NEED TO KNOW
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Katie Ginella reacted to a video of her Real Housewives of Orange County castmates Jennifer Pedranti and Gretchen Rossi making what she deemed to be stereotypical Asian “faces” and “sounds”
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She said that Rossi and Pedranti “should read the room” and noted that the post has since been deleted
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Ginella also opened up about feeling “singled out” by the women in season 19 of RHOC
Katie Ginella is calling out her Real Housewives of Orange County costars.
On Tuesday, Aug. 5, the reality star appeared on Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea series to discuss the current season of RHOC. While she has found herself wrapped up in plenty of drama on the show, Ginella shared her frustration with some of her castmates’ behavior off the show as well.
“There’s a very inappropriate video going around where two girls are pretending to fight, squinting their eyes and making Asian faces to Asian sounds,” she said, referring to a social media post of Jennifer Pedranti and Gretchen Rossi.
PEOPLE reached out to Pedranti and Rossi’s reps for comment.
Sami Drasin/Bravo (2); Danny Ventrella/Bravo
From left: Katie Ginella, Jennifer Pedranti, and Gretchen Rossi
The clip, which has since been taken down by was viewed by PEOPLE, showed Pedranti and Rossi pretending to do martial arts at the gym.
“I’m back on Housewives,” said Rossi, who previously left the franchise in 2013 after five seasons, before Pedranti declared: “And we’re ready to defend ourselves.”
They then began to punch and kick a boxing bag as they mouthed along to a track of what some interpreted as Asian voices. At the end, they high-fived each other and walked away.
“It’s very hurtful and very inappropriate,” Ginella told the outlet. “It’s 2025, and I think we should read the room.”
Ginella said her experience on season 19 of RHOC has triggered negative emotions from her childhood.
She added that the two women also reached out to send her “warm regards” as she faces criticism from viewers, which she called “very odd.”
“I feel like throughout the season, it’s brought me back to feeling like how I felt growing up a lot,” she explained. “You know, I’m the ‘only.’ I’m the very first Asian American on Orange County, I’m the very first Korean adoptee.”
“So being singled out from this cast, it’s all too familiar,” she admitted. “All the feelings.”
Sami Drasin/Danny Ventrella/Bravo
From left: Katie Ginella, Tamra Judge, Shannon Storms Beadier, Jennifer Pedranti, Heather Dubrow, Emily Simpson, Gina Kirschenheiter
While Ginella and the ladies seemed to develop friendships last year, cameras have captured the deterioration of those bonds throughout season 19.
Most recently, following incidents between Ginella and several of the women — including Emily Simpson, Tamra Judge and Heather Dubrow — she found herself in another confrontation.
In the July 27 episode, Gina Kirschenheiter and Judge confronted Ginella about a secret recording she took of Shannon Beador having “a meltdown” at a cast photoshoot and sharing it with Alexis Bellino, who is engaged to Beador’s ex.
“I gave Katie a gift, giving her advice to get to a different place with the women in this group, and this is what she does to me?” Beador said when she heard the allegation. “It is pure evil betrayal.”
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While Ginella denied showing the recording to anyone, she claimed that she and Pedranti had “discussed it” with Bellino. However, Pedranti was upset to be pulled into the situation and insisted she didn’t know anything about it.
“I don’t know why Katie’s doing this,” she told cameras. “It’s just not fair, and really, I wish my friend would just start answering for herself.”
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The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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