Diane Dimond’s “Cirque de Salahi” book cover

No tickets or background checks needed for this book club. We dig into the tale of RHODC’s Michaele and Tareq Salahi where the truth is stranger than fiction.

Episode 82 on Spotify

Sharon: So she said she was leaving to see her sick mom. Yeah, because she didn’t want to. That’s their code for ifms.

Caitlin: We should have a code for now. And the new thing is we have to go see the salahi. Something happens at Bravo Con. That’s where we’re going to use. Hi, this is Caitlin.

Sharon: And this is Sharon.

Caitlin: And welcome to Real Housewives on Real Housewives, where we unravel housewives story threads and keep the tea blowing.

Sharon: So chic.

Caitlin: Hold onto your reading glasses.

Sharon: Today we’re digging into Cirque du Solhi. Be careful who you trust. It’s a book written by Diane diamond. She’s a super serious journalist. It was published in September of 2010, which is about one month after the Real Housewives of Washington, DC premiered. Now, according to the desk jacket, this, book tells the inside story of Mikhail and Tarek Salahi. The never before revealed details of what happened before, during, and after their November 2009 appearance at the Obama administration’s first state dinner. This journalistic autopsy reveals how one event can capture a ravenous media’s attention, become the fodder for bogus political drama, blah, blah, blah. It goes on forever. And then she basically rags on the journalism industry for being sensationalist.

Caitlin: I feel like she was trying to come up with a thesis to get her PhD or something. Like, this is what it feels like when you kind of write one and then your advisor’s like, you’re going to need to focus that in. Exactly. That’s what it is.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: Okay, so this book is funny because we really wanted to read it because there’s so many unanswered questions about the salahi drama. But the book, if you try to buy it, it’s like $250 plus on Amazon. There’s no Kindle version. We ended up reading it on collectorofbookboyfriends.com.

Sharon: Yeah, yeah, it’s totally free there.

Caitlin: We clicked page by page. It was a very painful process. Although, bless whoever did it.

Sharon: Yeah, I mean, it’s just free on the website.

Caitlin: Cause we were like, what are we gonna do? We’re dying to read this. But we’re not. Dollar 250.

Sharon: Dying to read this. I would have bought.

Caitlin: I mean, and I don’t even think it was signed by Diane diamond or a salahi. So, no. So, anyway, you’re gonna have to listen to this, because getting your hands on it is not gonna be simple. So this is your one chance to understand the deep depths that is this media circus, if you will. Okay, what was the best part. What did you like about this book, the hot tea?

Sharon: The best part is the rage it induced in me, because I’m so excited to yell about it.

Caitlin: Yeah. I said, I did appreciate, finally, that we’re kind of, like, diving into the incidents, because the incidents were hinted at so much on the show, but then we never got any real information behind it, so I was trying to be kind. But what I thought was the most interesting was actually the black caucus dinner, because we knew so little of that. And so it was interesting to learn that the lawyer had had the tickets for it, because they kept saying, like, they didn’t know who had the tickets when they crashed the black Caucus dinner. Okay. Then the whole issue was this. They explained that they were in the kitchen to let Bravo cameras, and we have no Bravo footage of this. So they were saying Bravo was late. Yeah. I thought it was really interesting. They were saying, like, bravo was late. The whole reason that they went to this was to provide, like, an eye on cultural events in the city and things from different backgrounds and, like that. That’s what they wanted to do. But the communication director said they had no tickets, and they were asked to leave. So I think it’s just interesting. And the reason I kind of chose this here is when I first read that, I thought, well, okay, that kind of makes sense. That’s why they were in the kitchen. It’s like, there’s so many of these things, though, that feel so rehearsed, like, you’ve thought about it so many times that you have your story straight for trial. And this is sort of like the first hot tea that shows that that’s what we’re in for.

Sharon: The rest of the book, I think I just tuned it out. Cause it’s so obviously b’s.

Caitlin: It’s so obvious. but, like, they really did sit down and do some homework. They did some work to get their stories straight. I feel like, no, the salahis, you don’t feel like they didn’t give them. I think you’re giving them on their own. Like, they had to sit down and work it out. There was charts.

Sharon: You’re just giving them way too much credit.

Caitlin: But they had to have their stories straight. That’s the one thing I’m gonna give you. They had to work as a team.

Sharon: Folly ade.

Caitlin: Exactly. Well, Amazon told me this book was french.

Sharon: Yes, that’s right. I love that.

Caitlin: Cirque du Soleil.

Sharon: So no one read this book?

Caitlin: Yeah. If you don’t speak French, you won’t understand it. Sorry.

Sharon: How long did it take you to finish this book?

Caitlin: Okay. It was a pretty fast read.

Sharon: Yeah, it was a little weird because.

Caitlin: Of the way that we read it. Clicking through the website pages. It felt like old timey reading. the printed book’s about 200 pages according to Amazon or great books or something. I would say it took me like two light days of fast reading.

Sharon: Yeah, I’d say it took me all together 4 hours, which is weird because I think I might have read it faster than you, which never happens.

Caitlin: was there a part you thought was the worst part of the book or is it just the whole book?

Sharon: So as the book went on, I got progressively angrier because I realized that it was just all a bunch of malarkey. It was just all lies. Like the beginning, I was actually kind of believing that like some of this might be true. And I was actually kind of like, oh, maybe the Salahis do have something to say, or maybe they are somewhat misunderstood.

Caitlin: I was glad you said that because I felt initially too like, was I just too taken in by the beginning? But I think initially you do feel like, well, okay, the tv world is different and we’re only seeing a part of it. And like maybe there is more to the story because it is a weird story.

Caitlin: And the fact that we, we don’t get a straight answer from some of the White House stuff is a little confusing.

Sharon: But the more time you spend with this book, the more you realize how ridiculous it is by the time you’re on page. You know, you’re like, I believe I.

Caitlin: Believed this on page like one and two. Like what was wrong with me earlier on in the book?

Sharon: so in the beginning of the book, Diane diamond points out that like she told Tarek and ah, Mikhail that, you know, she was not gonna, like she was gonna tell the truth because she interviews them for this book, it really seems like they are her primary sources.

Caitlin: She kind of says it’s like their side of the story.

Sharon: Right.

Caitlin: But then the way she presents it, what was weird is I kept thinking, well, she does try to present both sides of the story, but when you think back, no, she couldn’t get anybody to go on the record who wasn’t like a Salahi friend. Yeah, there’s no counterpoint to their point and that’s the problem. And like she even says, I couldn’t get anybody to like substantiate a lot of the claims.

Sharon: And this is what I don’t understand. She was clearly so biased. Yeah, but then at some point she did kind of call them out. So I don’t know if she was just trying to seem not biased. So she’s like, okay, the Redskins cheerleader thing, I’ll admit that she lied about that. So I look like I’m not biased. But then there’s other stuff she totally lets light under the rug. There’s so much like there’s shady polo charity and all that stuff.

