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\n The outraged reactions to the Summer House scandal reflect a fandom that increasingly demands their drama with a side of consequences.
\n Photo: Bravo\n <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile this is still very new, we wanted to provide some clarity\u201d is a curious way to begin one of the least clear statements in recent memory. To anyone not paying attention, the joint Instagram Story posted by Summer House<\/a> cast members Amanda Batula and West Wilson is bafflingly vague. There are no labels used, no timeline provided, not even a clear articulation of the \u201cwe\u201d in question. It uses a lot of words to say very little. But for Bravo fans who have been glued to the story of that \u201cwe\u201d for the past month \u2014\u00a0exchanging tidbits of information in Reddit threads and poring over hidden meanings in Instagram comments \u2014 the statement is confirmation of a rumor that had morphed from far-fetched to near certain: Batula and Wilson are romantically involved<\/a>.<\/p>\n While some Summer House viewers immediately latched onto the first rumblings of a more-than-friend connection \u2014\u00a0care of the sometimes-reliable Deuxmoi \u2014\u00a0others worked hard to find non-fire explanations for the smoke. (Theories ranged from Buffalo Wild Wings spon-con to a confusingly timed April Fools\u2019 prank, to give an idea of the degree of cope involved.) On some level, many Bravoholics simply didn\u2019t want to believe, given the history. Wilson previously dated cast member Ciara Miller on season eight of Summer House in 2024. The aftermath of their breakup, including fallout from his misguided decision to repeatedly talk about their relationship in the press, has played out in the two years since. Season ten has included hints of a possible reconciliation, with enough flirting between Wilson and Miller to invite speculation that the two had secretly gotten back together. Batula, meanwhile, has spent the current season at odds with her husband, Kyle Cooke \u2014 they announced their separation<\/a> in January \u2014\u00a0and leaning heavily on Miller for support. \u201cIt would have been a very difficult summer to get through without Ciara,\u201d Batula said in a recent Marie Claire interview<\/a>. \u201cShe is one of the kindest, most loving, loyal friends I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n That loyalty, it turns out, was not a two-way street, and it\u2019s Batula\u2019s betrayal of Miller that\u2019s proving the hardest pill for fans to swallow<\/a>. (No one seems similarly concerned about Wilson dating his close friend\u2019s estranged wife, but since Cooke called Batula a \u201cfucking dumbass bitch\u201d in last week\u2019s episode<\/a>, he\u2019s not engendering much sympathy.) Reactions have been swift from both cast members<\/a> \u2014 Miller promptly unfollowed both of her newly coupled co-stars \u2014 and viewers, many of whom have likened the situation to Vanderpump Rules\u2019s Scandoval<\/a>. There are clear differences, namely that Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix had been together for nearly a decade and were still together when Sandoval started sleeping with castmate Rachel Leviss. But both the Vanderpump Rules and Summer House situations involve an untrustworthy man and girl-on-girl crime, with Summer House fans finding most offense in the latter, given the apparent closeness between Batula and Miller. And both scandals offer a fairly immediate separation of cast members into camps: Miller good; Wilson and Batula bad; Cooke not really relevant to the conversation. Given the devastating effect Scandoval had on Vanderpump Rules, it\u2019s not surprising to see, when scrolling through reactions to the joint statement, plenty of viewers insisting that Summer House is ruined, that the show should be canceled, that the two can never come back from this.<\/p>\n There was a time when this scandal might have been greeted with unabashed excitement \u2014 what a thrill to watch a tangled web get woven! Today, those looking forward to the Summer House reunion, which films mid-April, are much more motivated by the opportunity to see Batula and Wilson face the wrath of their castmates. To Bravo outsiders, the instant outrage among fans might be confusing \u2014\u00a0isn\u2019t this the scandal and backstabbing we tune in for? But those of us deeply entrenched in the Bravo universe have perceived a shift in the way we consume and engage with these shows.\u00a0In recent years, there\u2019s been pushback on the kind of bad behavior this genre was built on. While the drama itself was once the draw, we now tune in to see the wronged parties triumph and the transgressors pay for their crimes. We find ourselves in a new era of reality-TV mess, one where collective calls for karma reflect the most surprising trend of all: a conscience.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve come a long way from the glory days of Vanderpump Rules, a show that made a name for itself based on incestuous partner hopping within a tight friend group. In the first two seasons, Jax Taylor cheated on Stassi Schroeder repeatedly, eventually confessing to a dalliance with Schroeder\u2019s best friend, Kristen Doute, who was dating Tom Sandoval at the time. Cameras kept rolling, cast members continued filming (even after Schroeder backhanded Doute), and viewers embraced the mess. These were reality stars, not role models. By the time Scandoval arrived in season ten, however, the fandom response had evolved into righteous indignation. Sandoval and Leviss became instant pariahs, and Madix\u2019s justifiable fury elevated her to a new level of celebrity. It\u2019s not that reality fans don\u2019t crave drama, but that our collective tolerance for men and women behaving badly has declined precipitously since Taylor was the No. 1 guy in the group. Viewers expect real repercussions for harm, which may be why Taylor exited Vanderpump Rules spinoff The Valley<\/a> after the second season amid allegations of abusive behavior.