Crystal Kung Minkoff revealed she was warned about Kyle Richards when she joined the cast of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” in 2021.
During an October 2024 appearance on “The Viall Files” podcast, the former RHOBH star said it was made clear to her that Richards ruled the Bravo reality show. “When I started the show, I was told by the girls, ‘This is Kyle’s show,’” she said. “They let you know.”
This is not the first time a former cast member has made such a comment about Richards, who is the only OG cast member who has been on every season of RHOBH since 2010.
According to People magazine, former cast member Camille Grammer called out Richards after she wasn’t asked back as a “friend” for season 10. “I wasn’t asked back,” Grammer said in a series of tweets that were since deleted. “It’s fine. I did my time on the show. And it’s Kyle’s show.”
“It was up to Kyle. I’m really fine,” Grammer added, noting that she didn’t even want to return to the show after an “awful experience” at the season 9 reunion.
Crystal Kung Minkoff Said RHOBH Felt like a Sorority
Minkoff was a cast member on three seasons of RHOBH, where she made history as the show’s first-ever Asian American cast member. On Viall’s podcast, Minkoff noted that Richards is the person who comes to mind when people think of the Bravo reality show due to her long tenure as a main cast member. “Kyle’s a staple,” she said.
“It’s a sorority,” Minkoff added of the cast dynamic. “I was being hazed, and she’s like, the queen, the den mother, whatever. Yeah, the president. And she’ll always be president. It’s her show.”
Minkoff also admitted that she never fully got into her comfort zone on the show.
“I wouldn’t say I was comfortable yet, but I was starting to feel comfortable. Because it takes a while to like go through the whole cycle of it airing, watching it,” she said. “And then [rewatching] when they like preview it like right before the next season, it all seemed such nonsense and irrelevant when at the moment it’s airing it feels so big and meaningful and like my life is over. “
“But yeah, I was getting comfortable but it just it was done,” Minkoff said. “I didn’t know when it was going to wind down, but I also knew I was never going to amp up for anyone. Like that’s not my style. They pushed me, but like come on. Like they wanted me to amp up all the time and I’m like, ‘Okay I did.’ Like I don’t know what to say. I’m like a normal person and I’m not an actor. I don’t know how to do that.”
Kyle Richards Said Crystal Would Be Fine Without RHOBH
In April 2024, Minkoff posted an Instagram video to announce she was leaving RHOBH after three seasons. “I just wanted to share the news that I will not be coming back to film season 14 of ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” she told fans. “It’s very bittersweet. Never did I think I would’ve been asked to do this show in a million years — let alone film it for three seasons.”
“Being the first Asian-American on Beverly Hills was a lot of weight on my shoulders that I have since just have really understood the magnitude of what that meant for people,” Minkoff added. “And I just wanted to thank you guys for being such an incredible support for me and I hope that I have been for you.”
Richards reacted to Minkoff’s exit news during an Amazon Live on April 16. “You know, it made me sad,” Richards said of her Minkoff’s exit message. “I’m sad, of course.”
“You know, I don’t know, I have kind of mixed feelings not because of her, just because yes, I know, it’s probably disappointing. But also like, life’s great without reality television,” the RHOBH star added. “It’s not like ‘Oh My God poor Crystal.’ She has a great family and there’s a lot to say for not doing that. And you know, she’s gonna be great.”
