On the most recent episode of Summer House, the cast had an important conversation about race and what it means to be Black in America. The topic came up over a group dinner and the group was praised by fans for having a discussion that doesn’t normally happen on Bravo shows.
Mia Calabrese, one of the three Black cast members on Season 10, told TV Insider that she was “grateful” to share the moment with her castmates.
“When we started the conversation, I was just listening, and then when I started speaking, I just forgot that we were even filming for a second and I was just talking to KJ [Dillard] like I was talking to a friend,” Calabrese said. “I am so incredibly thankful that they did show that. They didn’t have to. I’m grateful that they gave us a platform to speak on our experience being a Black person in America.”
More so, though, Calabrese was “thankful” that her co-stars were “so receptive of hearing what we had to say and they didn’t interrupt and didn’t try to negate our experiences. They just wanted to learn and hear what we had to say. I was very grateful.”
Kareem Black/Bravo
She called the moment “incredible” and noted that it was a chance for the group to “understand we can have these uncomfortable conversations and how to have [them].”
The conversation began with Ciara Miller and West Wilson discussing their breakup and how he spoke about it in the press afterwards. “I don’t think you guys also realize the interracial aspect that exists and all the s**t that goes on,” Miller pointed out. “I get a lot of blowback that’s very racial, obviously, being in this position. I was the first Black person in this house and then dating publicly, dating white guys publicly, is a whole contraption that I don’t think you guys can understand or can even empathize with.”
Dillard got emotional and Lindsay Hubbard checked in to see if he was OK. “It’s just the s**t my sisters go through,” Dillard explained, while getting choked up. “It’s tough. It may seem like from your guys’ perspective that she’s complaining, but it’s just reality. It’s f**ked. You’ve always got to think 20 steps ahead. It’s not normal. This s**t’s not normal. I don’t expect you guys to understand because you aren’t in our skin, but even with me coming into the house, being the first Black guy, I have added pressure, too. Literally, the past few weeks, I’ve just been in my head, thinking, ‘Don’t f**k up.’ It’s f**ked.”
Calabrese jumped in to add, “That’s what we’re taught. I didn’t grow up with you, KJ, but I know you got the talk that my brother got. That’s just a conversation that’s held in Black households. You have to conduct yourself in a certain manner so you’re not seen as a threat, so you’re not seen as aggressive or angry or scary and all these connotations that society has put on us for so long. Even though there’s nothing angry about you, nothing scary about you. But that’s what the world has made us to look like.”
Kyle Cooke admitted that the conversation helped him realize how much he takes for granted. “I can pop off. I have a temper, I have anger management issues,” he said. “And I’m not thinking 20 steps ahead. I’m thinking in the moment.” Carl Radke told Miller, Calabrese, and Dillard that he and the rest of the cast “just want to have your back and support you guys and make sure we’re doing our best.”
Amanda Batula added, “It’s our job to be family and support one another, instead of giving people opportunities to tear other people down.”
Summer House, Season 10, Tuesdays, 8/7c, Bravo
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