Venita Aspen, a cast member of the reality TV show “Southern Charm,” has accused the show’s producers of editing scenes to make her look like a “homewrecker” in her storyline with fellow cast member Jarrett “JT” Thomas. In an Instagram Story posted on Saturday, Aspen claimed that a dinner scene with Thomas, where she cooked branzino, was shown out of order. She said the dinner actually took place after the cast’s trip to the Bahamas, but it was aired before the trip on the show.
“Let me make something VERY CLEAR,” Aspen wrote. “That dinner JT and I had after I made a Branzino was AFTER the Bahamas. Y’all, as an audience, saw it BEFORE.
So this week’s episode is now making me look like I’m a homewrecker when I’m not.”
Aspen emphasized that she would never pursue someone who was in a relationship. “I know what I signed up for, but I also will not allow the world to think I’m that woman when I’m not,” she added. In a February 6 episode, Aspen and Thomas discussed their chemistry over dinner, before Thomas revealed he was seeing someone else.
“Do I know we had chemistry?
Editing alters reality on Southern Charm
Am I extremely attracted to you?
Yes,” he told her. “But, I’m just being real, I’m seeing someone.”
Aspen later shared her reaction in a confessional. “I won’t say I knew he had a girlfriend, I can say I knew he was talking to someone but it wasn’t a ‘this is who I’m dating.’ I’m equally part angry and equally part sad because how long have we been flirting?” she said.
The situation escalated when Aspen revealed on a podcast that Thomas’ girlfriend had attacked her on social media after the show’s trailer aired. “She basically calls me out on my name. And I was just like, ‘Hey, I don’t know what’s going on with this.
I need you to put a handle on it.’ And he was like, ‘I can’t do anything about it,'” Aspen recounted. Bravo, the network that airs “Southern Charm,” has not yet responded to requests for comment on Aspen’s allegations. The incident highlights the power of editing in reality TV and how it can shape public perceptions of the cast members involved.