WARNING! You are about to read a post where opinions are expressed very graphically & are for entertainment purposes only. The opinions of the author and the commentary that follow are not meant to defame or harm the reputations of the subjects of the post, but merely to entertain. These are opinions only and are not based upon fact. Brace yourself.
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I don’t know if you follow The Real Housewives of New York. I certainly do.
Let me first express my personal opinion of “The Countess”.
Royals who are full of themselves are never well liked. Not by anybody. As a Royal myself, I can tell you if I walked around the UK behaving the way “The Countess” does, I would be stoned to death or run over by a car and everybody would celebrate. Nobody likes anybody who’s full of themselves, regardless of who they are. I found it, therefore, repulsive last season whenever she insisted others address her as “Countess”. Doesn’t she have any manners?
Here’s how introductions are supposed to go…
You: “Hi, Jane, I would like to introduce you to my very good friend, Countess LuAnn.”
Countess: “Jane, so very nice to meet you. Please call me LuAnn. How are you?” (with a warm, extended hand)
In other words, you would be out of etiquette to require others to call you by your Title. They may choose to continue to call you by your Title, but it is completely up to them and totally inappropriate to require it. PUH-LEASE!!!
Which leads me to the next issue I have with The Countess.
She constantly refers to herself as having class!
People with class simply do not speak of it. Anderson Cooper is equally unimpressed with her constant referral of herself as having it. It’s like money, politics and religion, we don’t speak of these things at dinner parties…we just don’t speak of our “class”. Others may refer to us as having a lot of class, but we certainly don’t talk about the class we think we have. That’s classless.
In other words…”The Countess”.is.full.of.herself.
With respect to the conversation she had with Alex McCord, whereupon “The Countess” got up from the table and left the restaurant mid-conversation, having refused to engage in the conversation or address the issues Alex had brought to the table…RUDE.AS.HELL!
As civilized people, we are required to allow others to bring their issues to the fore. Out of respect, we owe it to them listen and to take the time and care to respond to them. That’s what respectful people do. It’s what properly trained people do.
Don’t we all get pissed off when our husbands walk out of the room to avoid a conversation, and isn’t that what they all do? It’s part of that “Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus” stuff. Men walk away from issues, women want to talk about the issues. Alex is a woman.
Which makes me truly wonder, is The Countess sexually confused? She stands up, very full of herself, and announces that Alex should “get a life”. That’s unbelievably rude and, wait, isn’t that what a man would do?
Frankly, It surprised me that Alex didn’t throw a glass of water in The Countess’ face, but then, Alex is too much of a Lady for that, now isn’t she?
We like Alex. She hates confrontation. She hates it when someone is seemingly wronged. She stands up for the underdog. She’s philanthropic. She believes in Gay Rights. She loves her chums. Now Alex is the type of friend we should all have. Alex, please be my friend.
Your friend,
Thank you for finally saying what has been on my mind. Watching Ms. de Lesseps has been excruciating this season. Her posturing as a maven of manners while she sneers, screeches and scolds at Alex (and therefore at us, the viewing public) would be hilarious if it weren’t so mean spirited, vulgar and frankly ugly. It’s as if someone injected a Monty Python character into an American reality show (which actually would be marvelous).
Ms de Lesseps was described by another blogger as the Matron of a Women’s Prison which accurately sums up her grace and comportment.
Excruciating. What an excellent use of the word and this excruciatingly bad behaviour from “The Countess” who will now be writing a column on social etiquette!
Lulu is the perfect example of ‘an ugly american’. Class is not practised by saying it, but by behavior. Her constant put-down of Alex is proof that she thinks she’s elevated herself; but it’s not so. Although Alex is no mach for Lulu, Lulu’s arrogance, and classless demeanor is emphasised.
Does she even know how she comes across, or is she believing her own hype?
She should concentrate on being a fulltime mother to a troubled girl-teenager, who has issues with race, and drugs.
Where she prioritise, she would realise that her ugliness towards Alex is misplaced, and her daughter demonstrate her failure as a prt0time mother to be with a ‘phony’ frenchman.
Boy, you got that one head-on. It became fairly easy for this woman to get “caught up in herself” with the success of the franchise and whoring around is not the best example to set when you have impressionable teen-agers at home. I believe she would have set a better example for her daughter had she allowed herself some down time devoted to the kids, rather than jumping into someone else’s bed right away. Alex is simply not a confrontational human being and is used to more civilized culture, so she is no match for a real life witch. Hats off to Alex for doing her best to maintain her poise.
This is quickly becoming my favorite blog….
What I enjoy is how Alex is emerging as the character whom most reasonable viewers relate and LuAnn is doing her level best to be the character we alternately hate and pity, in equal measure.