Caitlin: It’s interesting. Cause it’s like, I feel like she just wants to hang on to her journalistic integrity by being like, look, I did the basics that one would do in a journalistic story to show both sides, but she also, what is it when she’s talking? It was interesting, it was about Mikhail and the food and the eating.

Sharon: Oh my God.

Caitlin: And she did say, she did say, now Mikhail says that she has to eat a certain way and all of this and to manage her Ms. But then she goes and she shows. Every time I was with her, she ate nothing but sugary foods. And like she starts the day off with a giant hot chocolate. And like, she did point out that like the eating habits don’t match the diet of somebody. No, she could just be a terrible eater. Yeah, it was interesting.

Sharon: Well, do any of our eating habits match how she called her out in.

Caitlin: This long thing for that, and then she, let so many other things go.

Sharon: It’s like, well, it seems like it’s one of those psychological tactics where it’s like, oh, look over here, I am calling her out, therefore I am taking this seriously and giving a, you know, a balanced view.

Caitlin: Yeah, I think that’s exactly what it was. Because it’s also weird the way she plays with stuff to kind of like make it seem like the media hates them. Yeah, like right off the bat. Because early on she says something like, well, even their name was suspicious. Right? Is that a middle eastern name?

Sharon: Well, you tell us you’re doing the.

Caitlin: Work and then why are you also like perpetuating these myths about names and being.

Sharon: She’s acting like we were all thinking this and like no one, I had no idea.

Caitlin: I want to know how to pronounce things, I don’t really care, but it’s like our, yeah, she like put that on. Like you guys were all thinking this awful thing bad.

Sharon: uh-huh

Caitlin: And it’s like, well, no, I was just kind of concerned about them. Like breaking into the White House dinner. Like, that’s where I was kind of concerned, but all right, all right. What parts do we think we really, really need to talk about. Okay, so what’s super important?

Sharon: I have a lot of things to talk about.

Caitlin: I do.

Sharon: Is there somewhere specific you want to start?

Caitlin: I want to start with this. Did you know that Mikhail is blonde and super thin?

Sharon: My God. Did you know that there’s two types of people? There’s blonde people and then there’s everyone else. So Caitlyn is blonde. In case anyone didn’t know this, I am the opposite of blonde. They went on, I’m surprised we can even be friends.

Caitlin: I know, because, she made it sound like the mistreatment of blondes in this world.

Sharon: Like we all just hate them.

Caitlin: Yeah, I don’t really. Which.

Sharon: Mikayla’s not even a natural.

Caitlin: No, she’s not. It was like later in life when she decided to do it. Yeah, but then that’s when she really found herself.

Sharon: Yes. Cause she’s, she’s blonde at heart.

Caitlin: You know when you get a really good haircut and you find yourself? That’s what happened.

Sharon: But the whole thing, she went on and, you know, so sometimes it’s like.

Caitlin: It became so superficial.

Sharon: You get like a thing and you go back to it. I guess it’s like a writing, what do you call it? Like tool or something where you call back. It was just annoying.

Caitlin: It was so annoying.

Sharon: I was like, she’s blonde.

Caitlin: We get it.

Sharon: You know what?

Caitlin: She’s really thin. We get it.

Sharon: There’s a lot of blonde women, especially on reality tv.

Caitlin: I also thought it was interesting. Okay. She loved journey for forever, and she dated the guy before, so when she runs away with him, she already knew. She all am. She loved him forever.

Sharon: She’s loved. So that part was, that might actually be my favorite part of the story because it’s like she went back to who she should have been with initially. I enjoyed that part.

Caitlin: And when he was emailed, he wouldn’t respond. He didn’t want to be like, mixed in with the mess and all that, which I thought was interesting also. They called her missy in her family. And then Diane kept doing it.

Sharon: It’s really bizarre.

Caitlin: It was weird.

Sharon: Cause M. Mikhail is like a very, almost like, adult kind of, sophisticated name. And then to go to Missy, and.

Caitlin: I didn’t understand, it’s one thing if her mom was calling her missy in quotes, and so she needed to say it that way, but she kept using it to make us garner more, like, feelings, of feeling sorry for her or understanding her. It made her more of a person because she had like an everyday name. Like, a cutesy name. It’s like, why?

Sharon: Cause she’s missing and she’s blonde.

Caitlin: Exactly.

Sharon: Even though she’s not.

Caitlin: Even though she just faked it till she made it. I mean, and that’s what they kind of prove.

Sharon: And I kind of have a complaint. And I don’t know if this is just because we read it on collector of bookboyfriends.com, but I had really hoped there would have been pictures.

Caitlin: Yeah, I was wondering.

Sharon: I wanted to see her with, like, you know, I wonder if the $250 version.

Caitlin: Yeah, it actually has hand drawn images, just like real house of sepotobics white House photographer. It’s what?

Sharon: It’s. Cat’s husband Charles took all the photos for this.

Caitlin: Good for him. Okay.

Sharon: wait.

Caitlin: The other thing. Sorry, I just got all excited. Tarek’s dad was maybe a. Ah. Spy.

Sharon: Oh, my God.

Caitlin: And also maybe had a spy briefcase discussion.

Sharon: Yes. Caitlin, how many times did I text you about this last night when I was reading because I was so angry. Okay, so, Tarek’s dad.

Caitlin: Oh, those pens that aren’t invisible.

Sharon: Yes. He’s from the Middle east. I, believe he lived in Jerusalem. and he speaks multiple languages, you know, like a lot of people in that part of the world do.

Caitlin: Right?

Sharon: And, yeah, but there’s no reason.

Caitlin: That you should speak multiple languages unless you’re working for the cities.

Sharon: And so, yeah, they imply that because he, like, talked a little bit about, like, oh, they almost make it sound like he would occasionally throw out hints, like, oh, I’ve worked for the government.

Caitlin: Then I worked for the. Oh, I shouldn’t say that.

Sharon: There’s a street named after me. Oh, that’s right. Jerusalem.

Caitlin: That was weird. Something weird probably was already named.

Sharon: Something about JFK’s assassination or. I don’t even.

Caitlin: When he got drunk, he’d maybe tell stories.

Sharon: Yes. And that’s the other, thing.

Caitlin: They’re, like, going off of drunk stories.

Sharon: They’re like, oh, when he had some cognac, he would start to talk a lot. I’m like, right, because CIA agents, as soon as he give them a little bit of liquor, man, they just start spilling the beans. Like, I don’t think so. I don’t think people that are in the CIA in that kind of capacity just, leave little hints for you.

Caitlin: No. I don’t know if you knew that.

Sharon: But Tarek says his dad had a briefcase, that when he set it down, it started recording audio.

Caitlin: Probably beeped once, had a watch in it or something.

Sharon: So that’s like, his, proof.

