Did The RHOD Ladies Actually “Bully” Someone With A Sex Toy?

Real Housewives reunion shows are known to be tea-spilling dramafests of the highest order, but sometimes even they can be dull. Take for example any time Paul “PK” Kemsley appeared on the Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills season-ending get-together. But, The Real Housewives Of Dallas season 2 reunion episode didn't have to worry about any such problems. Instead, “Reunion Part 1” gave viewers one of the greatest quotes in reality TV history: “I was being chased down the beach with a sex toy! Are you guys kidding me?!” Pink dog food proprietor Kameron Westcott screams this now-iconic complaint without a hint of knowing irony, and I would like those lines stitched on a pillow just in time for Christmas.

While I have been laughing about Kameron’s sex toy screeching for roughly half a day, we should actually question: was the RHOD newbie actually “bullied” by dildo, as she claims, during the annual Housewives vacation?

When we first meet the sex toy in question in “A Mouthful In Mexico,” it’s clear Brandi Redmond never meant to offend anyone with it, but ends up legitimately upsetting Kameron. The prank begins with Brandi hiding a massive brown dildo in castmate D’Andra Simmons’ beach bag. After everyone downs worms and drinks beachside, D’Andra finds the dildo and couldn’t care less. She immediately guesses Jesus-juice loving pot-stirrer Brandi is the culprit. Brandi’s giggles confirm the suspicion, and soon enough she’s running up to each of her costars with the toy. As soon as everyone laughs at the absurdity of huge dildo appearing out of nowhere on a beach in Mexico, Brandi moves on. Kameron, however, becomes physically disgusted by Brandi’s gag, runs away from her, and repeatedly calls the dildo, which we can all assume was unused, “gross.” While Kameron stands on the sidelines of the so-called “silly” fun, aghast, former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Brandi urges, “It’s a joke — laugh.” Kameron doesn’t laugh.

Things only get worse when LeeAnne Locken confiscates the very problematically-named “El Señor Hottie Blackie,” which is its own can of worms. Despite the dildo's imprisoned status, Brandi and on-again-off-again BFF Stephanie Hollman easily steal it back. During an evening boat hangout in “You've Yacht To Be Kidding Me,” Brandi whips the dildo out once again, wields it while laughing hysterically, and tries to touch Kameron’s feet with the sex toy. Although Brandi keeps saying the dildo is just “funny,” the other women on the boat tell her it’s going to “hurt someone’s feelings.” Still, she doesn’t stop until Kameron hops off the yacht. “I did cross her boundaries. Did I do it intentionally?” Brandi asks in a confession interview. “Absolutely.”

So, Brandi did bully Kameron with a sex toy, which is wrong on multiple levels. No one should ever be forced into even a mildly sexual situation they’re not consenting to, whether one person thinks their behaviour was “funny” or not. It’s wrong, case closed. Yet, this wasn’t simple bullying for bullying’s sake. If you listen carefully throughout the vacation episodes, and “Reunion Part 1,” you’ll realise Brandi felt she was reacting to bullying she herself has already suffered.

We can see the wildly different ways Kameron and Brandi women feud the moment the subject of the former “looking down her nose” at the latter comes up in the reunion. Brandi calls Kameron “Big Bird,” which is obviously rude, but also in line with most Bravolebrity insults, like that time RHONY's LuAnn de Lesseps (Formerly D’Agostino) compared Alex McCord to Herman Munster. However, Kameron’s counter is much more pointed, as she tells Brandi, “Then you’re Oscar The Grouch Who Lives In A Trashcan.” The trashcan portion of that insult plays at the bigger tension here: Brandi believes Kameron views her as “lowbrow.” This belief is only bolstered by the fact Kameron repeatedly calls Brandi “trashy” and claims she hails from “the outskirts.” Kameron says she, on the other hand, is from Dallas proper.

Brandi’s poorly-hidden anger about this outlook rears its inappropriate head multiple times during the trip to Mexico, all in relation to the bullying dildo. When Brandi keeps defending her poor “joking” behaviour, Kameron says, “I just feel I was raised a certain way. That type of stuffy isn’t appropriate in my life.” Brandi instantly understands the shade her costar is suggesting and sarcastically says, “I wasn’t raised the same way, I’m so sorry.” Even LeeAnne knows this argument is all about perceived class, saying Kameron's comment was, “pretty much saying, ‘You’re low-class and I’m not.’” This is why, during the later yacht-set dildo antics, Brandi says the sex toy “is not invited to Highland Park.” Highland Park is Kameron’s very exclusive neighbourhood in Dallas.

During the reunion, this problem arrives once again when Kameron explains where she believes Brandi and her best friend Stephanie fit into “Dallas society.” The short answer is: they don’t. During the get-together, Kameron explains of her castmates’ situation, “I always say, ‘I’m not from Paris, therefore, I’m not part of Paris’ society. It’s just logic.’” So, if this were an SAT problem, Kameron is to the foreign City Of Lights as Brandi is to the city she owns property in, goes to parties in, and represents on a reality show, solely because she chooses to raise her family in Plano, 20 miles north of Dallas. Who is surprised Brandi was harbouring some serious, albeit terribly dealt with, resentment in Mexico? After all, this is how Kameron is talking about her cast member after they’ve “buried the hatchet a bit.”

At least the “I was being chased down the beach with a sex toy!” portion of the reunion ends with some real growth. While Brandi brought the dildo to New York City to whip out once more during reunion filming, it’s confirmed she learned rudely bullying people with sex toys is deeply wrong. So, Brandi left it in her hotel room. Who says The Real Housewives doesn’t have character development?