Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jennie Nguyen spoke out Wednesday for the first time following her firing from the reality TV show, saying that she is “proud to be a Republican” but cannot recall whether she or her social media team shared conservative memes that have been deemed unacceptable by the Bravo showrunners.
Bravo fired Nguyen over posts she shared on social media calling out the Marxist, far-left organization Black Lives Matter and critiquing rioters amid the summer 2020 riots that spread across the country after the death of George Floyd.
In an Instagram Live stream Wednesday, Nguyen said she couldn’t remember if it was her or her social media team that had posted the memes, according to a report by Page Six.
“I just want you to understand that, during that time, I had a team of people that [were] helping me,” she said. “Whether they posted [or] I posted, it doesn’t really matter at this point — it’s on my account and I take full responsibility and accountability for what was posted.”
Nguyen had posted memes containing pro-police and anti-Black Lives Matter content, as well as calling out violent gangs in the wake of the 2020 riots.
“I know I hurt a lot of people,” she said. “My viewpoint during that time in 2020 was emotional and it brings back a lot of memories during that time when we went through such a tragic, terrible year.”
Nguyen went on to say that she is a “proud” Republican, stating, “I want you to understand that my political stance, I still support that. I’m very proud to be a Republican. I am proud to be able to say I have the freedom of speech, too, and to have an opinion.”
“The reality TV star was also joined by a friend, whom she introduced as Michael,” according to a report by Fox News. Michael, who is black, explained that he was there to “support” the reality star.
“This is what you do for your friends,” he said.
Michael also said he had to “educate” Nguyen on the Black Lives Matter movement and that she is a “great person.”
Before being fired, Nguyen posted a statement to Instagram, writing, “I want to acknowledge and apologize for my deleted Facebook posts from 2020 that resurfaced today.”
“At the time, I thought I was speaking out against violence, but I have since learned how offensive and hurtful my words were,” she added. “It’s why I deactivated that account more than a year ago and why I continue to try to learn about perspectives different from my own. I regret those posts and am sincerely sorry for the pain they caused.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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