Thank you so much on your comments. I am particularly enjoying this season because of LuAnn’s conflictedness…is she a Royal? Is she an expert on class and manners? Or is she the mean, heartless witch she appears to be? In truth, she is The Queen of Mean. I believe the mask is off and we have finally gotten a glimpse of the real LuAnn.
I just found your blog today and just wanted to tell you that I love it!! Lulu is hard to watch this season…. she makes me yell at my tv lol!!
Oh, LOL Hard! Gosh, without The Queen of Mean where on God’s earth would we find our drama! She’s the stuff of great reality television and I am so happy to hear that I am not the only one yelling at my television (at times I can’t quite contain myself!). “The Countess” has taken on a critical role center to my enjoying of this season. I love watching mean girls. It’s what real drama is made of!
I don’t know how anyone likes mean girls. Do you realize what they do go other human beings? You have to be a mean girl to relate to that.
Alex and Simon need their own show. They are interesting people. Jealous Jill and Lu Ann are not.
I personally love mean girls who live in the public eye because they give us the opportunity to observe and learn and talk about, using their behaviors as examples of what not to do. Alex & Simon have endeared themselves to us because they are, like all of us, human. They fall, they get up. They make a mistake, they own it. They love, they show it. We grow as a result.
Just found your blog and am your newest fan. I think it’s just been stunning to watch LuLu over the past few seasons, as she referred to herself as “Countess” (remember “A Countess never drinks beer from a bottle, dahhhling”?). What’s been the funniest of all is watching her incredible rudeness, followed by her references to etiquette. That’s like a 500-pound person writing a diet book! I’m not buying it!
Having studied, lived and worked in Paris for a long time, I have dozens of friends who are of the oldest French aristocratic families, and I don’t know of even one who would ever refer to their title. It’s unseemly.
I think the only time there’s ever mention of it is on a formal invitation to a wedding or black tie event in Paris. Other than that, it might be whispered about by others but certainly never discussed by the person themself. Even friends would introduce them with their first name only.
Am I wrong? Maybe it’s just the group of men and women I know (with a variety of titles, chateaux, and last names to blow your mind) who are so low-key about it? Please do correct me, if that’s not the case everywhere.
But if I am correct (at least about the French aristocracy), why wouldn’t LuAnn’s husband have made this clear to her when they were married? Does she realize she’s laughed at not only for being on a show like this, but also for the constant self references to her title, her class, etc?
Maybe her new book, column, product, etc. shouldn’t be about “class” and “etiquette;” instead, it could be a guide for the nouveau riche on how to pretend you’re the real deal. Just a suggestion…
Even better… let’s call a spade a spade. Just tell us how to be condesending, mean and downright nasty. Now THAT would be an expert writing from experience, wouldn’t it?
Keep up the great blogging! I’ll be reading! Cheers….
Thank you. This is what I have been screaming about with respect to “The Countess”, the new Queen of Mean. I was sad when someone pointed out that “The Countess” was the only Royal they had ever been exposed to and, therefore, believed that this is how all Royals behave. Though she may have married into a Title, it is evident that she did not receive any training, as she behaves as a wanna-be Royal. True Royals are, as you said, humble, gracious and discreet. We just people who have born with a little Title. Only a fool would believe that such a thing makes them “anything”. Discussing class or etiquette, whilst referring to yourself, is digustingly rude and laughable…and quite unbecoming a Lady. eh hemm.
I think one would not have to look to hard to find that the “Countless” as I like to refer to her, is acually trailor park trash. Money can’t buy you class and it apparently can buy you feelings either. She does not like Alex because she knows Alex has a much greater intellect. I think her friendhip swith Kelly is proof of that.
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Ha. Ha. Ha. Yes, people who need to feel “good” about themselves generally gravitate to those who are obviously “less than” they are! I have often thought to myself those very things, trailer park trash, but it is not nice to say that out-loud, to the public, with an audience of several thousand. You and I can concur, though, here in this small space.
You captured perfectly.
I was taught in bordingschool-one of our classes was etiquette-and if was suggested that you never put yourself first, regardless of statue, or class.
In my opinion-class, respect, and integrity- is displayed by example of behavior, not what Lulu shows.
She has no class, sexually confused is a good label-she sure acts like she is mor man than woman. She puts her boyfriend before her kids, and splits time with kids, and then in NY with her boyfriend. A good mother does not do that.
She’s selfish, immature, married an old man wit money and title, and can let go. She needs to get a life, and stop being ignorant, rude, and out of order!
Well, you’re exactly right. People need to learn who they are without Title or money. I get the feeling if we stripped these women of all that, they would all be a bit humbled, but also would have to redefine the essence of who they are and, thus, their journey would begin. Right now, they are seemingly away for the core of their being distracted with the trappings and events. The trick in life is to work on humbling yourself “as if” you had nothing. Only then can the true person emerge.