Bethenny Frankel is never one to stay silent, especially when it comes to business.
The former Real Housewives of New York City star found herself in a very unexpected Bravo universe feud after Dina Manzo’s daughter, Lexi Iannou, called her out for wearing shoes from her brand Nou without tagging the company and then linking a similar pair with an affiliate link instead.
The drama started after Bethenny posted a fit check from her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit social club appearance. Fans quickly began asking about her shoes, but instead of linking Nou, Lexi claimed Bethenny directed followers to a dupe from Black Suede Studio at Bloomingdale’s.
Lexi, who founded the shoe brand Nou, took to Instagram to explain why she was upset.
“Bethenny Frankel is a weirdo,” Lexi said in an Instagram video on Friday. “I sent her a pair of shoes from Nou almost a year ago because I look up to her. [She is a] female entrepreneur [and from the] Bravo universe like me.”
Lexi said she understood that Bethenny may not have tagged the brand immediately, but felt differently once the shoes started getting attention online.
“OK, that happens, but then she posted a video today that’s going viral and a bunch of people are asking where the shoes are [from]. Instead of linking them, she linked a dupe with an affiliate link,” Lexi said. “I guess she’s got to get that bag in some sort of way? So, she got the shoes for free from a woman founded brand, mine, and then she made money sending her followers somewhere else.”
Lexi doubled down on her frustration, telling followers, “So, she got the shoes for free from a woman founded brand, mine, and then she made money sending her followers somewhere else.”
Dina Manzo also jumped in to defend her daughter, posting a fiery message on her Instagram Story aimed directly at Bethenny.
“WOW BETHENNY WOW!!” Dina wrote over a screenshot from Bethenny’s Instagram Story. “So odd of you to post a dupe of your GIFTED shopnou shoes instead of giving a young woman entrepreneur the credit. You wear them often so we know you like them???”
Bethenny eventually credited Nou in a separate Friday Instagram post where she shared a full outfit breakdown, but that did not stop her from addressing the situation in a TikTok video.
According to Bethenny, her team posted a fit check but tagged a different shoe brand because the Nou shoes were sold out. Bethenny explained that her audience gets frustrated when she promotes items they cannot immediately purchase.
“The audience gets frustrated when they can’t buy something immediately. Why would I wear and talk about it if they can’t buy it?” Bethenny said.
@bethennyfrankel You’re welcome
Bethenny also made it clear that being gifted a product does not mean she is required to promote it.
She said she has no “obligation” to “link, like, use, wear, buy, tag,” any brand that sends her gifts.
Bethenny then turned the moment into a business lesson and reminded viewers that when she promotes a product, it usually moves.
“The business lesson is: there are other lovely things on this person’s site and there are about a hundred brands that will watch this video and will message her to tell her how much product I move, how many Sprinkle cookies for Melissa Gorga, how many dresses for Amy Brooke, how many pairs of jeans for Guess, I move a lot of product because I don’t bulls–t,” Bethenny said.
She continued, “So, playing the short game and whining and being a crybaby about something that didn’t go your way in business means you’re not a real business person.”
Bethenny added that the situation could have worked out very differently for Lexi and Nou.
“You have a lot to learn because I would have worn all the shoes on your site and you would have sold thousands of pairs and made hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Bethenny said.
Bethenny ended by making it clear that she now has no plans to continue promoting the brand.
While Lexi and Dina clearly felt Bethenny should have credited the original gifted shoes, Bethenny is standing firm that gifted product does not come with automatic promotion, especially when the item is no longer available for purchase.
And in true Bethenny fashion, what started as a shoe tag dispute quickly turned into a full blown business lesson. Who’s side are you on?
