Leah McSweeney has already made quite the splash as a freshman housewife on Real Housewives of New York. She was introduced to us as a friend of Tinsley Mortimer but Leah has made plenty of her own friends. Despite a rough start, Leah has bonded with Dorinda Medley. According to Leah in the latest episode, she “keeps it real”. Luann de Lesseps dropped the Countess act and showed up at Leah’s apartment with food when she was under the weather. Leah claimed kindred spirits with Lu due to their past with drinking and I can actually see that. Even the notoriously bristly Ramona Singer has seemed to take a shine to Leah. Go figure.So it looks like the cast is really taking to Leah’s approachable yet outspoken persona.
But Leah doesn’t just speak her mind when she’s on RHONY. She hosts her own podcast, Improper Etiquette, and was a contributing columnist for Penthouse magazine. We previously reported that Leah has made some controversial statements in the past. But instead of an apology tour, Leah is defending herself and what she said.
Back in 2018, Leah penned an article for Penthouse titled, “Can We Talk About Toxic Feminity?” where she makes all kinds of statements about those who came out against Harvey Weinstein. She also disputes some of the survivors’ accounts. She even says, “I know a lot of women will accuse me of victim-blaming, but at some point, we have to remove the impenetrable shield that one receives when she is considered a victim.”
According to The Daily Beast, Leah recently sat down for an interview on the podcast Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino to discuss. She says of the backlash from the article, “If you were going to look at the headline you were going to be like, she’s terrible I hate her. It’s like no, do your research.”
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She continues, “Look at what that article in Penthouse [said], which was about how Asia Argento and Rose McGowan hijacked the #MeToo Movement from a black woman, who I had on my podcast trying to give her a platform—they hijacked it from her and turned it into them. And it turned out that a few weeks later, Asia Argento, it turned out that she was a fraud. If anything I called bullshit on her, and I was right.”
Leah has also admitted to being raped at 15. It makes her a distinct voice when it comes to the conversation on #metoo. But does being a survivor also mean that you can question the validity of other survivors?
RELATED: Leah McSweeney Names Sonja Morgan As Biggest Pot Stirrer; Says Dorinda Medley Is Her Closest Friend On Real Housewives, Despite Their Rough Start
Either way, fans seem to love Leah, controversial statements or not. Maybe it’s her no-BS approach to the other women on the show. Or maybe it’s the hilarity of her drunken shenanigans in the Hamptons. Or maybe, fans are willing to accept Leah, along with so many other Housewives, flaws and all.
RELATED: Leah McSweeney Says Dorinda Medley Hated On Her Tattoo Because She Wasn’t Completely Fulfilled In Her Relationship With John Mahdessian
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