Caitlin: It just sounds like something my kids would have in their fake spy bag that they have. Where we have that fake Barbie lipstick from McDonald’s spy squad.

Sharon: Exactly. That’s his proof. Oh, man. He must have been in the CIA.

Caitlin: Because the importance of their family is not to be understated.

Sharon: Exactly.

Caitlin: His mom, who we don’t care about.

Sharon: And his dad would travel around a lot.

Caitlin: Yeah.

Sharon: And so Diane diamond actually puts, like, pretty much. He’s either a womanizer or in the CIA.

Caitlin: Those are the two choices.

Sharon: Either he’s off with other women, or he’s in the CIA. Like, what?

Caitlin: It’s like that you’re so vain song by Curly Simon. I feel like it. Like, maybe that was written about.

Sharon: I think it was.

Caitlin: It probably was.

Sharon: Oh, and then one time when Tarek was a kid, some guy came by and was like, can I hunt on your land? And Tarek’s like, no, because nobody’s home. Come rob us. And then he comes home and his dog has been murdered and, stuff is stolen.

Caitlin: But it was a sketchy story. Like, I don’t like anything that starts with that. I’m like, well, that person’s bad, because obviously we do not hurt dogs.

Sharon: why would the guy ask?

Caitlin: I don’t understand that.

Sharon: It makes no sense.

Caitlin: It makes it really weird. And then.

Sharon: Yeah, and they’re sort of implying this is tied to the CIA. I don’t think one person comes and robs random stuff from your house. I think we should just start talking about the White House, because that’s sort of the big thing. You know what I mean?

Caitlin: That’s what makes the book unique, is that it talks so much more about that event than you can find. Like, if you google it and you’re trying to look through the media pieces, it’s very choppy, and they’ll pick something up and drop it. And it’s like, this is sort of where now, whether this information’s good or true or. I can’t. Not to say, but it does go into it. So let’s go into it.

Sharon: Okay. So what actually irritated me is I felt like she talked so much about it, but there were times I felt like she glossed over the most important point, which was when they walked up.

Caitlin: There, she didn’t actually talk about what.

Sharon: Happened, because the part we saw made it sound like the lady was like, I don’t quite know what to do with you because you’re not here. Step over here. That’s not what I got from reading the book, I would have never known that that happened.

Caitlin: No. And they didn’t talk about getting out of the limo. The one thing that was really interesting, though, is that they did say when they got out, the Bravo cameras went with them, but Bravo wasn’t sure. Bravo kind of said they weren’t sure what was going to happen or what was going on, but they had the permit to film on wherever they were on Pennsylvania Avenue or whatever. So Bravo knew enough to file for the permit to film in front of the White House that day, which was.

Sharon: Interesting, but that’s just because Eric and them said, yes, exactly. We are going to the White House. I mean, all that proves is that it doesn’t prove anything.

Caitlin: I guess it just proves that they knew they were going to be there.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: The White House didn’t seem to know exactly. I guess maybe they don’t look at who files those permits. What’s interesting is they pointed out that for special affairs at the White House, there was the official guest list and then the other guest list. So there was officially recognized. People got the fancy envelope with the tissue paper insert, and the other people would get, like, a phone call, like a last minute, oh, we don’t want to have empty seats at the table. Oh, we don’t want anything to look like we didn’t plan well enough to have enough seats filled. And it might be not important people, because the important people were already doing other things, or they were on their yacht somewhere. If they’d been invited, they would have been in town, but they weren’t. So it ends up getting last minute people who they said might otherwise not receive an invitation. So understanding that understands why you might think that Tarek and Mikhail could have gotten an invitation to it.

Sharon: Okay, so Michelle Jones is the lady that Tarek and Mikhail were working with to get the tickets.

Caitlin: Yes. And, she worked at the Pentagon.

Sharon: Yes. And Diane diamond shares these emails where Michelle is trying to get them in. But then Michelle says the arrival ceremony was canceled due to inclement weather. They are having a very small one inside the White House, very limited space. I am still working on tickets for tonight’s dinner. I will call her email as soon as I get word one way or another. Right now she’s saying, Michelle M. Jones did not say you were not included in the arrival summary. She said, so while anyone else might at the very least be confused after getting such an ambiguous email, in Tarek’s mind, everything fell into place for attending the arrival event. To me, when I read that, I was not confused at all. I took it as you’re on pause. We don’t know if you’re going or not. She’s acting like that was a confusing statement and Tarik thought it meant they could go.

Caitlin: What I thought was confusing. Okay. I think the emails are the most interesting thing because they are where there may have been some things that happened wrong on both sides.

Caitlin: And everywhere else. It’s like, no. So it’s like, it’s nice to see that. What’s weird is it seems like the arrival ceremony, when Tarek and Mikhail describe it later, they make it sound like it’s the welcoming line.

Caitlin: At the dinner, but it does not seem to be the case. It seems like the welcoming thing is a morning event.

Caitlin: That they were invited to separate from the dinner.

Sharon: And so they were invited to that.

Caitlin: So I’m confused. But what I thought maybe that I understand is that they were invited to the arrival event.

Sharon: uh-huh.

Caitlin: But that they said, like, she never mentioned in the email that when she was saying that, it was like ten minutes from when she was writing to them that they should have been at the arrival thing. So there was some confusion there. Like, I think they didn’t understand what events maybe they were invited to.

Sharon: Right.

Caitlin: But the second they showed up, it should have been really clear and they should have been turned away. And that’s what I don’t understand.

Sharon: I thought from this email what I would have read. I would have read it as, You don’t have a spot.

Caitlin: Yeah. For the dinner for sure. Yeah.

Sharon: Which is what they went to.

Caitlin: But I think maybe they thought they were just in the milling around, handshaking line.

Sharon: You really think that? Then how did they end up at the dinner?

Caitlin: They didn’t get a spot at the table. But how do they get in?

Sharon: Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense.

Caitlin: It doesn’t make any sense. It was interesting too, because the salon lady, remember, she had said she wanted to see the invite, and they said, were you pushed by production to ask them? And she was like, no, I just really wanted to see it. I’d been one other time. And they’re really cool. And that I totally believe. But then what was interesting is Diane totally wrote off the fact that Mikhail went looking for it. Now, if she knew they were on the secondary list, they knew there was no paper invitation. That doesn’t mean that your invitation, they really still could be invited.

Sharon: Exactly.

Caitlin: And if that’s what they’re pretending, that’s what they’re going from then you just say, we didn’t actually get the paper invitation. We were invited later. We’re like in the second group. Yeah, we’re still really excited to go, but yeah, we didn’t get the cool invitation. Yeah, but that where she pretended and she couldn’t find it and she couldn’t find a bra.

Caitlin: Like, that drove me crazy because they were like, well, Diane goes maybe production.

Sharon: Yes.

