Why are they like this?
A number of the cast members on The Real Housewives of Orange County can be real pieces of work, and Vicki Gunvalson is no exception. But nobody deserves to be mocked for being sick.
In trying to poke fun at their frenemy for her malady, Tamra Judge, Shannon Beador, and Meghan Edmonds mostly just revealed their ignorance and insensitivity for the whole world to see. Again.
If you read our latest The Real Housewives of Orange County recap, you know that in addition to talk of forgiving Kelly and some of the usual factional talk, there was a lot of talk about health.
Well … a lot of that was about plastic surgery, but not all of it.
One small portion of the episode involved Vicki Gunvalson informing her frenemies that she was sick.
Specifically, she announced that she had Influenza B.
This announcement triggered a flurry of insults as Tamra, Shannon, and Meghan jumped at the chance to ridicule Vicki.
Tamra, of course, resents Vicki for spreading gay rumors about her husband.
Shannon Beador blamed Vicki Gunvalson for making her fat, and Vicki’s shared some nasty rumors about her marriage, as well.
Meghan Edmonds asked: “How does she know what letter it is? … She got tested because she thought it was C or A? “
A lot of rich people, particularly those who are older, have great insurance and don’t mind copays and would rather know what’s wrong with them than just suffer through it.
And, oh by the way, Vicki — like the rest of her castmates — isn’t as young as she used to be.
Illnesses can get more serious as you age.
But Meghan continued. “Like why do you get it tested? All you do is you deal with it and you get better.”
Look, that’s how most of us deal with getting sick.
(Honestly, even if I had the resources of a Real Housewife, I would still probably just stay in bed with blankets and broth)
But it’s usually considered the smart thing to:
-go to the doctor
-get tested
-get official medical advice and get medication either recommended or prescribed to suit your precise needs
Tamra Judge, who hasn’t been anything close to a friend of Vicki’s for a long, long time, keeps the criticism going.
“She’s very dramatic.”
Yes … literally all of them are, or they wouldn’t be on a Real Housewives show.
But unless there was some off-camera lamenting on Vicki’s part that this flu was going to be the end of her, her dramatic tendencies aren’t relevant.
But Meghan Edmonds continued:
“The text is going to say ‘I’m dramatic as f–k and I have to make it as bad as it can possibly sound, so I’m going to put a letter next to influenza."”
Shannon Beador does her best to “burn” Vicki under the circumstances:
“She’s not Vicki anymore. Her name is ‘victim."”
Uh … nice try, Shannon.
Look, we’re not the sort to rush to Vicki’s defense, but these three were making total asses of themselves and we’re not going to pretend that they weren’t.
Unlike Influenza A, which tends to strike during the winter months, Influenza B can infect people and cause them to develop flu symptoms throughout the year.
Most of us think of the flu as an inconvenience, but Influenza B specifically is acknowledges as a potentially fatal disease that claims lives all around the globe every single year.
And that’s despite a slower mutation rate than Influenza A (which means that Influenza B has a harder time adapting)
If you’re still wondering why, aside from idle curiosity or even just being specific, it matters that Vicki Gunvalson got Influenza B …
… Influenza B can have a particularly harsh impact on children and adolescents.
Knowing that she has Influenza B might cause her to avoid contact with children even more carefully.
And, again, knowing exactly what makes you sick shouldn’t be mocked.
It’s just useful information.
Sometimes when you reach too hard for a way to put down someone else, you just look like a fool.