<\/p>\n Taylor is an extreme example \u2014 he had already been fired from Vanderpump Rules for accusations of racism<\/a> back in 2020 \u2014\u00a0but the response to the Summer House scandal inspires a bigger-picture question: When did we stop letting reality stars be messy? Or perhaps more to the point, when did that mess stop being a mark in their favor? Surely, Scandoval itself played a role. While our perception of these series was already shifting, there\u2019s no question that such a seismic event marked a turning point. The magnitude of Sandoval and Leviss\u2019s betrayal and the depth of Madix\u2019s hurt were not something viewers were able to swiftly move on from. Filming the season-ten reunion so soon after the affair came to light exposed a raw pain that was, at times, tough to stomach. It\u2019s only natural that in the wake of Scandoval, viewers have become hypersensitive \u2014 and hypercritical \u2014\u00a0of bad behavior. The Batula-Wilson romance reveal is not Scandoval (even if we call it Scamanda<\/a>), but it triggers a similar revulsion, along with a deep desire for retribution. And as with the immediate return to filming and rushed reunion for Vanderpump Rules, there\u2019s an expectation for instant resolution that doesn\u2019t always align with the realities of TV production.<\/p>\n There\u2019s more to this response than the passing similarities to Scandoval, though. Reactions to the scandal also speak to the evolution of Summer House, which has distinguished itself over the years through the real interpersonal relationships on display. Ten years of participants sharing their lives inspires a parasocial connection to the cast \u2014 these people we\u2019ve never met are our friends and\/or frenemies! \u2014 and give Batula and Wilson\u2019s transgressions the feel of personal betrayal. It\u2019s not surprising that fans are ready to ride at dawn to defend Miller\u2019s honor. Our growing perception of reality-cast members as real people instead of characters or types means that Summer House is not the only Bravo (or Bravo-adjacent) show experiencing a shift in moral expectations from viewers The Real Housewives franchise was founded on gawking at not-like-us rich people, but last season of Potomac had viewers lamenting the toxicity and meanness that were once a Housewives calling card. Peacock\u2019s The Traitors, despite being a game designed for betrayal, still prompted online discourse<\/a> on the ethics of backstabbing, much of it driven by said Housewives<\/a>.<\/p>\n Silly moral judgments of Traitor behavior aside, discussion of the most recent season did reflect another important piece of reality-TV audience evolution: a greater understanding of complex racial and gender dynamics. This growth, largely brought on by more inclusive casting and cast members\u2019 willingness to speak openly on these issues, plays a meaningful role in the response to the Summer House scandal. Just this season, Miller was candid when she explained to her white co-stars the different standards Black women on reality TV face. \u201cI don\u2019t think you guys also realize the interracial aspect that exists,\u201d she says in the March 17 episode<\/a>, referencing her past relationship with Wilson. \u201cDating white guys publicly, it\u2019s like a whole contraption that I don\u2019t think you guys even understand or can even empathize with.\u201d Later, in a confessional, she tearfully shares, \u201cThe hardest thing with the me and West situation is that everyone\u2019s always just like, \u2018Oh, you let a white man play you on national TV.\u2019 Regardless of how we feel about each other, it\u2019s the way that it looks to the entire world.\u201d<\/p>\n These moments of vulnerability expose white viewers in particular to a perspective they would not see on their own. They also add a painful context to the current scandal \u2014\u00a0we now have a better understanding of the kind of reactions Miller will face to the news that her best friend and her ex got together behind her back. As Vulture recapper Brian Moylan writes, what Miller said \u201cshould change the way we look at both [her relationship with Wilson] and how reality television works in general.\u201d Part of being in the new era of reality-TV mess means seeing the Batula and Wilson situation through a lens beyond mere entertainment.<\/p>\n That the genre has entered this era of increased thoughtfulness and accountability\u00a0is a good thing, even for those of us who feel a pang of nostalgia for the unmitigated chaos of the 2010s. At the same time, it invites us to wonder how Summer House can continue at a time when we can\u2019t just brush drama under the rug. The \u201ccancel it\u201d crowd may be thinking back to the cautionary tale of Vanderpump Rules\u2019s disastrous 11th season, when the show plowed forward with the same fractured cast from the year prior. A forced redemption arc for Sandoval and repeated attempts to force Madix to film with him collapsed the show under their weight, ultimately prompting a complete reboot of the series. Madix was not ready to forgive her ex, and, critically, neither was the audience. As Summer House production mulls next steps with a likely shell-shocked cast, the question should not be when to pick up cameras again, but how to move forward. Is there a way for Batula and Wilson to make amends and clear up the wreckage in their wake, or should they be booted onto the Miller-less spinoff In the City? Reality stars can still be messy, because sometimes messiness is real \u2014 so, too, though, are consequences.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n