff, be yourself. And, you know, the worst part was just like, you know, bringing up everything because I feel like I am… very honest. And I’m very protective over my friendships,” he explained.
6 How Did Todrick Hall Cope With Criticism Over Real Friends Of WeHo?
When the cast was announced, Todrick Hall’s involvement was met with criticism. Todrick is used to it.
“A wise drag queen I once met said that there are three sides to every story, your side, my side, and the receipts,” he told PRIDE.
“I have learned in my years of being on social media, that if people are invested in disliking you, they will find a way to justify that. So I’m not going into it with any hopes of doing anything, I’ve had to really get a great relationship with my truth and understand the reality and nuance of being who I am.”
Although he accepts it, Hall is still frustrated by contradictions that can appear with queer audiences.“We are a very peculiar culture, us LGBTQ+ people. If you see if there has been any hate about the show, a lot of it is predominantly from people who are within our own community,” he says.
“I feel like oftentimes, we scream and scream for representation and diversity. And then when it comes, if it’s not the exact box that we want it in, we shit on it… and that’s a very disappointing truth about our community. So I don’t have any hopes for it. I just know that I spoke my truth. And that is all I can really control.”
5 Dorión Renaud Calls Out Real Friend Of WeHo’s Lies & Manipulations
Skincare brand owner Dorion Renaud has called out the show’s production team for misleading him. He has also taken to Twitter to let people know he has never met his co-stars before. He took to his Instagram Stories recently where he wrote, “The Fake Friends of WEHO. And I barely know most of these people. Btw I live in The Valley.”
“I was approached back in March of 2021,” said Renaud. “It was pitched to me as The A-List: Los Angeles, it was supposed to be a reboot of the series The A-List: New York. I was told it was going to be a docuseries style that followed me working on my brand and showing parts of my personal life.” The A-List: New York aired from 2010 to 2011 and followed NYC’s “gay elite.”
Read Related Also: Pregnant ‘DWTS’ pro Witney Carson reveals second baby’s sex
“I was told the show would be on the streaming service Paramount+,” Renaud explained. “I initially said no several times, but finally signed my contract at the last minute.”
He also felt dupped about the casting process. “Aside from Curtis [Hamilton] who I’ve been friends with for a few years, I had no idea who was on the show until filming. I was home filming stuff with [his business] Buttah for 2 weeks before I even met the cast.”
4 Actor Chris Salvatore Was Allegedly Fired From The Real Friends Of WeHo
Eating Out actor Chris Salvatore took to Twitter and implied that he’d been fired from the MTV show, tweeting, “Last year, 3 gays from a certain reality show refused to film with me for having an OF so I was fired by production after filming for only a week. That’s about all I can say… for now.”
While didn’t specify The Real Friends of WeHo by name, comments on his tweet indicate that it was this show he was talking about.
Salvatore later Tweeted, “Literally never worked with more awful people,” as well as, “But I will leave you with this. The one that called me to apologize… err I mean further criticize and gaslight also had sent me his nudes a few years back.”
3 Todrick Hall Responded To Real Friends Of WeHo Criticism
The Real Friends of WeHo has not been met with positivity. Drag Race fans were angry for it sitting between the main show and Untucked. Critics were also less than complimentary about the reality show.
Todrick wasn’t happy about the “insane influx of hate” he’d received and expressed frustration that criticism of the show was mainly coming from the LGBTQ+ community.
“When our LGBTQ+ show was announced, you’d think any pushback would’ve come from the church or conservatives upset with three hours of queer programming,” he wrote in a lengthy noted posted on Instagram. “But a closer look would show you that the call was coming from inside the house.”
Mainly members of the LGBTQ+ community have been unhappy with this note, feeling that the star is out of touch with the community.
“What Todrick Hall doesn’t understand, is Real Friends of WeHo isn’t LGBTQ+ at all. There’s not one lesbian or trans person on the cast,” one person wrote.
2 Dorion Renaud Admits Real Friends Of WeHo Cast Left In The Dark
The Buttah CEO has asked audiences to give the cast some grace because they were all left in the dark, and that “everything in regards to scheduling” was out of their control.
“It’s crazy we are getting no support,” he revealed to Queerty. “There are people saying the most negative stuff online, some have gotten death threats and we aren’t getting any support from the network or production company. It’s not the cast fault that we ended up on MTV. I would not have signed on to this show if I knew about the name change, the theme of the show changing and the network change. I don’t feel comfortable representing a city/community that I’m not a part of.”
Renaud understands the hate for his new show. In spite of the controversies, he maintains he still hopes for the best for his colleagues: “Although I may not have worked a lot with the cast, I want to see everyone succeed.”
1 Curtis Hamilton Explains His Decision To Come Out On The Real Friends Of WeHo
Actor Curtis Hamilton took the big decision to come out on the new MTV show.
“I was super scared [to come out],” the actor told Fox. “I hadn’t told people in close proximity in my life [about his sexuality]. One of my best friends found out on Twitter and was pissed. He just felt so bad that I didn’t tell him, but that’s just the life I’ve been living. For me to go on a reality show and open up to the world with something I’ve just been telling the people that know me the most about, it was really scary. But I just felt it was time. I’m still scared.”
“I always told my management, ‘I want to be an advocate, so hopefully I can get this big job, and then I’ll start to speak,’” he added.
Hamilton hopes that his coming out will inspire others and will provide further representation for Black gay men on TV.
He loves RuPaul’s Drag Race and the other queer shows, but is hopeful that his presence on this reality TV show will help more people feel seen.
“This ain’t reality TV to me, this is real. So if you came out here trying to be a caricature of yourself, leave me alone,” he says.
