A couple
of weeks ago on The Real Housewives of
New York City, LuAnn de Lesseps, a.k.a. The Countess, visited a Boys &
Girls Club to meet with and mentor a group of “Smart Girls.” After watching
this segment of the show, I immediately wanted to quote Bethenny and shout: “Oh
no you di-in’t!”
I give The Countess credit for “giving back” to the community, although when
giving back requires that you reach your destination in a chauffeured town car,
perhaps your perspective is a bit askew.
The session started with the girls and LuAnn writing down what they like best
about themselves. Rather than LuAnn further reinforcing the girls’ self-esteem,
she merely reinforced her own by telling the girls that she’s likeable, funny
and organized. Nothing terrible there.
Where it quickly went downhill was when LuAnn quizzed the girls on the
importance of being a Countess, which was met with blank stares and such
disinterest, I almost heard crickets chirping.
And then,
the “piece de resistance,” as The Countess would say, was when the girls talked
about what they wanted to do when they grew up. One girl, who was tall and somewhat
heavyset (as my mother would say), said she wanted to be a model. Thankfully,
LuAnn agreed that she had a pretty face. But then, as a throw-away aside to the
co-mentor, she said “Losing weight is the easy part.” Wow, Countess, thanks for
crushing that girl’s dreams. The girl never mentioned her weight but LuAnn just
had to point out her flaws in a session aimed at building up. Funny, how it
ended with her tearing someone down.
The scene ended with her playing basketball with the girls and feeling like the
girls just couldn’t get enough of her time with them. I think that if these are
truly the “smart girls,” they had more than enough Countess for one day.
Watch yourself and tell me if I'm wrong:
