The ‘Real Housewives of New York City’ star opens up to ET about the magical night that saw dozens of Bravo-lebrities surprise the crowd in Los Angeles.
Usually, Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen brings the laughs -- but on Wednesday night, guest Dorinda Medley was brought to tears!
“It was epic,” the Real Housewives of New York City star gushes to ET about “The Night of 31 Doorbells,” which saw dozens of Bravo-lebrities, past and present, storming the stage at Los Angeles’ historic Wiltern Theater for a very special episode of WWHL on the West Coast.
Over the course of 30 minutes, reality TV legends including Jill Zarin, Brandi Glanville and NeNe Leakes joined Dorinda onstage with Andy.
“I loved this show called Night of 100 Stars in the ‘80s, where they would just march all these big stars out and people would applaud,” Andy explained to ET ahead of the taping. “What we found last year is when we were in L.A., every time the doorbell rang, and it was Lisa Vanderpump or NeNe, the audience went so mental that we want to deliver them kind of a night that is gonna blow their minds. So that's how this came about.”
“It's like housewives from past and present, from all over the place,” he added. “It's a lot of surprises. I don’t know how we're gonna fit it into a half an hour.”
“I was sitting there, and I'm going to be honest with you, when I walked out and you felt -- it wasn't just the noise of the audience, it was the energy,” Dorinda shares. “I really had this moment where I was like, ‘This is big.’ And then, when we sat down and all the doorbells [started], and they were coming from this side, and the other sides, and down the [aisles] and [Carole Radziwill's] running down in her tracksuit -- I'm getting goosebumps again -- I started to well up and cry.”
“This is a cultural phenomenon,” she says. “I leaned over to Andy and said, ‘You know, Harvard will study this one day.’ I'm not kidding you, because it dawned on me there's not a day of the week that we're not in your living room. NeNe’s in the living room on Sundays, I'm in your living room on Wednesdays, they're on your living room on Tuesdays. Right?”
Dorinda compares the cultural impact of Housewives to that of the soap operas of the ‘80s, noting people get hyped for new episodes the same way they did for Luke and Laura’s wedding on General Hospital nearly 40 years ago.
“We're gonna be like that,” she says with a smile. “People have really taken it into their lives.”
Dorinda says sitting on the Wiltern’s stage, surrounded by Housewives, the cast of Vanderpump Rules and even a couple of Shahs of Sunset stars, she finally saw the power of Bravo, and reality TV, in the real world.
“You know, we're always doing things either individually or, you know, our little group, but to see all these Housewives together, it was almost like we were cartoon characters,” she says. “I can't explain it to you. It was overwhelming. I got weak in the knees. I really was like, ‘Oh my god. I'm so proud and humbled to be part of what's going on right now.’”
“I think Andy was proud, which was nice,” she adds. “Andy Cohen is the ultimate Charlie's Angels guy. ‘Hello, Charlie.’ You know, whenever you see Andy Cohen it's like, ‘Hello, Andy.’ You know what I mean?”
Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen wraps up its special Los Angeles run on Thursday at 11 p.m. ET, and you can see more of Dorinda every Wednesday on The Real Housewives of New York City, both on Bravo.
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