Still a Housewife … for now. Andy Cohen spoke out about the accusations surrounding Erika Jayne and her estranged husband, Tom Girardi, after the release of the documentary The Housewife and the Hustler.
The executive producer, 53, addressed the allegations during the Wednesday, June 16, episode of SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live when a caller asked how the ABC News Originals special would “affect Erika’s future” on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
“Well, I don’t know,” Cohen replied. “I don’t think that documentary will affect her future on the show.”
The caller then described how the project was “the first thing I ever saw as a viewer that made me not want to watch the show or watch her on the show, just because seeing her life of opulence, knowing that that money was stolen money, made it a little bit icky.”
Cohen, however, called into question the legitimacy of the claims made in the documentary while also admitting that the accusations against Tom, 82, are serious. “I will say the idea that Danielle Staub and Dana Wilkey are the experts in this documentary about Erika is questionable at best. So I kind of realized I wasn’t gonna learn anything new from them about Erika,” he said. “The Tom Girardi stories continue to be deeply disturbing, and we have to see how this plays out.”
The Housewife and the Hustler, which premiered earlier this week, featured interviews with Tom’s alleged victims, who claim he stole their settlement money after representing them as their lawyer. His former client Joe Ruigomez alleged that Tom was “always talking about Erika” when they interacted, calling his now estranged wife, 49, “the sweetest thing.”
Law360 features reporter Brandon Lowrey said that Erika’s role as “secretary” of Tom’s Girardi Financial company raises “questions” about “what she knew, whether she benefited from this, what she’s received in that capacity.” Although the reality star has not been charged, the journalist added that it will “be hard for her to say she didn’t know that anything was going on.”
Us Weekly confirmed that Erika’s lawyer, Peter Mastan, requested on Monday, June 14, to be taken off of her bankruptcy case after the documentary’s release.
The Bravo star filed for divorce from Tom in November 2020 after 20 years of marriage. The following month, the estranged couple were sued for allegedly embezzling funds intended for the families of victims killed in a 2018 plane crash.
Erika claimed in the season 11 Real Housewives of Beverly Hills trailer, which was released in April, that she “did not” have a heads up about the lawsuits against Tom.
“Erika was completely unaware of the very serious allegations that were being made against Tom in court,” a source exclusively claimed to Us in December 2020. “Tom always handled all of the finances and that was how they handled things. Erika feels betrayed by Tom because she completely trusted him.”
Us revealed later that month that the “How Many F–ks?” singer “has been advised on what she can put out there” about her divorce on the reality show because “legally, there is only so much she is allowed to say.”
