Ever since Deadline first reported that designer Rebecca Minkoff would be joining the cast of The Real Housewives of New York City for its 15th season, fans wondered if the show would address the elephant in the room: the fact that Minkoff identifies as a Scientologist. It turns out we didn’t have to wait long. In Tuesday’s episode, castmate Brynn Whitfield interrogated Minkoff during a helicopter ride to the Hamptons. “If people ask us about the Scientology shit, what do you want us to say?” Whitfield asked. “Uhhh, no comment,” Minkoff replied.
“And also, if you’re like, ‘I don’t know what to say, here’s what someone asked me,’ come to me,” Minkoff continued. “I just tell people, ‘If you’re curious, read a book.’ That’s it.” She didn’t clarify which book she was referring to, but it’s probably safe to assume she wasn’t talking about Lawrence Wright’s Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, which describes Scientology as “shrouded in mystery” and its deceased leader L. Ron Hubbard as a “mentally troubled science-fiction writer.”
“We’re a world-recognized religion,” Minkoff went on. “There’s nothing secret. There’s nothing weird, you know?”
Minkoff first spoke publicly of her beliefs in a 2021 New York Times profile, where she said she identifies as both Jewish and a Scientologist, though noted that she sees Hubbard’s belief system as “more of a self-improvement philosophy.” Citing what she called “horrific misinformation” surrounding the organization, she said, “I’m totally open … But it’s not my job to proselytize.”
When asked to address critics who believed she was involved in a “cult” during a 2021 podcast appearance, the designer said she had simply turned to the religion to “learn knowledge.” “Scientology, which the word itself means knowledge … that’s all it means,” she said. More recently, Minkoff told “Page Six” that Scientology has “helped [her] personally” and “professionally,” as well as allowing her to “weather a lot of stress.” Around the same time, she told Access Hollywood that she’s “proud” of her identity as a Scientologist and confirmed that her whole family embraces the religion.
It’s early on in the season, but if I know anything about the women of RHONY, it’s that these women are not going to let this “Scientology shit” go.