Caitlin: You know, they push people to do things. No, you make a choice. You make a choice to pretend to look for the thing or not.

Sharon: She was.

Caitlin: Yeah, yeah.

Sharon: She was out there acting like she had an invitation. Might be under the seat of the car.

Caitlin: Oh, it just, it fell out the window when we were driving and that drove me nuts. Cause again, why are you writing that off? That’s an important detail. Whether she was just playing dumb or not. But either way, it proves the mind frame and what they understood.

Sharon: Exactly.

Caitlin: Like if she really thought Tarek had one, then she needed to ask him to give it to her.

Sharon: Exactly.

Caitlin: If she was pretending that she knew they didn’t have one.

Sharon: Mm

Caitlin: Also, Brian Williams, who is the newscaster, he thought that they had brought a makeup team with them when they stopped, but they swore it was the people in front of them.

Sharon: That’s right. I was like, oh, but yet they keep going on and on about how Mikhail is so uniquely identifiable and a showstopper. Ah, but it’s so easy to mix her up with, you know, just other random people.

Caitlin: It was just interesting because the story felt so rehearsed at this point.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: So confusing at other points. And what they did is they tried to throw so much confusion on the emails and to be completely honest and completely fair, the emails were confusing. I thought, maybe not that one. Right. But later it did get confusing. Now, I think we’re not seeing, although Diane swears she saw the whole threads of everything. I’m not sure that we’re seeing the whole threads because this was like the special assistant to the defense secretary. So for the Pentagon, I mean, she should know what she’s doing.

Sharon: I think maybe she tried to get them in.

Caitlin: I think she did try.

Sharon: And maybe she thought that it was an honest mistake and so she felt bad and she wouldn’t be like, look, it wasn’t a big deal. I was trying to get him in. This happened. It wasn’t.

Caitlin: But this is what I don’t understand. The next day, Michelle Jones. And this is what, this is her writing. Diane diamonds seemingly beaming with pride. See, she’s totally, she’s a completely neutral journalist. Let her go.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: And her accomplishment of getting the Salahis into one of the most desirable social events of the season, because that’s her.

Sharon: Job, is to get people into social events.

Caitlin: Like, but she wrote, you’re most welcome. I hear the smile in your email, and I’m delighted that you and Mikhail had a good time or a wonderful time. Yeah.

Sharon: Okay.

Caitlin: Did she think she was talking about the arrival ceremony? Did she think somehow she got them into the dinner? This is the only one that really is sketchy. Sounds like she thought she got them into the dinner.

Sharon: That, to me, seems like maybe she doesn’t know quite how, but she’s like, oh, well, I guess they went and got in. So she’s like, okay, well, I guess whatever I did. Yeah. Something worked out because she would assume that they wouldn’t have been able to get in.

Caitlin: You know, she would have without the right.

Sharon: Exactly. That’s the way I took it. She’s like, okay, they went, I guess it all worked.

Caitlin: I couldn’t quite decide where I stood on that. That was the only part I felt like. I’m a little confused then we need.

Sharon: To talk about when Mikhail is in there.

Caitlin: Yes.

Sharon: Why did they leave early? Caitlin?

Caitlin: Yes. I was thinking, I was thinking we should talk about that.

Sharon: Okay.

Caitlin: Because Mikhail’s Ms sometimes flares up.

Sharon: Mm

Caitlin: And they just have to leave events. She doesn’t feel good and they have to go. It’s like, okay, I want to believe that. I don’t want to think anybody’s lying about a disease.

Caitlin: But what’s interesting is later on, Doctor Drew, now I’m like, I’m using Doctor Drew as a source. But when she went to do celeb rehab, or whatever that show is called, she was said that she couldn’t be on the show because she didn’t actually have an addiction. And then he basically said he didn’t believe she had Ms. Now, could it have been in remission? I mean, is that a possibility?

Sharon: I mean, I suppose I don’t want to, I mean, without seeing her medical records, but I just feel like for him as a doctor, uh-huh. And granted, I guess there’s doctors, there’s shady doctors too. Like, for him to confidently come out, but for him to confidently come out and be like, she doesn’t have it, like, I would be scared. That would be like, you could sue me for defamation. Be like, hey, here’s my medical record.

Caitlin: Yeah. And why wouldn’t you say that? It was weird, though, because at the end. They had that doctor saying he treated her for years and she had it. But again, the weirdest thing, and I think it’s like the same thing that they discovered at the reunion. But the odd, thing is, why on earth would these people, who will use anything they can to get ahead.

Sharon: Exactly.

Caitlin: To get ahead. Until all of a sudden it made sense.

Sharon: They want so much attention. But this is one thing she doesn’t want attention drawn to.

Caitlin: Exactly.

Sharon: I just.

Caitlin: I’m not buying that it doesn’t make.

Sharon: Sense because it’s not something. And I understand that Diane diamond is like, well, even in today’s, you know, sometimes people don’t want people to know about certain health conditions.

Caitlin: Right.

Sharon: I, mean, it’s not. No, health condition is shameful. But I guess I wouldn’t think people.

Caitlin: Would be judging her for that.

Sharon: Judging her. And she’s like, well, I don’t want them. One point, Diane diamond actually said, well, sometimes people want to hide it because of their employment status. And I literally wrote in my notes, what employment status?

Caitlin: That’s why she lost her job at Trish MC. Yes.

Sharon: Like, she’s afraid, like, her employer will found out and be like, oh, I’m sorry, you. You can’t work here. Okay, so now this is what even got me more mad, is how Diane Dimon acts like the entire democratic party and the Obama administration should have come to the defense of the Salahis.

Caitlin: Hm. Well, I don’t know if you know this. They donated some wine from mock the vote, which does sound super fun. And therefore, they are indebted probably for, like, it’s like they, they owe them one wish and the wish was this party and they needed to go to the party. It’s so weird.

Sharon: Yeah. So Dianne diamond actually writes, it didn’t dawn on Obama in this snarky way, like, to come, and he was a little busy. I was like, I think Obama has more important things to do. I am glad that the Salahi’s predicament did not dawn on Obama. I’m glad he’s preoccupied with healthcare and.

Caitlin: Well, and it’s interesting, too, because they just act like this is what the issue is when the issue is we need to make sure that security is safe.

Sharon: Exactly.

Caitlin: For the White House. And nobody ever says, hey, I know that what happened to these guys kind of sucks.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: But let’s make sure that everything is safe and everything is secure and this doesn’t happen again. And this was probably just a fluke. And aren’t we lucky that it was just some crazy people who didn’t mean actually any harm.

Sharon: And why does she think that Obama, or Joe Biden or whoever, the governor of Virginia or whatever, would personally have knowledge of exactly what would happen when the Secret Service is investigating?

Caitlin: Right.

Sharon: Why would they know better?

Caitlin: Yes.

Sharon: And be like, you guys, okay, stop bugging the salahis. They gave us some good wine a couple years ago.

