Bravo reportedly fired Drescher and demoted Singer to a recurring role because they want to build the reality show around cast members Heather Thompson, Kristen Taekman and Carole Radziwill.
- Sep 6, 2014
AceShowbiz - "The Real Housewives of New York City" undergoes a cast shakeup entering its seventh season. Various sites report that Aviva Drescher has been axed from the Bravo reality series, while Ramona Singer is downgraded to a recurring role.
Drescher had been on the show for two seasons. She made headlines when the season 6 finale aired as she threw her prosthetic leg during an argument with her co-stars, after she was accused of lying about her asthma to avoid going to Montana with her cast mates.
Singer, meanwhile, is one of the remaining original stars on the show. LuAnn de Lesseps also joined the show in the first season, but she appeared in recurring role in season 6. Lesseps reportedly has been asked back part-time for the seventh season.
A so-called insider tells Us Weekly that the cast shakeup is because "Bravo is casting the show around Heather Thomson and Kristen Taekman and Carole Radziwill. [When] Ramona carried the show, that is why ratings plummeted, they think." It's additionally said that Singer's six-figure paycheck contributed contributed to her demotion.
According to Page Six, Sonja Morgan, Thomson, Taekman and Radziwill have been asked to return for season 7. Supermodel Helena Christensen was allegedly offered to star on the show, but she has turned it down.
