Gizelle Bryant and Ashley Darby Defend Kicking RHOP Women Out of Event: “Don’t Play”
The guests couldn't believe the party hosts had security escort them out for being late to the charitable event, as seen in a preview of The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 9, Episode 3.
The women of The Real Housewives of Potomac were tardy to the party, and the fashion-forward duo that is GnA was having none of it.
A sneak peek of RHOP Season 9, Episode 3 shows the continuation of the charity event hosted by GnA’s Gizelle Bryant and Ashley Darby, which coincided with Karen Huger’s acceptance of the Femme Powered award — something Gizelle and Ashley believed was intentionally scheduled by design.
Guests Stacey Rusch, Wendy Osefo, Keiarna Stewart, Mia Thornton, and Jassi Rideaux took Karen up on her offer to take a sprinter van between the two parties. But when they arrived at Gizelle’s event — a fundraiser for the National Brain Tumor Society to honor her late father — it was “a no” for Gizelle and Ashley, and the attendees were swiftly kicked out with the help of Gizelle’s security.
Their crime? The group arrived four minutes late, as seen in the recent preview.
“I have never been so offended in my life,” Stacey said while leaving the building. “Quite frankly, I’m embarrassed, and I am offended. I’m leaving.”
Gizelle and Ashley defend their decision to kick out RHOP women
Gizelle and Ashley stood by their decision to have the women escorted from the party.
“My father passed away months ago. Karen getting an award? Who gives a sh-t! This is the same woman that just hit a tree!” Gizelle later said in her confessional. “This is a real event in which we’re raising real money. Don’t play with me. Not tonight.”
But Jassi gave Ashley a tongue-lashing before following the other exiles outside, explaining they’d actually arrived three minutes past 8. Still, that didn’t cut it for the hosts. She said sending security to kick the women out was overkill, and she would have preferred just not being invited at all.
“In my opinion, it’s between Gizelle and Karen,” Ashley told producers, maintaining the Grande Dame knew “damn well” what she was doing as far as the double booking was concerned.
Did Karen intentionally plan an event the same time as Gizelle and Ashley's?
In Season 9, Episode 2, Karen informed Gizelle that she would be honored with the Femme Powered award for her achievements as a businesswoman and for giving back to the community. Gizelle said she’d heard of the award months earlier.
“Guess who wasn’t on the list? Karen the freak Huger,” Gizelle said. “I think some people who were originally being honored couldn’t make it, so I think she asked to be honored so she could say, ‘Look at me, I’m Karen the Grande Dame Huger, and I’m being honored.’”
Karen seemed to have every intention of attending both events: accepting the award before going to Gizelle’s party. But the next day, Karen sent a group text to the Housewives saying the time of her event aligned with Gizelle’s — ultimately putting the others in the middle and forcing them to choose.
“I thought we were friends,” Gizelle said in her confessional. “I just threw you a frickin’ birthday party. That’s not what friends do to each other. At all.”
Did GnA add insult to injury?
As if being kicked out of the party wasn’t harsh enough, Gizelle and Ashley decided to rub some salt in the wounds by sending Ashley and company outside to the sprinter van as they readied to leave. With her, Ashley brought a QR code, in case any of the ejected guests were feeling charitable enough to donate money for their cause.
As viewers could expect, that wasn’t happening.
Jassi shot from her seat to stop Ashley from getting another word in, going as far as to close the electronic sliding van door on Ashley.
“Good night, Ashley,” Jassi repeated. “Go to bed. You got bags. Bye-bye.”
The rejected partygoers soon left, and the fundraiser by Gizelle and Ashley continued without any more hindrance. But the argument continued the next day, as seen in the recent clip.
See more in the upcoming episode of The Real Housewives of Potomac, airing Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo and streaming the next day on Peacock.
