Jill Zarin Stands Behind 'RHONY: Legacy' Negotiation Holdout: 'I Started The Show'
Show her the money! Jill Zarin has confirmed her negotiation holdout is what kept the highly-anticipated Real Housewives of New York: Legacy series from seeing the light of day — and she doesn't regret it, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Jill, 59, said that if it wasn't for her, the show wouldn't be what it is today and argued that, alone, should have her rolling in the dough. Speaking about the negotiation standoff over Oscars weekend, the original RHONY star revealed there's conflict among the ladies about her decision.
When reporter Ricky Cornish told her she should be paid just as much as the other RHONYs, Jill didn't hesitate to spill the tea.
"I got a phone call from one of the housewives yesterday telling me that people are saying that I shouldn't be running around saying that and that they should be getting more than me because they've been on the show longer," she revealed, adding, "And I'm like, 'You know what? That's okay. You can think that — not true. You wouldn't be on it if I wasn't on the show.'"
Saying she's been "tired" of not defending herself, Jill stood behind her stance. "I'm going to defend myself and say, 'I started the show. I cast three of them," she spewed.
Jill said it's simple.
"I think this was my time, and they should pay us all equally," the RHUGT star explained. "And if they don't want to that's perfectly fine — just don't include me."
In February, it was revealed the Legacy reboot was "dead." The news came months after RadarOnline.com exclusively reported that sources told us anyone from the OG RHONY who signed on for the spin-off would face a drastic pay cut (as little as $100k) for their services despite their massive fanbases.
Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, Dorinda Medley, and Kelly Bensimon were all allegedly ready to sign their contracts and move forward with production, but Jill was "pushing for a big payday." That was allegedly the straw that broke the camel's back.
Jill later came clean to Jeff Lewis on his SiriusXM podcast about the rumors.
"I just wanted everyone to get paid the same," she stated earlier this month. "We started together. In fact, I cast the show. I brought on Bethenny (Frankel), I brought on Luann, I brought on Ramona (Singer). So, for nothing else, I should definitely get paid the same as everybody else, or I'm not doing it."
She also discussed the accusation that she was holding out from Friends-type money.
"Someone referred to it that Jill wanted Friends money. Well, they got half of it right," Jill said. "I wanted the equality, but I didn't expect Bravo to write a million-dollar check."
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While Jill is out, the others are still holding out hope the reboot will move forward.
“I always said, ‘Never count out the Countess,’ but in this case, it’s, ‘Never count out the New York City Housewives,'” Luann told People, adding that she has “no doubt they’ll find a way to bring the OG’s and beloved New York City Housewives back together again.”
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