Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah publicly apologized for comments she made to her children during the series premiere.
One Twitter account called @theaidsmemorial called Jen out for the inaccurate facts she gave her sons about AIDS.
“Please educate yourself instead of spreading myths about HIV/AIDS that only fuel the stigma that surround people living with HIV,” the account tweeted at her.
While some fans pointed out that Jen was probably joking at the time, and it’s unlikely that she truly believed the fake claims she told her kids about AIDS, she recognized that it wasn’t a joking matter, and her comments hurt fans.
She promptly issued an apology.
“Yes, my comment on the premiere was very ignorant and insensitive. I do apologize for saying it!” she replied.
Fans were appreciative and applauded her for a succinct apology.
“Accountability and an apology – no excuses, no doubling down, no defensiveness. I wish more housewives would take note of this,” one fan wrote.
“You said you owned and you’ve apologized for it. That’s way more than most people with a large platform. That’s why you’re the real deal,” another added.
“We stan even harder,” a third enthused. “No excuses. Straight up apology. As someone who is HIV positive, I totally got the vibe that you were being hyperbolic and joking but the statement was still ignorant. This public apology means everything.”
Jen Shah’s comment on AIDS
Jen addressed AIDS during a conversation she was having with her husband, Sharrieff Shah, and their sons about their love lives.
Jen’s older son, Sharrieff Jr., threw his younger brother, Omar, under the bus and told their parents there’s a girl in his life.
“What did you say? He has a girlfriend,” Jen promptly asked.
Omar tried to blow off the conversation, but protective mother Jen quickly dissuaded Omar from moving too fast with his new girl.
“If you kiss a girl, you might be like, ‘Oh, she’s cute,’ but guess what? You can contract herpes, probably AIDS,” she said, to which Omar replied, “I don’t think that’s true.”
Jen’s drama on RHOSLC
Even though only one episode of RHOSLC has aired, Jen has already found herself in the midst of drama.
During a birthday party that she hosted for costar Meredith Marks, drama resurfaced between her and Mary Crosby.
Before the show began filming, Mary told Jen that she “smelled like hospital” at an event.
Jen was hurt because she had been visiting the hospital frequently to see her aunt, who had to get her legs amputated but hadn’t gone that day.
Mary claimed she had to point it out because the scent was allegedly a trigger for her. It appears that the drama between the two only escalates throughout the course of the season.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs on Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo.