Aviva Explains Why She Threw Her Leg
"I wanted them to see amputees can do anything," she jokes about tonight's moment.
Teresa's table flip, Sheree pulling Kim's wig, the RHOC's wild Bunco Party: there has been no shortage of iconic, OMG moments from our beloved Housewives over the years.
But Aviva Drescher might take the top prize with tonight's episode of Real Housewives of New York City.
Over the course of this season, she's butted heads with just about all the ladies—especially Carole Radziwill over #BookGate—and on the season finale (tune in at 9/8c), she confronts the women at Sonja Morgan's party at Le Cirque.
After arguing with the women over her doctor's diagnosis that she has asthma (the women don't believe her) all season, Aviva tries to show them that there is nothing fake about her, with the exception of her prosthetic leg, which she lost during a childhood accident. And how does she punctuate this point? By tossing the prosthesis out into the middle of the room.
Now that the season has wrapped, the Dish caught up with Aviva to talk about why she did it, whether she's seen any of the Housewives since, and what she's up to for the rest of the summer.
The big question: what made you want to throw your prosthesis out into the middle of the room?
You know, there were three shrews attacking me and I wanted them to shut the f--k up and I figured if I slam my leg on the table, that will work. And it did!
Were you surprised by their reactions?
What I find very interesting for some people, the sight of someone's handicap is revolting and I've been trying to raise awareness that people with prosthetics aren't different. It seems like Kristen's honest reaction—when she said she wanted to vomit—is very, very telling. What did they think—the leg was going to slither across the table and kick them?
Did you feel any embarrassment after it happened?
I don't. From an early age, I threw the emotion of embarrassment away. Being a six-year-old and walking into school with crutches and a stump, you don't have room to be embarrassed. I was trying to make a point. I was being attacked all season. I mean, I'm not complaining about it. But they were grating on my nerves and questioning my truth about a health issue. I was overwhelmed by people's reactions. Lay people, I guess, don't really see prosthetic limbs every day. And they certainly don't see them flying across the room of a four star restaurant [laughs]. Would someone be shocked if they banged their glasses on the table? I just wanted to show people that amputees can do anything: walking, running, or throwing it across the room. Can my other castmates take a leg off? No [laughs]!
How long did it take for you to take off the prosthetic?
Actually, I go to this one prosthesis place called Step Ahead and they make very sophisticated prosthetics. They subscribe to the theory that form follows function so it's tailored to people's needs and goals and after that, they make a beautiful prosthetic. There's a button on the leg that only I (and a few other people) can see. Getting in and out of this takes three seconds. And sometimes when I'm sitting at a table, my blood flow doesn't move as well, so I'll press the button to unlock it and give myself a bit of wiggle room. So it's more than likely that it was already dislodged before I grabbed it and put it on the table. It just takes a second to get in and out of it.
Have fans been supportive of you?
It's incredible but since they've seen the clip, they have given me so much love. I'm shocked! I thought they were going to be waiting outside with a straightjacket. I'm getting so much love, which is really sweet, because I decided to put my foot down [laughs].
Have you seen any of the ladies since the season wrapped?
I've spoken to Sonja and LuAnn and I've seen Ramona. I'm friendly with them. I wouldn't say things are warm and fuzzy between me and Heather. And in terms of Carole…
Do you think you two can ever be friends?
In a word no. I've been able to get over my differences with the other Housewives because I don't think they're bad or evil. They may be subjected to fits, but who isn't. Carole runs deeper. She always bashes me. I don't want that in my life.
Any fun plans for the rest of the summer?
Oh, what a much more pleasant topic to talk about [laughs]! I'm going to visit my son this weekend at sleep-away camp in Maine. An we're going to the beach in New Jersey. I'm kind of done with going to the Hamptons. We're excited to have these new experiences.
Watch a preview clip of tonight's shocking finale.
[video_clip_url:http://player.theplatform.com/p/PHSl-B/yT7k3t_YLXoZ/embed/select/z6sGUpo1u789]
