Telling it like it is! Caroline Manzo spoke exclusively with Us Weekly Video and revealed why she decided to throw shade at her former Real Housewives of New Jersey costar Teresa Giudice on the Sunday, September 11, season 3 premiere of her spinoff series, Manzo’d With Children. Watch what she said in the video above!
As viewers witnessed Sunday night, Manzo, 55, was asked by a producer if she believes celebrities get special treatment in jail. “I don’t know any celebrities that have been in jail,” she quipped back, taking a not-so-subtle swipe at Giudice. “… Real celebrities that have been in jail.”
PHOTOS: Real Housewives' Kids, Then And Now
The reality TV matriarch clarified her comment when she sat down with Us' Evan Real. “I’m in the same business as Teresa. I do the very same thing as she does. I don’t consider myself to be a celebrity,” she explained. “We are television personalities, let’s put it that way. In my mind, a celebrity is someone that has a craft, that hones a craft. You sing, you dance, you write, you act, something like that.”
PHOTOS: Real Housewives' Biggest Fights Ever
The RHONJ alum — who left the series in 2013 after five seasons — added: “Reality TV is a phenomenon, but there’s no talent attached to it. It’s luck. … We can’t sing, we can’t dance, we can’t do any of that stuff. So I don’t consider that to be a celebrity.”
As fans are well aware, Giudice, 44, completed an 11-month sentence for fraud at Connecticut’s Danbury Federal Correctional Facility last December. Naturally, her homecoming was captured by Bravo, as seen on the July 10 season 7 premiere of RHONJ. Since then, Manzo — who was known to butt heads with Giudice on camera — has kept her distance.
PHOTOS: Real Housewives' Best Makeup Tips Learned From Being on TV
“No, [I haven’t seen her since she’s been back]. I don’t plan on it,” the Let Me Tell You Something author shared with Us. “And Teresa, I’m sure, is just as happy that I’m not calling her. It’s the way it is, and I think we’re both in a good place of agreement at this point. … It works for both of us.”
Watch the video above. Manzo’d With Children airs on Bravo Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
Can't get enough of Us? Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter packed with the latest celeb news, hot pics and more!