Christina Applegate has found herself in an unexpected feud with the stars of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City after publicly calling out their behaviour during a crossover episode with Below Deck Down Under.
Applegate's Initial Outburst
The 53-year-old actress took to X this week to express her frustration following Tuesday's episode, which featured the reality TV crossover. Applegate described the treatment of the Below Deck crew by the RHOSLC cast as "super gross" in her social media posts.
She shared a screenshot of an interaction between Captain Jack Chambers and RHOSLC star Britani Bateman while voicing her concerns about how the crew, including chief stew Daisy Kelliher, were treated. "The treatment of the crew and my pals by the women was super gross. I hope they apologised to Jason and Daisy. Wow," Applegate tweeted.
In a since-deleted post, the actress provided more context: "I know you're shooting your show at the same time. But seriously not to even acknowledge the captain and chief stew first officer and chef Ben as they brought out your food was way not cool."
The Dramatic Crossover Episode
The episode that sparked Applegate's criticism featured several tense moments between the reality TV franchises. Britani Bateman was seen expressing interest in Captain Chambers while on a 30-day break from her boyfriend Jared Osmond.
The situation became more complicated when Bateman's castmate Heather Gay revealed she had similar feelings and disclosed that both she and Chambers had "f***ed around" together in the past.
Lisa Barlow intervened at one point, telling her co-stars: "Enough with the pile on. Like, Captain Jason's not interested. It's, like, duh! Right? Back me up on this, Daisy." Barlow then encouraged Kelliher to comment on Chambers' feelings, but the chief stew notably remained silent.
Barlow later described the attention her co-stars were giving the captain as "ridiculous" and added that she "feels bad for him." She emphasised: "I wouldn't want my name dragged around in a conversation that I'm not a part of. Don't do this to people."
Applegate's Change of Heart
On Thursday, Applegate followed up with an apology to the RHOSLC stars after reflecting on her initial comments. "To the SLC ladies I want to apologise. I was just watching and I was a bit shocked," she wrote on X.
"But I realise you're shooting a show too. And you're my favourite franchise! Much love," the actress added, showing she had reconsidered her position.
The drama continued on social media platforms, with Bateman jumping into the comments section of Chambers' Instagram post featuring their screenshot interaction. The reality star wrote: "Look. someone as hot as @captainjchambers should be a paid model…we were all thinking it & Im the only one who said it. You're welcome."
Behind the Scenes Revelations
Captain Chambers had previously spoken to Us Weekly about the intense crossover experience, describing it as "wow. What a wow. What a way to start a season, I'll tell you."
When discussing his RHOSLC guests on the Below Deck yacht, Chambers expressed that the cast had "taken it to a new height" in terms of drama. "I don't think we've had [that] much drama go on, [but] it was so much fun too," he told the outlet.
The captain revealed he had to take on multiple roles during the charter, saying: "I was a doctor. I was a yoga instructor. I was a Zen master. I had to be everything to try and calm the whole thing down."
Personal Context for Applegate
Applegate's comments about the reality TV drama came shortly after she offered rare insights into her personal life during Tuesday's episode of her MeSsy podcast. The actress opened up about her late former partner Lee Grivas, who died from a drug overdose in 2008 at just 26 years old.
"I kind of don't understand sometimes like with Lee, which people know about. You could Google it, whatever," Applegate began during the emotional discussion. "My boyfriend who passed away, it was like I tried everything, right? And he still wanted to escape. When he passed away, it was just like, 'F*** man.'"
Applegate and Grivas had first met in 2006 while she was starring in the Broadway show Sweet Charity. Following his death in July 2008, the actress issued a statement saying: "I am profoundly saddened. Lee was an incredible human being who was an extremely important and beautiful part of my life."
She added at the time: "He is missed beyond words. He touched so many and I feel much sadness for his mother, brother and all of his family and friends."
The actress, who is currently battling multiple sclerosis after announcing her diagnosis in 2021, has mainly remained private about Grivas' death until recently. She also opened up about dealing with grief following her father's passing earlier this year in April.
Daily Mail has reached out to Bravo and Applegate's representatives for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
