Joe Gorga defended having “tough conversations” with his niece Gia Giudice in regards to his ex-brother-in-law and her dad, Joe Giudice.
In a recent “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” episode, Gia confronted her “disrespectful” uncle for previously accusing Joe Giudice of “[putting] [his] mother in her f–king grave” and saying he didn’t know how to be a “man.”
On Tuesday’s episode of “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen,” Cohen asked Gorga, 42, about having “tough conversations” with Gia, 21.
“It’s one of those things where you’re watching at home, and you’re both right,” Cohen told him. “You can understand she doesn’t want to hear it anymore about her dad, and you’re in this position of trying to stand up for your family.”
Gorga claimed he “never really speak[s] about Joe Giudice ever,” and that Giudice has been the one talking to outlets about him and his wife, Melissa Gorga.
“I wonder if they [Joe Giudice’s daughters] ever yell at him for anything,” Gorga said. “If you go out and look, there’s 11 articles [Giudice has spoken to]. I’ve never said anything.”
The standup comedian continued, explaining that prior to his heated argument with Gia, his sister Teresa Giudice had been venting to him about her ex-husband.
“Before that day, my sister’s telling me they’re going through a divorce, and she’s telling me all these things that he was saying to her,” Gorga said. “So I’m sitting there, and I’m thinking about all this, and then we had that episode a couple days later, so I explode and it’s my sister — I’m trying to protect her.”
Melissa previously told Page Six that it “always hurts” when her husband and her niece feud.
“He loves them so much. He has a really special place [in his heart for] her girls, especially Gia,” Melissa told us in February. “He’s always put in a tough position because I think he’s never going to win the conversation about their father.”
Gia also appeared on “WWHL” in February, when she gave her opinion on the confrontation.
“I was a little surprised by the way he reacted towards me and how defensive he was, because bottom of the line, it is my father so have a little respect. Just a little,” she told Cohen.
Teresa and Joe Giudice finalized their divorce in 2020 after 20 years of marriage. Joe currently splits his time between Italy and the Bahamas since being deported from the US in October 2018 after serving three years in prison for fraud. The two also share daughters Gabriella, 17, Milania, 16, and Audriana, 13.
“The Real Housewives of New Jersey” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