Caitlin: What was interesting was they made it sound kind of like on the real housewives of DC. Like, what they did was they had that panel on Capitol Hill and they just the fifth the whole time. But they did have like a ten hour secret Service questioning.

Caitlin: The other thing that was a little bit interesting with the questioning after all of this happened is that Bravo got to them before they found out about the news and took them in to do interviews.

Sharon: Okay, this is where I don’t fully believe this.

Caitlin: No.

Sharon: Diane diamond makes it sound like they had no idea that this had all blown up on the news, that they were, quote, the White House crashers. Bravo.

Caitlin: It wasn’t at Starbucks yet, which went to hot chocolate.

Sharon: Yeah, Bravo whisks them into like a, talking head to get their feedback on the night or whatever, and they have no idea that this is all blowing up in the news.

Caitlin: And once they did, Tarek had to bang on the door to get them to stop the interview, stop the press.

Sharon: So you believe that? You believe they didn’t know? You believe they weren’t at three in the morning online?

Caitlin: I believe that they maybe knew a part of it. I don’t think they knew it was going to blow up the way it blew up. I think at the time they were still thinking it just made them famous. And it was their, you know, five minutes of fame or what? Ten. How many minutes of fame do you get? 1515. That’s a lot. Good for them. They had way more than 15 minutes. But I feel like they just thought it, like, added to their allure and then they realized all of a sudden, because I think they like anything, like, I think if you’re a narcissist, anything about you. Exactly. it was also interesting because after Michelle Jones released the statement saying, I specifically stated that they did not have tickets, and in fact, I did not have the authority to authorize attendance, admittance, or access to any part of the evening event, she was clear about that, I thought. Now it was a little bit unclear as to whether she was going to get them or which part they had tickets to. Maybe that was unclear, but Diane says this doesn’t square with the emails I saw. But then doesn’t really. Okay, what doesn’t? I mean, I think the emails are a little confusing, but they’re not that confused.

Sharon: Well, I also think Diane diamond could have part of the White House story. And I even texted you, Caitlin, about this, because I wrote, like, they did the White House thing, then they kind of moved on. Then they went back to the whole White House in the book, Diane, the way she organized the book, she should have stopped. Just done the emails. This is the email chain.

Caitlin: I would have liked to have seen.

Sharon: The chain right here. Put the chain in. Not this. Because she could have made it much clearer. If it was clear, she would have made it clear, because it makes it.

Caitlin: Feel like you’re picking. And again, it’s the thesis angle, which you kind of do when you’re at school. Like, you’ll pick and choose what matches m your thesis. And it kind of felt like that’s what she was doing with the emails very much. We didn’t see all the emails. We didn’t see 100% of the emails. We saw the ones that made sense with the story the slahis were telling.

Sharon: Mm

Caitlin: She does make it important to say, salahis are innocent and have committed no criminal act. I repeat, she said, I repeat, the salahis have committed no criminal act.

Sharon: Okay.

Caitlin: I do think it’s important to say that.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: The way she says it is really weird, though. They made no misrepresentations. M I’m not sure that’s true.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: In fact, two secret service investigators known to this committee were privy to information that the Salahis were. Were 100% invited to the White House that evening. Nonetheless, this committee did not want to hear this information. Well, then give me the information like I want to hear it.

Caitlin: And then all of a sudden, we’re pulling out the secrets. I don’t understand that. And it’s also like when they said, okay, when they left, they said, do you want us to put you back on the list or whatever so that you can come back in if you need to come back in? So they were leaving, and they were going to come back. And Diane and Mikhail seem to use this as proof that meant that they were legitimately there. It’s just like, you know when you’re leaving and they’re like, do you want to get the stamp on the way out of the fair? They didn’t go back to the front gate and make sure you paid your $5 to get into the fair. They’re assuming that since you were at the fair, you meant to be at the fair.

Sharon: Exactly. The guy wasn’t like, wait, are you supposed to be here?

Caitlin: Wait.

Sharon: First let me double check.

Caitlin: He’s assuming the guy’s at the entrance division.

Sharon: He’s like, okay, you’re here. Did you want to come back by your mom? You know, he was being polite.

Caitlin: He was being polite, and that’s his job. Like public service. She said this was not part of a publicity stunt. They believed, 100% believed in their hearts, that they were invited to the White House that night. They have turned down multiple offers to be rewarded handsomely for their story from various members of the media. They are not here to profit from this bull. They are Americans. They are proud Americans. What happened that night may have been a, misunderstanding. Uh-huh But it was a misunderstanding.

Sharon: They’re not here to profit, but I.

Caitlin: Think you can profit from a misunderstanding. Yeah, we all have sometimes. Oh, oops. Like this. Oh, well, this sort of works out for me, so I’m just gonna let it go, you know, like, this happens.

Sharon: In life, and so you’re telling me they’ve been offered, but they talk to you about their story?

Caitlin: I know.

Sharon: What is this? They’ve been offered multiple times to tell their story.

Caitlin: The book around on DC? Because they were gonna write it with that one guy.

Sharon: Oh, yeah.

Caitlin: But he probably was like, well, this is a load of hooey. Get me out of here. What surprised you in the book? Like, once they got past the whole white House stuff. Like what? Extra information? Okay, Caitlin, I feel like I know where this is.

Sharon: I have a few things.

Caitlin: Yeah.

Sharon: First, I have a little one. What, I really want to get into is the whole winery and their financial situation.

Caitlin: I’d like to talk about it in.

Sharon: The premiere party, but before that, Mikhail gets sick.

Caitlin: Well, she has a mess.

Sharon: She has miss. And this leads to a bladder infection. Isn’t that what they said it was?

Caitlin: Yeah, those are really.

Sharon: I think it was ut. Oh, I’m sorry. So she calls. The nurse says she calls, she talks to a nurse after hours. She’s known this nurse a long time. The nurse says, I’ll meet you at the hospital. Cause that’s what happens. Outpatient nurses meet you at the hospital. Sure, sure. granted, this was 15 years ago. Maybe this is. But this isn’t some rural country hospital. This is Fairfax, Virginia.

Caitlin: Yeah.

Sharon: Anyway, they go, and they literally make it sound like in the book that she’s in there being treated with iv antibiotics for an infection, which must mean it’s a pretty bad infection pretty.

Caitlin: Far at that point.

Sharon: And then the women who work on this floor, the lady doctor, and quote, there is actually a quote where they call the doctor a lady doctor.

Caitlin: I believe that. Till you said it. And after you did it, I was like, I can’t believe it’s a feminist lady doctor.

Sharon: Lady doctor. They basically were like, oh, that’s Mikhail so and so. And they said she.

Caitlin: And then what did the lady doctor do?

Sharon: The lady doctor wanted her to go.

Caitlin: And what else did she do?

Sharon: She took out her iv.

