Spoilers ahead for the Season 11 premiere of Real Housewives of New Jersey.
The Season 11 opener of Real Housewives of New Jersey on Wednesday night came out swinging. It's the same old familiar story of a birthday party that spirals into a season-long fight because of alcohol and rumors. A war of words between castmates Jackie Goldschneider and Teresa Giudice inevitably triggered a major online backlash.
Real Housewives of New Jersey's Jackie Goldschneider is facing harsh criticism for saying Teresa Giudice's daughter Gia, 20, “snorts coke in the bathroom at parties” in the Season 11 premiere. Goldschneider, for her part, saw it only as a way to teach Giudice (who publicly accused Goldschneider's husband of cheating on her at his birthday party) the lesson of “an eye for an eye” when it comes to false rumors. Fans and colleagues of the show have weighed in that Goldschneider went too far to prove a point and that children should be strictly off limits.
Even Dorinda Medley, an ex-Real Housewives of New York City member, addressed the pair in a tweet. The fellow Bravo reality star called Jackie Goldschneider “the lowest of the lowest” for her comments. And most of the fans and fellow Real Housewives don't disagree.
Us Weekly recently spoke with some of the other Real Housewives of New Jersey cast about Jackie Goldschneider and Teresa Giudice's fight. For the most part, the Housewives think Jackie Goldschneider went too far. Jennifer Aydin, a recent member of the crew, weighed in that Goldschneider had it coming, saying,
First of all, she didn’t even say like, ‘How would you feel if I had said [this about Gia]?’ It wasn’t even articulated in that way. It was a statement. And even though I know what her intention was, saying that about someone’s child —an innocent child that really has nothing to do with this No. 1 — [and] No. 2, let’s not forget that Jackie came for Teresa’s husband on more than one occasion.
Fellow Real Housewives of New Jersey castmate Margaret Josephs had a slightly more sympathetic view of the Goldschneider-Giudice fight. She revealed that, though Goldschneider claims it was an analogy, Giudice at the time “didn't realize it wasn't an analogy.” She continued,
I think when anybody brings up your child, you automatically go on autopilot. I understand why [Jackie] was just like, ‘Who else was I going to bring up?’…Obviously, in hindsight, it wasn’t the best analogy and you can’t really bring up people’s children. Jackie’s an attorney and she argues like an attorney and it just went South.
Regardless of who started the fight or who was truly in the wrong, the season promos clearly indicate the Jackie Goldschneider-Teresa Giudice fight will be at the forefront of this Real Housewives of New Jersey season (among a few other fights about cheating rumors). Any future Housewives looking to join the franchise can study this fight for one of two things: how to not break The Cardinal Rule or how to break it and have the biggest storyline of the season.
