Since When Were The Salahis Credible Sources?

The New York Times published a rather lengthy article this week about how Tareq and Michaele Salahi—the couple who starred on The Real Housewives of D.C. and “allegedly” crashed President Obama’s first state dinner—are still trying to extend their 15 minutes of fame. Hold the phone—washed-up reality stars are still desperate to remain in the limelight!? What’s next? The sun setting this evening?

Seriously, though, while the piece briefly mentions the Salahis’ financial instability, familial rifts and Michaele’s recent crashing of Celebrity Rehab (when she reportedly didn’t have an addiction), the author basically takes the couple’s word on most matters, when their word is something that’s about as valuable as that defunct winery they claim to own. They’ve been caught up in so many lies and lawsuits at this point that many people found it hard to believe when Michaele Salahi said she suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Even Bravo didn’t want to deal with them (after the couple fooled the network about their supposed wealth), canceling the second season of Real Housewives of D.C.

It’s almost like the Times is defending them, going so far as to get a quote from Senator Ball about the couple, saying, “I don’t know a more grounded and more down-to-earth couple than Tareq and Michaele.” Really? You don’t know anyone more grounded than a 45-year-old woman who thinks that she has the potential to be a pop star and had an action figure made of herself?

So what are the Salahis up to at this moment, according to them? Well, they’re still supporting various charities (despite the fact that they’ve been under scrutiny for their involvement with charity in the past, particularly because Tareq claimed to have raised $250,000 for Journey for the Cure, when really, all he did was disburse $690 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society), Michaele has been offered two movie roles (“one as a news anchor, the other as a villain in a horror film”), they both been offered spots on Australia’s Dancing with the Stars, and Tareq will be starring in “a reality show on an unnamed network about reality show celebrities.” None of these claims appear to have been fact-checked by the Times.