Caitlin: Yeah. Just ripped it right out of it.

Sharon: Because that’s what doctors do.

Caitlin: No more iv for you.

Sharon: The doctors come, and when they discharge you, they help you change your clothes and pull out your iv.

Caitlin: It’s a slow night at the fairfax.

Sharon: You know, so, yeah, they get paid a lot of money to do that stuff.

Caitlin: I really do.

Sharon: So obviously, I’m being sarcastic, because a doctor would rarely ever take out the iv themselves.

Caitlin: They probably called it a nurse. And then Tara Kwasik, they’ll remember it.

Sharon: Was a lady doctor. A lady doctor. And so part of me, you guys are probably like, oh, okay, well, you’re just sensitive about that. Cause you’re a nurse. But to me, that is just showing the level of detail when you’re just throwing words around or trying to find.

Caitlin: Anything that shows that you’re the victim.

Sharon: Exactly.

Caitlin: Because we had a story where something went wrong when we didn’t feel good.

Sharon: So this makes me cast doubt on the whole thing. Why would the doctor make you leave? Why would she make you leave in the middle of your treatment plan?

Caitlin: Probably because the only reason would be if you were, like, violent and mean.

Sharon: Exactly. Why would she set herself up for a lawsuit?

Caitlin: It’s probably just time to go.

Sharon: And here’s the funny thing. Doctors don’t care. If anything, they might think it’s kind of funny. Like, oh, my God, I got the crasher in there.

Caitlin: They’re not going to be like, oh, I only treat non celebrities here at this hospital.

Sharon: She gets paid either way, whether you’re getting those antibiotics or not.

Caitlin: But it’s just that the hatred for the salahis at this point was so big, it followed them everywhere, to the grocery store.

Sharon: She was gonna put her medical license on the line and deny her.

Caitlin: I mean, we’re so chased by the paparazzi, remember, she almost. She ran into that barrier, and there was that whole thing, like, you know.

Sharon: Do you even think they gave her a prescription for oral antibiotics to continue the treatment? Probably not.

Caitlin: Probably not. Because she had to get out of there so fast.

Sharon: They just.

Caitlin: They called the uber.

Sharon: I’m glad she’s still alive.

Caitlin: Get out. It was a rough time at the. Okay, let’s talk about what surprised us in the book. What surprised me was how much they actually did go into tark. And she did call them business schemes. Like, they did make his business practices sound shady. And I thought she might not go that far or just talk about the winery or let it go. She said that, people were constantly complaining that he had bills that were piling up and that his creed seemed to be that if he lost money, then no one else in the business chain should accept payment either. Like, he lost money and that. And that he just couldn’t see past that. So anytime something went wrong, he would just be like, well, I don’t have money, so you don’t get money.

Sharon: Exactly.

Caitlin: She said people called him a con artist, a flim flam man, and worse. I wonder what worse was. But the sources didn’t want to be identified for fear of litigation, which I would be afraid of that from the slide.

Sharon: But yet the doctor doesn’t care.

Caitlin: The doctor didn’t care. Well, you know, that person was just rogue on that floor, apparently. like, people called him a cheek cheater. They said all sorts of things about him.

Sharon: So I did like that she said that. And I actually, that one line specifically where she said, if he doesn’t get paid, he doesn’t think anyone else should have paid. But at the same time, I don’t feel like she went into enough detail about it.

Caitlin: People didn’t want to be mentioned. But you could still go through his, like, cv of where he’d worked and what businesses he’d had and what, like, you don’t have to say the person from this business, but, like.

Sharon: Cause she was just like, oh, so and so didn’t get paid. But I think if you at least give one example. Example. They hired this person, uh-huh. And they came and did these services, and they never got money because, ah, Tariq said he, you know, because that’s a fact.

Caitlin: Or you can prove that, right?

Sharon: Like, you spent all this detail on the Salahis showing their side of the story, right? But then you glossed over, and anything.

Caitlin: You got, you couldn’t. You know, it was like client privilege. You couldn’t release that information. And it felt like, okay, so you’ve got nothing on the other side. Nothing.

Sharon: Because weren’t there lawsuits?

Caitlin: Right.

Sharon: There wasn’t something.

Caitlin: It had to have been something she could have pulled up, like, this lawsuit failed. But it does illustrate that, or whatever. My other favorite tidbit about their winery business, I mean, which, again, was a little bit shady and sketchy. There was a lot of rules that they had trouble with in Virginia, you know, like the set number of people and how there was, like, a set number of events that was every year or whatever they were fighting against.

Sharon: That was kind of cool. I actually thought that was cool that he actually wouldn’t get because. Because that was something that was really hampering.

Caitlin: Yeah.

Sharon: The wine industry. And it’s so. Yeah, yeah.

Caitlin: That was, like, one thing he did. But then Shaquille O’Neal tried to buy their winery. Do we even believe this? I guess there must be. I guess we must. He loved the area.

Sharon: So this is like, Tarek’s mom was selling the winery, and Tarik didn’t know from under Tarek.

Caitlin: Yeah.

Sharon: And Shaq was gonna buy it, and they knew Shaq, and they went.

Caitlin: Michael already was friends with Shaq.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: Mikael isn’t.

Sharon: Shaq saw Shaq at the winery and was like, what’s up, Shaq? And he’s like, I’m buying this place.

Caitlin: They’re just so unclear about everything. It feels like everything they do is shady.

Sharon: It does. Because the whole winery thing, like, they almost made it sound like when you’re reading the book, your sense is that the reason the winery failed is because of his mother.

Caitlin: Right.

Sharon: And, real housewives, this White House incident.

Caitlin: Right.

Sharon: Really? Like, I don’t understand.

Caitlin: Which we could tell it wasn’t doing super great when we saw the episode of Real Housewives of DC.

Sharon: Exactly.

Caitlin: They were squishing table grapes in the spring. Like, that means they’re not doing super gray.

Sharon: Yeah. Because this is where their finances got really confusing.

Caitlin: Yeah.

Sharon: Okay. Because first we know that they’re, like. She does mention at some points they had designer clothes. They, you know, they like to live this good life.

Caitlin: And they made it sound like they did live in the winery house, which was kind of unclear on the show.

Sharon: Exactly. But then. Cause in the show, they say, okay, in the book, they say, like, as part of the Bravo, like, when they’re pushing the show after it’s been filmed, Tarek couldn’t afford a plane ticket to LA.

Caitlin: Oh, that’s right.

Sharon: To go with the cast. Bravo would only pay for Mikhail’s ticket. And yet, a few months ago, when it was filmed, they were living in the four seasons.

Caitlin: And they flew to Paris on a whim.

Sharon: And they flew to Paris on a whim.

Sharon: And then she also talks about how their phones were cut off. They didn’t have because they couldn’t afford. Yes, cell phones.

Caitlin: What they were making it sound like was they had plenty of money, they were doing fine. This White House thing came and then they went. Everything.

