NEED TO KNOW
Jill Zarin was fired from E!'s The Golden Life after posting a video criticizing Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show for having "no white people" and being in Spanish.
Dorinda Medley has officially been announced as her replacement, joining Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer, and Kelly Bensimon.
Sources suggest Medley may have always been part of the plan, with the network holding the reveal for a bigger premiere-season splash.
Well,Jill Zarinreally did it this time. TheRHONYlegend — beloved by some, tolerated by most — managed to get herself fired from a show before it even started filming, which is an achievement so spectacular it almost deserves its own Bravo confessional.
You know the story by now. OnSuper BowlSunday, Zarin posted a video that quickly became the night's most talked-about moment, and it had nothing to do withBad Bunny. She called his halftime show "the worst halftime show ever," complained it was entirely in Spanish, and went fully off the rails by noting there were "literally no white people in the entire thing." For a franchise that was already torched once by racism allegations, the optics couldn't have been worse.
Production company Blink49 Studios didn't waste any time. "In light of recent public comments made by Jill Zarin, Blink49 Studios has decided not to move forward with her involvement inThe Golden Life. We remain committed to delivering the series in line with our company standards and values." Translation:You're done, sweetie.
Zarin, for her part, wasn't going quietly. "They didn't even give me a chance. I took it down right away. People make mistakes. I'm human," she toldIn Touch Weekly. Sure, Jill. Human, indeed.
Enter Dorinda Medley, who had already made her feelings crystal clear before any official casting news dropped. On SiriusXM'sReality Checked, Dorinda held absolutely nothing back: "I disagree with absolutely everything she said. I don't think you can walk away from what we had the luxury of witnessing."
That kind of public statement basically wrote her casting announcement for her.
Medley confirmed the news herself in a statement: "Well, the rumors are true! I will be joining the women on The Golden Life in Palm Beach. After decades of friendship, and navigating life's ups and downs together, it will be nice to reconnect with my 'sisters.' I am so excited to celebrate and share the next chapter of our lives!"
The show — a 10-episode series set in Palm Beach, Florida — will now feature Medley alongside Luann de Lesseps,Sonja Morgan,Ramona Singer, andKelly Bensimon. Produced by Blink49 Studios, the season is set to start filming this spring in South Florida.
Here's the twist, though: sources suggest that Dorinda wasn't necessarily hired at the last minute to replace Jill — she was always involved in the show, but the network wanted to reveal it closer to the premiere date. So what looked like a crisis pivot may have actually been a carefully timed casting reveal that just got blown wide open by Jill's Super Bowl disaster.
The show's logline promises the kind of drama we've been waiting for: "Bound by decades of shared history, fallouts and friendship, this fan-favorite group of New Yorkers are starting fresh together in the Sunshine State. Though skies are bright in Florida, unresolved drama looms as they reconnect after years of highs and lows."
There will be some unresolved drama in Palm Beach with Dorinda Medley and Ramona Singer sharing the same zip code. Truly,The Golden Lifeis delivering before the cameras have even rolled.
Dorinda doesn't actually live in Florida like the rest of the cast, but that's a minor logistical problem for a network that just turned a racism scandal into a casting opportunity in under 48 hours. They'll figure it out.
The Golden Life is set to premiere on E! later in 2026.
MORE POP CULTURE HEADLINES
