Lisa Rinna Alleges Political Motivations Behind QVC Departure
In her newly released memoir You Better Believe I'm Gonna Talk About It, actress and television personality Lisa Rinna has made startling claims about the termination of her long-standing partnership with home shopping network QVC. The 62-year-old asserts that her outspoken criticism of former President Donald Trump during the early stages of his first term in 2020 was a significant factor in the network's decision to drop her highly successful clothing line.
The Lucrative Partnership That Ended Abruptly
Rinna launched The Lisa Rinna Collection with QVC in 2012, and the venture rapidly evolved into one of the network's most popular celebrity fashion lines. The collaboration proved exceptionally profitable for both parties, making the sudden termination in 2020 particularly puzzling to the actress. Rinna contends that multiple elements contributed to her dismissal, but she strongly suspects political considerations played a decisive role.
"QVC was sold to Qurate. The head of the company was majorly conservative and a huge Trump supporter and donor," Rinna alleges in her memoir, referencing the 2018 acquisition of QVC by the Qurate Retail Group. This corporation is owned by billionaire media mogul John C. Malone, who reportedly donated $250,000 to Trump's inauguration in 2017.
Vocal Opposition and Professional Consequences
During the 2020 election cycle, Rinna became increasingly vocal on social media regarding her political views, repeatedly criticizing Trump and urging her followers to support Democratic candidates. She described the former president as "racist" and expressed shock at what she perceived as his "ugliness and vileness and hatred."
"During the 2020 election, I had been very vocal about my feelings towards Trump. I had worked with this man, so it's not like he was a complete stranger to me," Rinna explained, alluding to her two seasons as a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice alongside Trump in 2011 and 2013.
The actress believes her political commentary generated substantial backlash, including death threats from online trolls and a decline in her Instagram following. Simultaneously, fans of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reportedly flooded QVC with complaints about Rinna's behavior on the reality series.
"I think between [my] Trump bashing, and RHOBH fans flooding the channel with complaints about me, it was more than QVC could handle," Rinna stated. "It didn't make sense – we were still making gobs of money."
Additional Factors and Previous Complaints
Rinna also cited quality control issues as contributing to the deterioration of her relationship with QVC. She claims the network forced her to work with a new manufacturer whose fabrics and craftsmanship failed to meet her standards. "The cut and the sewing, everything was inferior," she remarked, though she added that Trump-related controversy served as "the final nail in the coffin."
This is not the first instance where Rinna has publicly criticized QVC's handling of her political expression. In 2020, shortly before her departure, she took to Instagram to accuse the network of "muzzling" her due to anti-Trump posts. "I am sad to report It would now seem I can't use my platform to inform or question or say how I feel politically because the Karens have bombarded QVC, begging them to fire me," she wrote at the time.
Memoir Revelations Extend Beyond Politics
Rinna's memoir contains additional controversial claims about her experiences in the entertainment industry. She describes legendary singer Dionne Warwick, a fellow contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice, as "a nasty piece of work" who treated her dismissively. Rinna recalls Warwick demanding she fetch a Pepsi during a pizza-making task, then allegedly conspiring to have her eliminated from the competition.
The actress also criticizes television personality Star Jones, stating "I'd like to thank Star Jones for being such a twat, because her viciousness prepared me for my future as a Beverly Hills Housewife." Rinna claims these experiences exposed her to intense "woman-on-woman hate crimes" within competitive television environments.
QVC has not publicly commented on Rinna's allegations. The Daily Mail has reached out to the network for response regarding the claims made in the memoir.