Sharon: Yes, that is exactly what I wrote. Implying it’s a real housewives fault or the White House’s fault that made them broke.

Caitlin: It’s like finally they had something to blame the being broke on.

Sharon: But how did that make them broke? The only thing I wrote is, is it because of legal fees? That still doesn’t make sense.

Caitlin: It doesn’t make sense. You’re right. That’s the one thing they could say. But they never mentioned legal fees. Yeah, and it didn’t sound like they were fighting a bunch of, like they weren’t actually in the courts. Yeah, I mean, so I don’t understand.

Sharon: They had that one lawyer.

Caitlin: Right. And also, what were they doing as a business that this just ruined?

Sharon: Like, exactly.

Caitlin: Like the winery’s doing great and then all of a sudden people, people like wine. I mean, they don’t really care that much if you’re exactly, I don’t know.

Sharon: They wouldn’t even necessarily know. Oh, Oasis is, if I go to.

Caitlin: The store, it was called the Salahi winery.

Sharon: Yeah, exactly. This was so upsetting to me that they implied that this White House thing broke them.

Caitlin: It ruined their finances, it ruined their life. Everything was great until that.

Sharon: Exactly.

Caitlin: And also you made the choice to do what you did with this, so.

Caitlin: If that’s the consequence, then that’s the consequence.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: The other interesting thing was that, so when they were doing all the press for Real Housewives of DC, it seemed like everyone was blaming everything on them, which you know, call a spade of spade. but also they got into it with Whoopi Goldberg on the View.

Sharon: Oh, I wanted to, I wish I could have seen that.

Caitlin: Me too. We should have gone to watch. But allegedly what happened is they were on the show, they said something. Whoopi put her hand on Mikhail.

Sharon: Yeah, they made us. How much? She put her hand on Mikhail, said, okay, moving on, moving on, Jake.

Caitlin: And sometimes you kind of do that to kind of, you know, you’re on the air. He’s kind of like, stop, let’s go. So she claimed that, it’s like, whether she said it or her staff said it or Tarek said it, somebody said that Whoopi hitter.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: And then when they, Whoopi came back to the room going like I didn’t hit you. Why would you say, like, you’re creating a problem here and you know you’re creating a problem here and you’re lying. And then Tarik recorded part of it and then immediately sold it to, like, you know, whatever those, like, online kind of, like, tabloid viewing shows are. And therefore, like, to make out Whoopi to be the bad guy. It’s like it’s just another instance of you guys being so weird that I can’t even understand it.

Sharon: Yeah. Okay. This kind of segues. Cause we’re talking about where they’re promoting the show into the premiere party.

Caitlin: Yes.

Sharon: This part was another me screaming at the book, my phone.

Caitlin: This was also just so weird.

Sharon: So Bravo apparently was not gonna throw their own premiere party.

Caitlin: So Tarek, dueling party.

Sharon: Yeah. Tarek and Mikhail. Someone decides to throw a party for them, and they’re just so excited they’re gonna show up, but they have nothing to do with it.

Caitlin: But also, it sounded like there was some money being made from this. There were different tiers. Yeah.

Sharon: There were tiers where you could sponsor by Land Rover, you could sponsor to come to this premier party.

Caitlin: Yeah.

Sharon: And they used, like, the Bravo logo and stuff. And so Bravo. Yeah. Gets a little mad and is like, rightfully so. This has nothing to do with us. You can’t do this. You can’t use our info like this.

Caitlin: You have to call this the Salahi.

Sharon: And then the Salahis are like, well, it wasn’t us. This guy’s throwing it for us.

Caitlin: Yeah. So blame him.

Sharon: Yeah. Even though the party, like, we’re probably.

Caitlin: Getting money from him. Yeah.

Sharon: And they. One of the things is like, oh, if you’d sponsor us, you get to sit next to us, you know? But no, they’re not involved.

Caitlin: No.

Sharon: And then, so Diane diamond actually writes that it’s like, bravo’s fault because if they had just thrown a party, this.

Caitlin: Would stop the whole thing.

Sharon: This would not have happened. They wouldn’t have had to have this non bravo party if Bravo had just thrown a party.

Caitlin: She actually writes that they’re getting party shamed.

Sharon: Oh, God.

Caitlin: It’s very sad.

Sharon: I do like how Diane diamond does make fun of the person for misspelling premiere. Wrong.

Caitlin: They kept writing premiere without anything that bothered her journalistically. Okay, let’s go into how honest do we think Diane was? That kind of segues right into that. Okay, m. Now, she got this book because her literary agent had had the slaw. He’s in on the, like premise of creating a lifestyle book.

Sharon: When I read this, I was like.

Caitlin: Wish we had seen this so badly. I want to see the Salah he’s telling. They’re broke. They can’t even afford to know, can live in the hotel. And yeah, this budget of a hundred thousand to 7 million or whatever, I just, I’m dying to know these things. and so I think my guess is what happens from that is that she goes, no, this lifestyle thing’s whatever. Let me see if I can get them to tell her story. And then she kind of pitches that to them. I bet she pitched it as, we can fix your image. Like, this is an image fixing book, the beginning of the book. She goes on to say that a special thanks goes out to them because they decided to trust one person with their innermost thoughts, feelings, and mounds of documents and photographs.

Sharon: And as the subtitle says, says, you need to be careful who you trust.

Caitlin: Yeah. Including the author of your book. So that person was her. And she was humbled at their trust. But by the end of the book, she’s also blaming if the media hadn’t made mistakes and if news executives would say like, oh, we, this was an over coverage of sorts, this is gonna happen again. We all need to be aware, not just Mikhail and Tarek, because this is my favorite part. It’s kind of a threat, actually. Maybe you or someone you know will be a future target. media.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: Because over mediating is a huge issue.

Sharon: She actually goes after and like yells at the Washington Post for reporting on a story that people like to read. Right.

Caitlin: That’s terrible.

Sharon: Like, how dare they?

Caitlin: And it’s like she kept saying, like the be careful who you trust was her cautionary mantra.

Sharon: It was as though she, like this was like a whole new thing. Sensationalist media. Like this was like a brand new thing.

Caitlin: I mean, this is from the beginning.

Sharon: Of time when you’re dealing with reality.

Caitlin: Stars and you know, there’s often not, there’s hardly ever one pure truth. Well, no kidding. So do a better job of showing both sides. And then it’s like, this is your career.

Caitlin: You chose this profession. You chose the ethics that go with this profession. You chose all of this. You spend the whole time saying like, oh, these people. She actually said like, have a scarlet letter, like they have a c for Crasher. She so sensationalist. And then she basically blames everything on the media.

Sharon: And then she is, yeah. And when she talks about like the fact that they’re reality stars, she says about what’s, quote being done, she literally says being done to cast members on reality tv.

Caitlin: Yes.

