Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Lisa Barlow believes friend and fired Housewife Jennie Nguyen deserves a second chance. Jennie was axed from the hit show when a series of racially charged Facebook posts aimed at the Black Lives Matter movement were uncovered in January of 2022.
Lisa was the person who introduced Jennie to the cast, and she has said very little since Jennie was fired. Many wondered where exactly she stood on the issue, even though she did make an Instagram post when the story first broke.
Lisa was caught outside of LAX over the weekend, and she finally spoke out about her views on Jennie’s dismissal.
Jennie’s firing was ‘hard for everybody involved’
Lisa stood by her longtime friend’s side, telling TMZ, “I think everyone in life deserves a second chance.” She added, “That’s what we’re trying to do – just be a little bit better every single day, and hopefully we learn from our mistakes and don’t make them again, and I think that’s how we learn sometimes. We have to make mistakes to learn.”
Acknowledging the decision was tough for Bravo, Lisa said she still hopes Jennie is “doing amazing.” The Queen of Sundance was asked if she had spoken to Jennie since the story broke, she revealed Jennie texted her once, but they have not talked since, adding, “You know, Jennie’s always been nice to me, so I hope everything’s good with Jennie, and she’s always been really busy,” Lisa said.
It was discovered that Lisa unfollowed her friend on Instagram after the posts were made public, in part saying that she did not condone Jennie’s views on the BLM movement as they are “harmful and hurtful to a community” she loves. Jennie was unfollowed by most of her former castmates, and it was reported that they were relieved that she was fired because nobody wanted to film with her or be associated with her.
Bravo chief Andy Cohen believes that their vetting procedure has flaws and that they are attempting to improve their casting, calling it a “work in progress.”
Lisa also commented on the current status of her friendship with Meredith
When asked how her relationship with former BFF Meredith Marks was going, she revealed, “I think that after my hot mic rant moment, there’s gonna be a lot of repair to be done.” She added, “I’m definitely willing to work for that.”
She elaborated, “It’s all about forgiveness, right? At the end of the day, we hope for forgiveness. I learned a lot from my last season, and I am definitely making changes.”
The finale of the three-part reunion aired Sunday, bringing the explosive second season to a conclusion. The Utah ladies are currently filming Season 3 – without Jennie.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is currently on hiatus on Bravo.