Teresa Giudice definitely does not want to talk about her tax problems.
On Friday, The Real Housewives of New Jersey star was a guest on Chicago’s WGN News Morning Show. The Bravo personality was promoting her upcoming “Party With a Housewife” event on June 29 at Zanie’s Comedy Club in Rosemont, Illinois. But the conversation turned testy when anchor Larry Potash inquired about her tax problems.
Teresa Giudice refuses to answer questions about tax fraud: ‘I’m hanging up’
After Teresa chatted with Potash’s co-host Robin Baumgarten about daughter Gia Giudice’s new Bravo show NextGen NYC and her thoughts on the rumored RHONJ reboot, Potash cut in with a more pointed question.
“How is it that a family doesn’t pay their taxes for years?” he asked.
“What family are you talking about?” Teresa replied.
“I’m talking about your family. Isn’t that what the fraud charges were?”
Teresa, who was on a video call, was obviously not happy to be quizzed about her guilty plea in a 2014 tax fraud case, which landed her in prison for 11 months.
“OK, I’m hanging up,” she announced. She then turned her phone into portrait mode before the screen went dark.
“She didn’t like that question,” Potash quipped. “Wasn’t that part of the show? … It’s what reality shows are made of.”
While Giudice’s prison stint happened more than a decade ago, her tax problems might not be behind her. Earlier this year, People reported that she and her current husband, Luis Ruelas, have been hit with more then $3 million in tax liens, with most of the money owed by Ruelas. (Teresa’s ex-husband, Joe Giudice, also served 41 months for tax fraud. He was deported to Italy following his release, and he and Teresa divorced.)
WGN News anchor compares Teresa Giudice to Tom Sandoval: ‘Healthy self-awareness’
Teresa wasn’t the only Bravo alum on WGN’s morning show on Friday. Later in the broadcast, Potash and Baumgarten also chatted with Vanderpump Rules star Tom Sandoval, who was promoting live appearances in Illinois and Michigan this weekend. The interview was less combative than their conversation with Teresa.
“Compared to other reality [stars] that we’ve interviewed on this show, at least today, you seem like you really have a healthy self-awareness,” Potash said, getting in one more dig at the table-flipping RHONJ star.
“I think it’s really important to have self-awareness when you’re on a reality show,” Sandoval agreed. “You’re constantly reminded when you watch yourself…”
“It’s not one of those things where you get residuals every time because it’s reality TV,” he added, referencing his cheating scandal, where he stepped out on his long-term girlfriend Ariana Madix with fellow cast member Rachel Leviss. “But you sure as hell have to relive it and get the slew of negativity that comes with it.”
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