In the last episode of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Erika Jayne decided to go commando underneath the dress she wore to an all-white function with some of the other housewives. Underwear would have ruined her outfit, and that simply isn’t worth the pretense of modesty. Erika going pantyless shouldn’t have been a big deal, but we learn in episode four that it was — and for all of the wrong reasons.
Last week, the group learned that Erika was free-buffing when Lisa Vanderpump put her hand up her skirt and asked Erika to lend a pair of knickers to Kyle Richards. But apparently Dorit’s husband PK spotted the fashion choice pretty early on couldn’t keep his eyes off of Erika’s nether regions. This week, he shares his feelings with Dorit. PK insists that he was extremely uncomfortable and found it inappropriate to make Erika aware of her malfunction; but he admittedly enjoyed the view and wouldn’t stop looking.
Dorit doesn't like that her husband spent an evening staring at another woman’s vagina. That’s a reasonable reaction. But almost immediately, that discomfort is directed at Erika Jayne instead of PK. And thus #pantygate is born. Dorit begins making rounds among the other housewives to slut shame Erika for not being ladylike enough to cross her legs during the dinner. Luckily, none of the other women seem to buy into Dorit’s campaign that Erika was intentionally trying to show off her goods. But her misguided feelings seem to be fueled by some internalized sexism that victim blames women while chucking up men’s misconduct to their gender. More than once, Dorit dismisses PK’s ogling with “he’s a man.”
After trash talking Erika to anyone who will listen, Dorit convinces herself that her crusade against Erika is just a cheeky joke that she can include Erika in on. Dorit presents Erika with a pair of underwear and mentions the accidental slip up before they head into an escape room adventure. This is how Erika learns that her private parts were seen by the others. Erika looks a mixture of embarrassed and angry that people have been talking about such a sensitive issue behind her back. Erika is rightfully upset and puts Dorit on notice that gossiping about a situation never makes it better.
Later at dinner, Dorit insists that she was only kidding around but Erika isn’t falling for it. Neither am I. Passive aggressiveness is my pet peeve. I firmly believe in either addressing a situation head-on or shutting up about it. Dorit’s approach to this situation was problematic, unnecessary, and petty. I officially have my most disliked housewife.
With #pantygate dominating most of episode four, I only have a couple of questions: Who is Kim? Did Lisa Rinna’s daughters make it in New York on their own?