'Real Housewives' star denies blackface accusations

Kylie Mar
·Host & Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

On the season premiere of The Real Housewives of New York City, Luann de Lesseps showed up to a Halloween party as Diana Ross, with noticeably darker skin. However, she seemed completely oblivious to the fact that there was something off about her costume.

The housewives’ jaws dropped when de Lesseps walked in the room. “Luann’s costume is so disrespectful,” said RHONY housewife Carole Radziwill. “I think she’s tone-deaf when it comes to cultural stereotypes. She’s generally tone-deaf, anyway.” Bethenny Frankel said, “Luann’s got the balls of a burglar. I mean, you gotta give it to her. She gives zero f***s.”

And de Lesseps’s fellow housewives weren’t the only ones who noticed. Many offended viewers took to Twitter, shaming the housewife, tweeting:

And later, on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, de Lesseps said that she’s horrified by the backlash and never meant to hurt anyone’s feelings. “I love Diana Ross,” she said. “And I totally respect Diana Ross. It was really kinda a tribute to her. And it was Halloween.” Cohen said, “The issue is altering the color of your skin,” which de Lesseps denied doing. “No, I didn’t. I had bronzer on — you know, that I wear normally. Like the rest of my skin … I’m tan, like, right now.” De Lesseps also claimed that she didn’t add anything to her makeup and would never “dream of doing a blackface, ever.”

The Real Housewives of New York City airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

Check out Kim Kardashian’s reaction to blackface accusations after she posted a promotional photo for her beauty line:

Read more from Yahoo! Entertainment:

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram — or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.