‘RHONY’ alum Leah McSweeney mocks detractors, defiantly takes credit for show’s demise

Leah McSweeney — the reality star who appeared on two divisive seasons of the struggling “Real Housewives of New York” before suing its creators — appears to be mocking her many detractors by proudly taking credit for the show’s demise.

Many longtime fans of the show were turned off by McSweeney, a younger, Downtown streetwear designer who fit awkwardly with the wealthy Uptown ladies who had been the foundation of the decade-long series, and hailed her inclusion as the end of the franchise.

Meanwhile, shortly after her exit, the Bravo show began to suffer in more practical ways. It first became mired in an ugly racism debacle that brought the “original” show to a standstill, then started fresh with a cast that was all-new but largely unpopular with viewers, and it is currently off the air while the network attempts to retool it.

This week McSweeney posted a series of sexy pictures on her Instagram account, seeming to poke fun at her reputation as the beloved show’s fatal flaw, defiantly captioning the shots of herself: “Just a baddie that ruined your favorite franchise.”

The Married To The Mob founder joined Season12 or the show in 2020, and left after Season 13 in 2021. (She also appeared in spin-off “Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip”).

After her exit she sued Bravo, network figurehead Andy Cohen and production company Shed, claiming that they had pressured her to drink alcohol on the show, even though they knew she was a recovering alcoholic, because they believed she would win them better ratings if she were drunk than if she were sober.

Cohen has denied wrongdoing, and that suit is now before a judge.

The show ran into an apparently inescapable mess during Season 13 after it hired its first-ever black cast member, Eboni K. Williams, in what appeared to be a conspicuous attempt to solve a glaring diversity problem, only for Williams to make a human resources complaint accusing longtime star Ramona Singer of racism.

For Season 14, Bravo hired an entirely new slate of stars, led by fashion exec Jenna Lyons. But the younger, hipper, more diverse cast has faced generally flagging ratings.

The network took the show off its schedule earlier this year and is said to be preparing to announce the cast of a sixteenth season before returning the show to the air.

After McSweeny posted the pictures, Lyons announced that she is leaving the show after two seasons.