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Credit: Instagram
Tamra Judge compared Jennifer Pedranti to Janet Caperna during an interview on Lala Kent‘s podcast on Wednesday.
As she also shared new details about her troubled past with Gretchen Rossi, 46, explained the reasoning behind her “deadbeat dad” statement against Slade Smiley, 51, and revealed what she regretted about their recent Instagram feud, the 57-year-old Real Housewives of Orange County star looked back on her FBI drama with Ryan Boyajian, 49, and spoke of how Jenn, 48, was cast on the show.
“[Jenn] was a Janet. She wanted to be on the show,” Tamra declared on the August 20 episode of Give Them Lala.
As fans of The Valley may have heard, Janet was accused of being a “fan” of Vanderpump Rules and plotting a run-in with Scheana Shay, 40, which ultimately got her on the show.
As for how Jenn was cast on the show, Tamra said that she asked several women, including Jenn, who frequented her former gym, CUT Fitness, at the prompting of the producers.
“They reached out to her, they passed on her, and they brought [Braunwyn Windham-Burke] on … At the time [she was still married to William Pedranti]. So I never gave her name ever again, never said anything to casting about anybody, and then years later I get a text message saying, ‘Hey, the show’s reaching out to me,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, well, try out. It could be good for you.’ I know that’s what she’s always wanted, and I didn’t have any hard feelings for her … we just weren’t close,” she said.
After Jenn joined RHOC in 2023 for season 17, it was suggested that she was a “best friend” of Tamra’s. However, according to Tamra, that wasn’t the case.
“I’m like, ‘I invited you to a few things and you came to my gym … But by no means were we best friends,’“ she clarified.
Reflecting on her comments about Jenn wanting to be her, Tamra said that the on-camera conversation was tricky because she was trying to explain herself without breaking the fourth wall.
“I feel like she kind of honed in on me and started going to my gym and doing all these things,” Tamra noted.
She then stated that she never called the old image she shared of Jenn a “fatty photo.”
“She’s not fat. She had been coming to my gym. I met her at my gym … she was heavier than she is now, but by no means fat … She’s always had an amazing body, but now she’s very, very thin,” Tamra explained.
Although Tamra acknowledged that Jenn had become “more vocal” in her confessionals, she didn’t note that as a good thing. Instead, she suggested Jenn used her interviews to paint a certain narrative.
“[Jenn] and I are a lot different. She likes to play victim on things and drag things out,” she explained.
Moving on to another castmate, Gretchen, Tamra said that despite her efforts to turn over a new leaf, she and Gretchen were unable to get to a better place amid filming.
“I try all season long to get to a better place with her, and you’ll see as it goes on,” she teased.
While Tamra has been accused of trash-talking Gretchen and her longtime fiance, Slade, Tamra insisted that she’s only repeated widely-known reports.
“The only time I’ve ever said anything is when his son passed away, and the mother put out a statement on TMZ, and [Teddi Mellencamp] read it in our headlines. That was it … I made zero false allegations against Slade in my podcast … Teddi read the headlines,” she explained.
Tamra also said she “never called” Slade a “deadbeat dad” before noting that she repeated the information found in the press.
“‘Deadbeat dad?’” she asked. “It was in the press. If my husband wasn’t paying child support and it was in the press, do you think no one’s gonna bring it up?”
“I also said, ‘This is Slade’s son, and that’s hard and it’s sad.’ I promoted the GoFundMe and Teddi, and I donated $1,000,” she continued. “[But] I feel like when people get stuck on things from the past, it’s because they’re true.”
Looking back on her recent IG feud with Gretchen, Tamra said that when she called for more compassion from her castmates, she was not referring to Gretchen.
“I don’t expect it from Gretchen or Jen .. Where I want it from like [Emily Simpson], Gina, and [Heather Dubrow], and Heather’s been very, very kind to me and has been through the process with me, and [Dr. Terry Dubrow] being a doctor, he got on the phone with me in the beginning when Teddi got sick and talked to me about things,” she revealed. “They were always there for me.”
Tamra then admitted to regretting the post that sparked the feud, which saw Gretchen suggesting she was hypocritical for wanting sympathy when she didn’t give it to her when she went through hard times.
“After I posted it, I’m like, ‘Why did I do that? I shouldn’t have done that. It was too impulsive, but now it’s out there. Sh*t, what do I do?’ By midday, I’m like, ‘Take it down,’” Tamra recalled of the message that additionally gave a nod to Shannon Beador‘s DUI.
Also on Lala’s podcast, Tamra looked back on her FBI feud with Ryan, saying, “With the FBI, I didn’t just pull it out of my a**. It was out there. It came out.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 19 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
