Does Ramona Singer Know You Can Make Food at Home?

Here’s what Ramona Singer, defunct skincare brand owner and reality television star, has to say to Governor Cuomo about the restaurant shutdown in New York City: “It is my opinion [Cuomo] wants to bring New York City to its knees, economically he wants to destroy it, the reason is because he needs a federal bail out.” She said all of this, and then some, in support of NYC restaurant workers and owners and patrons, whom she believes to have suffered amid the ongoing pandemic.

She is not wrong that these people need material help. If only she weren’t parroting a right-wing conspiracy about “Democrat-led cities.”

Various Real Housewives of New York stars, such as Singer, Luann De Lesseps, and newcomer Leah McSweeney, attended a “Save NYC Restaurants” protest in Times Square on Tuesday. In a lengthy Instagram post, Singer repeatedly condemned the governor and cited CDC data that “indoor restaurant dining only represents 1.43 percent of covid cases. 73 percent comes from household gatherings.” To this, she asked: “What about subways, buses, and planes?”

McSweeney showed a modicum of sense in her Instagram post from the front lines: “This isn’t about dining out. Open your eyes. This is about hard working people, small business owners and NYC. There is no NYC without restaurants, our sous chefs, bus boys and bartenders, wait staff etc. They need help.” Luann, meanwhile, simply said that “Restaurants are the lifeblood of New York City ”

Singer, in her post, mentions Cuomo has engaged in a conspiracy to drain New York City of its resources, so he can destroy it, and accept “a federal bail out.” It’s no surprise that Singer would parrot a conspiracy about “Democrat-run cities,” trickled down from the decrepit current president, into the brains of zombies at Fox News and the GOP. And while her anger at the restaurant debacle certainly points to something correct, it’s ultimately misguided, clouded over by her MAGA-lite beliefs. (Perhaps she should party with the Trumps less.)

McSweeney and De Lesseps have a better grasp on the situation, thankfully. Unlike Singer, who centers herself in the plight of restaurant workers, and maybe believes that diners are the real victims of Cuomo’s decisions, the former point to the government’s shocking lack of economic relief for former restaurant staff, and the millions of people suddenly without work, or the ability to even look for jobs. But it’s also concerning that, to both, the solution is to re-open restaurants, and not, say, provide federal bailouts and mass economic stimulus packages. As a pseudo-Republican herself, I guess I’m not surprised that McSweeney’s imagination for public works and federal aid is sorely lacking. As for De Lesseps… is anyone even sure she reads the news at all?

Still, it’s almost impossible to imagine a scenario where their combined pleas are anything but self-interested, considering their unstable footing on a reality television show about rich people eating out at restaurants. If I scrub away Singer’s pleas about conspiracies and percentage points, her post would likely read: “I really need my job, please let me film in the restaurant!!!!” Those restaurant workers also need jobs, more than Singer needs hers, and re-opening restaurants is simply not the solution to their mutual struggles. Besides, didn’t she just spend all that money to make her Hampton’s mansion even uglier than it was to begin with? Slap a few tablecloths down, and I’m sure it would pass for all the crumbling Upper East Side haunts she frequents.