There are moments when reality TV can transcend into real life, and none is more evident than the recent suicide of Russell Armstrong, late co-star in Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” According to reports at The Los Angeles Times, the family now faces rumors that suggest the suicide had sourced from a possible expose of Armstrong’s connection to a gay lover.
Family attorney Ronald Richards has addressed the suicide, in particular any connection to a gay tryst reported by TMZ, Extra, and the New York Post, chalking rumors up to a “posthumous smear campaign.”
Rumors, however, brewed after entertainment news affiliates had reported that Alan Schram, an LA-based business associate, had also committed suicide a day after Armstrong, alluding to a possible relationship otherwise undisclosed. Sources had also suggested that Armstrong was facing an looming book expose that would have revealed his bisexuality.
Despite Bravo’s plans to continue with the production, critics including the New York Times have addressed the appropriateness of the show and reality TV in general, leaving readers with a poignant question: How much longer can they keep up this stuff?
