Shade of the Week: Jackie Goldschneider's Demotion
This season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey hasn't even finished airing yet and rumours are already swirling that Jackie Goldschneider has been demoted for season 13 of the show. Normally I don't believe everything I read, however, every Bravo tea and their dog are claiming their "sources" have confirmed this news and Jackie hasn't denied it which makes me feel like it's true.
Jersey has had the same cast for the last four seasons and although there needs to be a change in their lineup demoting Jackie is not the answer. Whether you're a Trehugging hater or a Jackie fan everyone can agree that her openly talking about her battle with anorexia has been one of the most authentic, intriguing storylines in the history of any reality show.
The concept of reality television is to be a fly on the wall of people's lives and I've never seen that executed more perfectly than with Jackie this season. She broke down the roadblocks her brain has when it comes to food and how it's affected her entire life. Even something as simple as ice cream is a huge mind game for Jackie to overcome which shows the severity of this horrible, lifelong disease. The entire Housewives franchise is full of fake Chanel, alcohol and drama but Jackie's storyline this season is something that will not only help a lot of people but save their lives at the same time.
Jackie is a woman who has battled a twenty year eating disorder and is brave enough to show every facet of it on reality television and how did Bravo repay her? They took away her position as a Housewife and relegated her to a sad friend role. This decision is definitely based on the fact that they now see her as a liability. The moment Jackie admitted Teresa Giudice triggers her issues with food I knew they were going to phase her out because they don't want to be held responsible for any of her health issues. On one hand I would understand if they were trying to protect Jackie but big corporations like Bravo and NBCUniversal are only ever trying to protect themselves.
One of Jackie's best qualities is that she stands up to Teresa, something you can't say about anyone else on the show aside from Margaret. Jennifer's so far up the OG's asshole she's practically renting out her rectum and both Dolores and Melissa know Teresa is wrong in every situation but have to pretend to be neutral to keep their spots on the show. If anyone should've been demoted it should've been Melissa or Dolores. The thing about being "a friend" is that they still get to spend time around the group but we don't see their personal storylines which would be perfect for these two. While Jackie was busy baring her soul in food therapy, Dolores renovated her house for the fifth time and Melissa moved her daughter to a new school... but Jackie is the one being demoted?
Dolores has the ability to be an amazing Housewife but she straddles the fence and pretends not to have a real opinion on anything to appease Teresa. The narcissistic overlord of New Jersey didn't even invite Dolores to her engagement party and somehow she still twisted herself into a pretzel trying to defend Teresa. A friend role would be perfect for Dolo because she can still film with the group but we don't need to see her renovate her home by painting it a shade of grey for the 40th time.
Melissa also fits into the friend category. Due to her relationship with Teresa, Melissa tries to defend her sister-in-law because she knows if she doesn't she'll never hear the end of it. Tre wouldn't even piss on Melissa if she was on fire yet Little Miss Envy knows if she doesn't pretend to stand up for her SIL that Teresa will explode and talk about it for the next ten years. If Melissa was being authentic she wouldn't let a woman with a forehead the size of Rhode Island treat her like shit so maybe relegating her to a friend role will bring the fire back out of Melissa.
In terms of her personal storyline, Joe Gorga's wife spent her time worrying if her daughter was depressed or not. While this is probably a valid concern, no 16-year-old wants to talk about their emotions with their parents, especially in front of a camera crew. Antonia definitely didn't want to talk about her teenage angst on this show and Melissa continuously bringing up the issue felt exploitative and weird. Who knows, maybe Antonia wanted this storyline out there but anytime you put moody teenagers on a reality show it reads as awkward. Melissa Gorga has been an amazing Housewife who has helped build this show in many ways but let's be real, she hasn't had an interesting personal life in a very long time. Long lost sister anyone?
Out of the six women currently on the show Dolores and Melissa by far have the least interesting personal storylines and are the least involved in the group drama, so if anyone is going to loose a tomato or whatever the fuck they hold in Jersey, it should be one of them. I'm no Jackie stan but you've got to appreciate the fact that she stands up to Teresa in a group of people who lick her asshole. Jackie's always been convicted in her opinions and has become a key part of the group so this decision makes zero sense to me.
Like usual in Jersey, all roads lead back to Teresa. Isn't it about time we give this woman her own wedding special and ship her off to Peacock to have a show about her new Brady Bunch family? If her relationship with Luis is so amazing then give them their own spinoff show and see how long their wedded bliss lasts. RHONJ has always been The Teresa Show but its officially reached a level so toxic Britney Spears would strip down to a latex bodysuit and sing about it. Teresa's the HBIC so everyone either kisses her ass or risks being fired from speaking up to her. She doesn't understand logic or reason so instead she throws glasses and screams like a feral cat whenever someone doesn't agree with her. This may have worked for her in the past but now it's just a played out defence mechanism of the egomaniac who runs this show.
The reason this show feels stagnant is because Teresa's overarching energy and inability to see another person's point of view stops the show from progressing forward so everybody is held hostage while Teresa talks in circles for hours. Teresa has too much power on this show and although she's one of the most iconic Housewives to ever grace our screens, I think it's finally time for her to move on with her life. Let's see how Jersey is without the Queen Bee. We'd get to see everyone state their authentic opinion and there'd be room for heaps of fresh blood on the cast. Beverly Hills and Atlanta only improved when Queen Bees LVP and NeNe left the shows and I think the same could be said if Teresa ever left New Jersey.
New Jersey does have a solid cast, however, after four years of repetitive fights and little progression in the group it's time for a shakeup. Whether it means demoting a low performing cast member or sending an OG off with her own show, a big change needs to be had but that change isn't going to happen with by making Jackie Goldschneider a friend.
