- "Real Housewives of Potomac" star Wendy Osefo addressed a disclaimer that aired in season seven.
- The disclaimer said Johns Hopkins University, where Osefo teaches, has "no involvement" with "RHOP."
- Osefo mentioned the university in a heated argument with Mia Thornton, who threw a drink at her.
"The Real Housewives of Potomac" season seven may be over, but viewers still have many questions.
Among them, why did Johns Hopkins University distance itself from TV star employee, Dr. Wendy Osefo, this season?
Fans will recall that back in episode seven of the latest season, a brief disclaimer aired at the end of the episode saying that the research institution has "no involvement" with the hit Bravo reality show.
The disclaimer just so happened to appear in the same episode that Osefo and costar Mia Thornton were at each other's throats in Miami over their professional merits, and Thornton threw a drink at Osefo, which Osefo has described as assault.
—Hunter™ (@Huntforfunn) November 21, 2022Osefo, who is an assistant professor in the institution's School of Education, is now explaining to Insider all about why the disclaimer appeared on screen, as well as what her superiors at Johns Hopkins made of her heated altercation with Thornton.
"I was not surprised at that disclaimer at the end of the episode. When I joined the show, the agreement that I had with my university was, I can do the show — they're okay with it — but at a point where their name is mentioned they can ask for that disclaimer," Osefo told Insider last week. "It just so happened that in that episode, I had said their name."
Indeed, Osefo namechecked Johns Hopkins during the showdown with Thornton on a cast trip to Miami, which was filmed last May, as she and Thornton engaged in tit-for-tat over their professional accolades.
"I'm the only female — Black female — at the boardroom table," said Thornton, who runs a chain of chiropractic clinics. "I'm the only Black female that's a professor at Johns Hopkins, and I'm the youngest professor at Johns Hopkins," Osefo fired back.
According to Osefo, the disclaimer wasn't a specific response to the drink-throwing and verbal threats that ensued but goes back to her agreement with the university when she signed up for "RHOP" in season five.
"They didn't see that episode prior and say, 'Hey let's put a disclaimer,'" Osefo told Insider. "They had already to talked to production and the agreement was, 'Yeah, it's fine. She has academic freedom. If this is what she wants to do, that is fine. However, if our name is mentioned, we ask that at the end this disclaimer is put on.'"
Representatives for Johns Hopkins University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Although the argument nearly got physical, Osefo said that the scenes that played out haven't impacted her reputation at work.
Asked if any of her superiors have commented on the episode, Osefo told Insider: "I've actually been told about the amount of restraint I showed in that moment and how proud people are that I was able to, even in the face of adversity, compose myself, and know that that's not the woman I am."
The mother of three added that, in general, at work, she's all business, and her students and colleagues aren't too distracted by her reality TV stardom.
"I have the person I am when I work my 9-to-5, and I have who I am socially. So, what you guys as viewers are seeing is the Wendy that is with her friends," Osefo explained.
"I will actually give kudos to my students, as well as my faculty. They have not said anything," the assistant professor continued.
"I've had one or two faculty members who have said, 'My niece loves you on the show.' But outside of that, I am Dr. Wendy when I am teaching. My students have never brought it up. They've never asked for insider information."
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