Season 5 of RHOP will reveal the moment that leads to the fight between Candiace Dillard and Monique Samuels. The tension between Dillard and Samuels has been brewing since their fallout in season 4 but Gizelle Bryant insists that Samuels is more at fault for the brawl. Bryant also reveals what she hopes Dillard and Samuels learn from the incident.
A recap of reports of Candiace Dillard and Monique Samuel’s physical altercation
Dillard and Samuels made peace at the season 4 reunion of RHOP. The former friends fell out during the season over Samuels criticizing Dillard for her questioning Ashley Darby’s attempts to start a family.
Dillard and Samuels’ truce doesn’t last. The trailer documents the moment that leads to the two coming to blows. According to Media Take Out, during filming at a winery in October 2019, Dillard and Samuels’ verbal altercation turns physical.
Related: ‘RHOP’ Candiace Dillard Explained Why She Pressed Charges Against Monique Samuels
The trailer shows Samuels flicking Dillard’s hair while Dillard antagonizes Samuels to “drag” her. A source tells MTO that Dillard throws the first punch by throwing a glass of red wine at Samuels, causing Samuels to bleed. Insiders reveal that Samuels grabs Dillard by the hair and punches her three times in the head.
Both Dillard and Samuels filed lawsuits against the other, accusing each other of physical harm. The lawsuits were tossed by a Maryland judge.
Gizelle Bryant says Monique Samuels is to blame for the fight with Candiace Dillard
Reports reveal that there’s a divide amongst cast over who’s to blame for the fight. But, Bryant makes it clear in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight that she holds Samuels accountable. Bryants says both are not at equal fault.
“Were they both in the wrong? Absolutely not. I do want the viewers to see and kind of give their opinion on who was right and who was wrong, but I don’t feel like they were both wrong, no,” she insists.
Related: ‘RHOP:’ Why Karen Huger Isn’t Taking Sides in Monique and Candiace’s Feud
In the trailer, Bryant sits down with Samuels, Karen Huger, and Robyn Dixon to discuss the fight. Bryant wastes no time seemingly ripping into Samuels.
“We have been able to hold ourselves above the stereotype and in five minutes she took it away,” Bryant says. Bryant also seemingly tells Samuels that she no longer wants to be around her, which Bryant confirms in her interview with ET.
Gizelle Bryant shares lessons from Candiace Dillard and Monique Samuels’ fight
Bryant says the positive outcome of the unfortunate fight is that the group is able to move forward and ensure nothing similar occurs again.
“[The sitdown] definitely needed to happen…what happened is something that we never thought we would see on this show and on this platform…the beauty about what happened is it allowed us to have deep conversations and true conversations about how we feel we’re portraying ourselves to the world,” she says.
For Bryant, it’s important for her to have a positive representation of herself and her co-stars on television, specifically to negate negative stereotypes of Black women.
RHOP season 5 premieres on Bravo on Sunday, August 2 at 8 PM EST.