Former Bravo producer Patrick McDonald says Heather Gay’s black eye saga changed how he saw her on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and that the controversy should have ended her run on the show.
Heather spent much of the season saying she did not know how she got the injury, while theories spread about who might have been responsible. She later said Jen Shah caused it.
On the Bravo While Black podcast, Patrick said the way the mystery played out was damaging because production staff were pulled into the speculation.
“That is one of the most reckless things that any housewife has ever done,” he said, adding that he “lost so much respect for her” and was surprised Bravo kept her.
Patrick said his concern wasn’t just the storyline, but what the rumors could have meant for people working behind the scenes.
“It’s so potentially damaging to all of these people that work really hard on these shows,” he explained.
“She’s not trustworthy,” Patrick continued. “Also, you’re not a reliable narrator.”
If he had been producing the show at the time, Patrick said he would have been direct with her.
“I’d be like, ‘Look, I don’t trust you. And you are putting this crew at risk by insinuating stuff like that,'” adding it should have “cost her her snowflake.”
Heather has not responded to Patrick’s remarks.