RHONY fans dub Jessel Taank 'so rude' for slighting Jenna's lingerie gift

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY -- Season 14 Premiere Event -- Pictured: Jessel Taank at The Rainbow Room on July 12, 2023
(Image credit: Cindy Ord/Bravo/Getty)

It looks like Jessel Taank isn't going to win the Miss Congeniality Award from RHONY fans anytime soon. 

So far on The Real Housewives of New York City season 14—which airs stateside on Sundays at 9pm on Bravo, and the next day on Peacock—we've already experienced Cheesegate and Restaurantgate. (What was the RHONY restaurant they kept bleeping out in that premiere? Fans think they've figured it out?) And on the July 23 episode, we can now add Pajamagate to the list.

In Sunday's episode, the NYC ladies took a little autumnal trip out to the Hamptons to stay at castmate Erin Lichy's home for three nights. The group proved to be hilariously high maintenance from the jump, with Sai De Silva bringing eight pieces of luggage for the short weekend trip ("Sai packed for every single Instagram post she's gonna post for the next six months," Ubah joked) and Ubah ixnaying Erin's luxurious caviar spread before the women even arrived at her home. 

Jenna Lyons already had trepidations about the three-night sleepover: "I'm nervous that I'll be awkward and won't fit in...but I'm cautiously excited." But she fought the nerves and gifted the rest of the ladies lingerie pieces by luxury brand Fleur du Mal, which she thought would be especially well-suited for Jessel, as she revealed during the episode that she had not had sex with her husband since her two-year-old twins were born. 

However, Jessel was less than gracious about the gift, annoyed that the nightgown was a size large and was "the most covered-up situation" in comparison with the other women's skimpy garments. “Anyone who thinks this is sexy is, like, crazy,” she said while modeling the nightie for the women. “I feel like a Christmas tree. I’m a f***ng Christmas tree.”

“It’s this green thing,” Jessel said in a confessional. “If you look through my Instagram, I feel like I give off sexy, fun vibes. Grinch vibes? I don’t know about that.”

Though the women assured her that she looked "gorgeous" in the piece, Jessel continued on with the criticism: “This is, like, hideous...I would never wear this, by the way.”

Jenna, understandably, was taken aback. “It doesn’t seem to me that she has any connection that what she’s saying might be really kind of rude and offensive...I don’t get it. I’m completely dumbfounded, honestly.”

"I can see on Jenna's face, she's horrified," Sai said of the uncomfortable moment. "If I was in Jenna's shoes, I'd be like, 'Bitch, give me my s**t back.'" 

Fans react to Jessel Taank's 'rude' reaction to gift:

RHONY viewers seemed to concur that Jessel's behavior towards Jenna's gift was "hella rude." Here's what folks are saying on social media:

Christina Izzo

Christina Izzo is the Deputy Editor of My Imperfect Life. More generally, she is a writer-editor covering food and drink, travel, lifestyle and culture in New York City. She was previously the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York. 

When she’s not doing all that, she can probably be found eating cheese somewhere.