They say when it rains, it pours and unfortunately for Bethenny Frankel it continues to storm.
Just days after the towboat operator who “rescued” her publicly stated she faked the whole ordeal for her reality show, a new report by the Huffington Post is now stating Bethenny did not receive the widely reported $120 million for the sale of her Skinnygirl drink line earlier this year. Just how much did she earn? $8.1 million — a far cry from the reported amount.
The Huffington Post uncovered the SEC quarterly financial disclosures posted on Fortune Brands’ (the company Bethenny sold her line to) website yesterday which revealed the acquisition of the Skinnygirl cocktail business was for $8.1 million. The statement read, “…the acquisition of the Skinnygirl ready-to-drink cocktail business ($8.1 million).” Below is another excerpt from the disclosures –
“In March 2011, we acquired the Skinnygirl ready-to-drink cocktail business. The acquisition included inventory and identifiable intangible assets. In addition to goodwill, we recorded contingent consideration, which is based on the achievement of certain sales targets. In future periods, the Company may be required to record contingent consideration in an amount not in excess of approximately $25 million. Any change in the Company’s estimated liabilities for contingent consideration will impact operating income in future periods.”
To sum this up, Bethenny received $8.1 million upfront and stands to earn up to an additional $25 million based on future sales, incentives, meeting high targets etc. W.O.W.Z.E.R.S. That puts the full possible sum of the sale at $33.1 million. While still definitely impressive — it is definitely a far cry from the reported $120 million.
Ramona Singer expressed her doubts about that amount back in May citing the amount was likely closer to $30 million. Who would have thought Ramona had it right? “I was thinking before that figure came out she got about $30 million total,” Ramona said. “And divided that between her and her partners David, and usually they do a pay out, they don’t give you the money up front, they pay you out over time.”
In Bethenny’s defense, she has never confirmed that $120 mil amount, but then again she never denied it. I guess the question now is should she have spoken up and publicly stated the number was way off? It will be interesting to see how Bethenny responds to this. She has yet to comment on this latest finding.
Moving on to Bethenny’s other dilemma aka Lost-at-sea-gate. The original story by Bethenny, star of Bethenny Ever After, was that she alongside her husband Jason Hoppy, her therapist and a Bravo camera crew were lost at sea for over 20 hours after their GPS malfunctioned.
Bethenny first gave an interview to E! News recounting the ordeal which she described as “traumatic.” And then during an appearance on The Ellen Show, she told host Ellen DeGeneres that she tipped tow boat operator Tim Russell $2,800 for safely returning her to shore.
Right away, some questioned the authenticity of Bethenny’s story which led the Jewish Journal to find Tim and interview him about what really happened. Tim had some very harsh words to say about Bethenny as he revealed she was never in any real danger while insisting that the navigation system was working when he received the call. Tim also added he was only called to help after the Coast Guard refused due to the lack of danger. To top it off, Tim said he never received the $2,800 tip from Bethenny.
Wowzers. Bethenny is now firing back in an attempt to defend herself. She is still sticking to her story as she tells E! News she was indeed lost at sea.
“Fiction? For some reason the craziest things just happen to happen to me,” she tells E!. “Not many people have an iguana poop in their suite on their honeymoon or their baby nurse attempt to baptize their child.”
“I wish that boat trip were fiction rather than the nightmare it actually was,” added Bethenny. “My truth is stranger than fiction.”
Bethenny also made the following tweets: “I will ALWAYS be honest with my fans. I know you know that!” She added: “Let’s review last week’s idiocies 1)I have a”nice”coach 2)I’m getting divorced 3)I’m pregnant 4)I lied re:being lost at sea Anything else?”
For someone as brash and honest as Bethenny, I was expecting a better defense of herself especially if someone is falsely accusing her of lying. I personally feel she should have answered the tough questions such as did she really tip Tim $2,800? And why would Tim come out and state her story was fake? I can’t imagine a man who was tipped $2,800 woould publicly state that he wasn’t.
Photo credit: WENN
TELL US – THOUGHTS ON THE LATEST? SHOULD BETHENNY HAVE SPOKEN UP ABOUT THE REPORTED $120 MILLION SALE AMOUNT? DO YOU BELIEVE BETHENNY OR TIM?
