This has been a wild week for Real Housewives of Orange County star Tamra Judge. The reality star and podcast host recently came out and said that she was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. Naturally, this didn’t go over well. People claimed there was misinformation with her diagnosis claims, and they felt that she was using the autism community as a way to atone for what they deemed as her bad behavior. Now, she’s explaining and addressing the backlash.
So far, season 18 of RHOC has been an intense one for Tamra. Notably, she has been accused of digging up dirt on everyone else because she doesn’t have a storyline. This is mostly why fans felt she lied about being on the spectrum. After seeing the backlash, she and Teddi Mellencamp quickly disabled comments on the social media post containing her claims.
Now, there’s another episode of Two Ts In a Pod, in which Tamra addressed the feelings fans have about her comments.
She started by saying, “Okay, I am just taking it all in and hearing everybody out. And, you know, at the end of the day I feel really horrible. I feel beat down. I think people have to understand I spoke about it literally 15 minutes from a two-hour therapy session, and I realize now that I spoke too soon. I shouldn’t have shared what my therapist said.”
She continued, “I just feel horrible. It’s not, like, you know, I was talking to you [Teddi]. I didn’t intend to share it with anybody at that moment. I hadn’t even told, you know, Eddie or Sophia or anything like that. So, I just feel horrible about it.”
Tamra then said she didn’t intend to hurt or offend anyone with her comments about being on the spectrum.
According to Tamra, “I wasn’t trying to insult or minimize or get sympathy or any of that. So, I apologize, and you know, the part that I think people are confused at, and I’ve been reading your comments, is that people with autism don’t have empathy. That’s not what I was saying.”
She added, “I was questioning my own empathy with my therapist because I have heard people say to me, ‘You don’t have empathy. How can you not have empathy?’ So, I’m asking, do I not have empathy? I feel like I do. There was a lot of information that I had processed in my head, and it would have been better off if I hadn’t said anything, and now I’m not going to say anything anymore.”
Tamra then said, “My doctor just suggested that I take a break from social media. That it’s not a good idea for me to even talk about it in a public manner right now. I just need to focus on myself. So, again, I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart if I have caused any harm. And, you know, I’ll learn from this moving forward.”
Fans can watch Tamra on RHOC on Thursday nights.
