Amanza Smith’s Attendance at Bethenny Frankel’s Party Makes Sense After ‘Selling Sunset’ Season 7

By Emma Chance | Celebrity | November 7, 2023 |

By Emma Chance | Celebrity | November 7, 2023 |

A few weeks ago I told you about Bethenny Frankel’s dinner party, ostensibly meant as a marketing event for her Just B podcast, which warranted my writing about it because of the wacky guest list, including but not limited to: fellow former Bravo stars Rachel Leviss and Nene Leakes, actresses Jennie Garth and Tiffani Thiessen, and Amanza Smith of Netflix’s Selling Sunset.

It was Amanza’s attendance that confused me the most. With Bethenny’s recent “reality reckoning” crusade, Amanza being included at the dinner made me think that she was on board. But after watching season seven of Selling Sunset, which dropped last Friday, I think I understand.

Amanza has played a cursory role in Selling Sunset up to this point. She’s Mary Fitzgerald’s best friend, she’s known Jason and Brett Oppenheim since the good old days, she’s an interior designer for the Oppenheim Group, and at some point in six seasons she became a licensed real estate agent.

But in season seven, Amanza has stepped out of the shadows and into the “stirring the pot” spotlight. Suddenly, with the power of gossip on her side, she’s at the center of every conflict, and thus the star of the show. I’m sensing that the show was due for a rebrand—seasons five and six were such a blip that I struggle to remember anything that happened apart from Chrishell Stause and Jason Oppenheim dating and then breaking up—and with Amanza being so open about her recent health struggles and her painful upbringing, an opportunity presented itself.

And as we all know, if there’s one thing Bethenny Frankel is an expert in, it’s recognizing the potential for fame in a person, and manipulating it to her advantage.