Credit: @crystalkungminkoff
Crystal Minkoff agreed to put her life on national television when she signed her contract to become a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills. However, no matter how strong you are or how much you think you can handle it, there comes a time when something is said on camera that embarrasses you or makes you feel bad. For Crystal Kung Minkoff, it was when her costars discussed her eating disorder on camera. It’s not like Crystal Minkoff has been silent about her eating disorder in the past. The reality television star has been very open about the fact that she grew up with an eating disorder. She suffered from both body dysmorphia and bulimia. She was mocked and bullied as a child for being chunky, and she couldn’t handle it.
Crystal Minkoff’s Childhood Trauma
Kids are mean. It’s that simple. Not all of them intend to be mean (though many do intend to be mean). However, kids often say what is on their minds before they have a chance to think about it. Kids have a very little filter, and that’s not uncommon. For Minkoff, growing up with kids who knew better was difficult. She was bullied, belittled, made fun of, and mocked regularly for her appearance. She wasn’t the thinnest kid on the block, and the kids she went to school with did not let her forget that. She struggled with her eating disorder for many years, and opening up about it on the show was a pivotal moment for the reality star.
Credit: @crystalkungminkoff
Her Castmates Made Her Feel Bad
Crystal Minkoff has been very open about her struggles and what that means for her. However, she signed up for a show in which people are not famous for their pleasant behavior and kind words. She signed up to be part of a reality show where women are catty and use anything and everything. Minkoff admitted that some of the conversations she had with other women on the show were exceptionally hurtful and difficult for her. When they discussed her weight, she often felt embarrassed.
“I felt embarrassed. Like suddenly, the show didn’t exist, and I just felt embarrassed. There’s a feeling of embarrassment being on the show, the idea of being filmed. And then, you know, I got made fun of, as a child, for being chubby. That’s how it felt,” said Crystal Minkoff of her time on the show and how it made her feel when her costars talked about eating disorders and her weight.
What Was Said that is So Offensive?
There were many things that were said during the season that set Crystal Minkoff off, and she is happy to talk about those things. It seems Erika Girardi might be among the most insensitive to the newest member of the cast. She is, after all, the one who told Minkoff that she should try losing weight by taking laxatives. She also told her that she should not eat a chicken tender. These things set off Crystal Minkoff because she’s lived that life. She went on to explain that eating disorders do not always look the same.
For Crystal Minkoff, her eating disorder looked like throwing up after a meal – which Girardi asked her about on the show. She was the one who ate a meal and promptly threw it up growing up. It’s how she managed to keep the weight off and how she struggled. For her friend, she would eat and then immediately tax laxatives. The problem was that neither she nor her friend realized that laxatives are a form of an eating disorder.
Kyle Richards later asked Crystal Minkoff whether she binged on food she wanted and then threw it up. When the question made Minkoff feel uncomfortable, and she responded the same, Richards was quick to reconcile the question with the fact that she once had an eating disorder, too. This, apparently, is a green light to ask any question you want of another person. Crystal Minkoff said she told the women that the questions were too graphic for her but that the show edited out her response.
Credit: @crystalkungminkoff
Is Being on Television Grounds for These Questions?
The real question here is whether this line of questioning is all right when you are on television. When you sign up to have your life broadcast online every moment of every day, do you sign up for things like this? If something makes you uncomfortable, do you have the right to sit back and allow people to talk to you like that, or do you have a right to ask them to stop? There are a lot of gray areas when it comes to what’s allowed and what’s crossing the line on reality television, and Crystal Minkoff is speaking out about it.
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