'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Diana Jenkins files lawsuit to expose Twitter bots who attacked Garcelle Beauvais' 14-year-old son
- Twitter bots attacked Garcelle Beauvais' 14-year-old son Jax with racist and sexist comments.
- Diana Jenkins was accused of being behind the attacks. She filed a lawsuit to find the culprit.
"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Diana Jenkins filed a lawsuit to unmask the party behind online attacks on costar Garcelle Beauvais' son Jax Nilon.
The suit was filed in California's Superior Court against an anonymous defendant called John Doe. Its chief complaint is "invasion of privacy by false light."
Jax, 14, received an onslaught of negative comments from a troop of bots amid scenes that showed Beauvais clashing with Jenkins and others in the latest season of "Housewives."
One of the comments mentioned in the suit suggested that Jax would have his neck knelt on, similar to George Floyd, if not for his "white daddy" and threatened his life. Others cited the past drug use by his elder brother Oliver, 31, and called his mother a "D-list actress."
In episode eight, Erika Jayne Girardi yelled at Jax after his mother's birthday party. Viewers saw Jax try to retrieve a floral centerpiece as the festivities were winding down, prompting Girardi to yell "get the fuck out." The incident led to Beauvais asking Girardi if she had a drinking problem.
Girardi explained that she had been mixing her prescribed medications with alcohol and had not gotten a handle on how to balance her treatment and her drinking. She apologized to Beauvais for her actions in episode nine.
Afterward, Girardi accused Beauvais of faking concern to make herself look better on camera. During the party where the incident occurred, Jenkins and Beauvais had a disagreement stemming from comments Jenkins made about Beauvais' close friend and costar Sutton Stracke.
Some online assumed Jenkins was the source of the bot attacks on Jax. She issued a denial in an Instagram post on August 26.
"I have been accused of instigating the hateful and inexcusable cyberbullying of Garcelle's son," wrote Jenkins. "Nothing could be further from the truth. I have stood for human rights my whole life. There is no place for hate in this world."
The suit includes links to tweets expressing the theory that she was responsible. It also cites an article written by Jeroslyn Johnson for ScreenRant in which the author rounds up the arguments made by various fans arguing that Jenkins was the culprit of the attacks and a post by Avigail Landreneau at All About the Tea which lists allegations against Jenkins posted on Twitter.
The suit argues that the person responsible intended to make it look as if Jenkins was behind the bots.
Jenkins' attorneys stated that she filed the complaint to "unmask and hold accountable the morally bankrupt person who has attacked a child and placed blame for his/her actions on Ms. Jenkins."
Bravo issued a statement renouncing the hateful comments made by the bots and several housewives from other franchises posted statements of support for Garcelle and her family.
"I am heartbroken for @garcelle & her family to endure hateful and disgusting messages. I'm heartbroken for anyone who is on the receiving end of this hateful bullying. Stop this vile behavior," wrote "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice on Instagram.
"I feel terrible and helpless by what's happening to @garcelle and her family. And my thoughts and prayers are with them," added Giudice's costar Jennifer Adyin in her own Instagram post.
New episodes of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" air Wednesdays on Bravo at 8 P.M. ET.