Sharon: It’s like, this is what they literally signed up for.

Caitlin: And then she kind of says, like, well, I couldn’t corroborate everything they said, so take everything with a grain of salt.

Sharon: Okay.

Caitlin: That’s important. You should say that. And it’s true. She probably couldn’t get the other side, but then you don’t get to sit here on your soapbox and tell all these things about how bad the media is. Bravo wouldn’t talk about things. Bravo stayed mum. The news executive stayed mum. Nobody said anything. Nobody helped these poor people.

Sharon: Yeah. And she actually.

Caitlin: Well, you’re not either.

Sharon: And I guess I’m conflating two things here. Cause one thing is the media, but then there’s also Bravo.

Caitlin: Yeah.

Sharon: She blames Bravo. She said, bravo’s all transgressions. Why they couldn’t make money outside of it. It’s like, no, you signed a contract with Bravo. You know, you can’t make money off the show from other. You know what I mean? Like, you can’t use Bravo’s logo and make money.

Caitlin: There’s a lot of other ways that you can, and Bravo knows that. So they’re gonna protect what is there.

Sharon: Right? Yeah. The other thing is, she says how they only make, like, initially, like, $20,000. She actually wrote, and this is a quote. Yes, I have Bravo’s poverty level payment.

Caitlin: Yes.

Sharon: Just because, guess what? This isn’t supposed to be your job.

Caitlin: Yeah.

Sharon: They’re following you, doing your job and doing this and that.

Caitlin: She also said the first season salary is, like, that poverty level. But Mikael wouldn’t confirm. She wouldn’t confirm her salary.

Sharon: Yeah.

Caitlin: So she’s willing to tell us about all these other personal, horrible things that she’s been through, but not her salary. Like, we don’t talk numbers. That’s where she draws the line.

Sharon: It’s so pathetic.

Caitlin: Oh, I wrote, the salahis are, like, Dorit. They trusted too much.

Sharon: I felt like Diane diamond was just lecturing us on how were horrible people for watching reality tv and, also.

Caitlin: Reading or watching any news, which is what she’s paid. Right.

Sharon: She was on hard copy, a very serious journalistic show. I mean, I was young when that was on, but I remember it.

Caitlin: I do, too.

Sharon: She’s lecturing us for enjoying. Enjoying watching them get their come up. What is the word? Comeuppance.

Caitlin: Yeah.

Sharon: Which. I’m sorry, that’s life.

Caitlin: Right? And also, we like that stuff.

Sharon: You.

Caitlin: You do choose to go on the reality show. And I’m sure you don’t always realize the. I mean, you can’t picture what’s gonna happen. And I know in a lot of cases, like, people really regretted going on the show.

Sharon: The other thing is, if you know you’re a shady person.

Caitlin: Yeah.

Sharon: And you have shady business dealings, that’s.

Caitlin: What gets me the most. Why do you shaw, the. These people are such narcissists, they think no one will ever catch their.

Sharon: If you’ve got skeletons in your closet, don’t go on reality tv.

Caitlin: And if you don’t like the media attention, then you just kind of step away, and you’d be done with it, which is kind of what they ultimately did. But not before Diane had her say, should we judge the book by its cover? Yeah, that’s my favorite part.

Sharon: I actually like the COVID I did, too.

Caitlin: It’s Cirque du Solahi. And then it’s, you know, the whole line about trust, but it’s got the picture of them at the White House. It’s that one where she’s kind of looking to the side. She’s got the sari. It’s like they were walking up to the. The photo taking area or the handshaking area. and then they’ve. But then later I realized that, of course, what she has imposed over it is, like, the american flag. We’ve got, like, the red and the stars.

Sharon: That’s what I liked. I thought it was really pretty.

Caitlin: I like it. It’s so pretty. However, is it, like, what she’s trying to say about how that quote where she said, they’re such great Americans. Oh. Like, I was like, now, is she making this even a statement in the.

Sharon: COVID I guess so.

Caitlin: Or is it just like it was an american incident? So, therefore.

Sharon: See, I just thought it’s because it was related to the white.

Caitlin: I kind of thought so, too, but then after that, I thought, well, now I’m kind of suspicious that even this is, like, a veiled.

Sharon: I hate the fact that I love the title.

Caitlin: I love the title. It is brilliant.

Sharon: Darn you, Diane Diamond.

Caitlin: I thought it would be a snarkier.

Sharon: Book, but, too, I thought that it was gonna be more anti salahi.

Caitlin: Yeah, like, they’re such a circus. Like, they’re so crazy. Like, it’s just a. no, but no, it’s more like the cirque duh. The media about the salahi issue. Yeah. Was there a ghostwriter? No, not m. As far as I know. Unless Tarik is now going by tie and maybe she has nothing to do with this book. And that’s why we can’t find any copies of it.

Sharon: That’s right.

Caitlin: She didn’t actually write it. Tarik wrote it, and then he put her name on it, just like the Land Rover event for the charity.

Sharon: And then he started this collector of book boyfriends to get it out there.

Caitlin: Oh, my goodness. This makes so much sense.

Sharon: It does.

Caitlin: Do we give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down? I really paused on this.

Sharon: Okay, here’s what I wrote. I give it a huge thumbs down, except I want you guys to read it so we can talk.

Caitlin: Exactly like I did. Enjoy reading it. Yes, but not for the reasons that I should have enjoyed reading it.

Sharon: I think it’s journalistic.

Caitlin: Yeah, toilet paper, right? But, like, housewives history. Like, when you. When you’re in a. Like, when you’re a historian, you have to read stuff that is just awful because it’s important for history and it’s important for, like, the whole understanding and the house. And I think to the housewives canon, it has a place there.

Sharon: It does. I just don’t want Diane diamond to make money.

Caitlin: No.

Sharon: So, because it is available on collectorofbookboyfriends.com, i think you guys should go read it.

Caitlin: Just click away slowly.

Sharon: It’s 76 pages. Quote, pages.

Caitlin: Yeah, I don’t know how that pages. maybe it’s like a half to a real page. If the real book was 200 pages. Anyway, it’s a circus.

Sharon: It’s a circus.

Caitlin: I don’t know how to end this.

Sharon: There’s just nothing to say. Salah, he’s bringing the drama, but we. Diane diamond does not bring the receipts.

Caitlin: Okay, that’s a good point. There was no receipts. Timelines. Timelines. No proof, no screenshots. Nothing.

Sharon: No screenshots.

Caitlin: All right, well, that is our book club episode on Cirque du Solahi by Diane diamond. Remember, housewives bring the drama.

Sharon: We bring their seats. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please hit the subscribe button. If you’d like to help support us, please share it with others and leave a rating and review. Also, visit us on Instagram and Twitter, both RH on RH for fun pictures and polls, or email us at ah rh on rh pod podcast@gmail.com. thanks again, and remember to stay out of the shade.