Mia Alario goes toe-to-toe with boss Leva Bonaparte over her new drinking rules in Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek of the Southern Hospitality season 2 premiere.
“You were looking for an apology from Lucía [Peña] for drinking on the job?” Mia, 25, asks Leva, 44, in a preview from the Thursday, December 7, episode of the Bravo series, referring to her coworker who was recently caught drinking on shift.
While Leva is taken aback by Mia’s question, she says that an apology “would personally mean a lot” from Lucía especially after Leva brought her “back” after she had a child and kept her employed for seven years.
“[You brought her back] after having a baby? After maternity leave, basically what normal companies do for women?” Mia quips as stunned VIP manager Maddi Reese watches.
Mia Alario and Leva Bonaparte. Heidi Gutman/Bravo; Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images
Leva, who co-owns Republic Garden & Bar with her husband, Lamar Bonaparte, is once again surprised by Mia’s tone. “What are you doing, Mia?” she asks, to which Mia replies, “I’m upset.”
When pushed further, Mia tells Leva she’s unsettled by “the hypocrisy you are showing as a boss,” which only angers Leva even more.
“What are you talking about? If you are back of the house and you are drinking, [that’s an] immediate fire,” Leva fires back. “That’s the rule. Have you ever read your manual? If you drink back here, you’re done.”
Mia claims she doesn’t “understand” where Leva is coming from, adding, “I don’t get it.” The Southern Charm star appears to be at her wits’ end with Mia and responds, “I don’t need you to get it.”
In one last effort to sway Leva into seeing her side, Mia claims, “Employees have drank here so many times.” The statement, however, prompts Leva to ask, “OK, so who did I keep in here who is drinking back there?” hinting that anyone else who is caught with alcohol while on shift will be terminated.
While Maddi, 26, keeps her mouth shut in the preview, she opened up to Us earlier this month about the uncomfortable moment she witnessed between Leva and Mia.
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“Leva definitely brings the hammer down this season on what we’re doing at work, whether it be our uniforms or drinking or anything like that,” Maddi exclusively explained to Us. “So, literally, I think most of us were worried about our jobs.”
She insisted that Leva was not on a “power trip” despite what some of her castmates may say about their boss after the strict enforcement of the “no drinking” rule.
“I think that Leva cares about her business. [If] you allow drinking, [then] what else [will happen]?” Maddi said. “I feel like Leva cares about our company and wants us to succeed. But sometimes I feel like our cast members are, like, ‘OK, take your foot off the brake. Trust us that we can do our jobs and we do them well.’ But at the end of the day, it’s her business. She’s passionate about it just as much as us, but she wants to make sure it’s doing the best that it can.”
Southern Hospitality season 2 premieres on Bravo Thursday, December 7, at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes will be available the next day on Peacock.
