Will 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Edit Scenes of Abuse in Armstrong Marriage?
Bravo has been promoting Season 2 of the 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' (premieres Mon., Sept. 5, 10PM ET) with very sensitive footage of a fragile and emotionally broken Taylor Armstrong, dealing with her marital issues and alleged abuse by her then-husband Russell.Reacting to today's very sad news that Russell Armstrong committed suicide last night, after the dissolution of their marriage and his abusive actions were so publicly reported, Bravo removed their drama-filled Season 2 online promo.
It was the right choice. No matter what happened between the two of them, the last thing anyone wants rehashed in a time of grief is the emotional inciting incident.
But what about the actual show? How much -- if at all -- will Bravo edit the episodes to exclude the late Russell Armstrong and his admitted spousal abuse? And how much should they edit?
At NBC Universal's TCA party a couple of weeks ago, Taylor was there with her self-proclaimed "gay husband," a male best friend of hers for years who she said was "her rock" during the tough times she's been going through. Russell was not in attendance.
When I pressed her for how much of the abuse would be shown in Season 2, she coyly replied, "Well you'll have to watch and see ... but it's really not easy to watch."
The question is, is it right to show a now-deceased man, who was obviously battling some demons, while he was at his lowest point? Or should Bravo memorialize Russell, go back to the editing room and gloss over the specifics of their marital problems?
Taylor filed for divorce from Russell, 47, in July after claiming he physically abused her. The two had a 5-year-old daughter together named Kennedy.
"I felt like I was dying inside," Taylor told People about her marriage. "Now, there's some sense of peace."
"Did I push her? Yes, maybe things happened in the heat of the moment, but it was during a time in our lives that was not characteristic of who we were," Russell told People in July. "This show has literally pushed us to the limit."
No one from Bravo returned our request for a comment, but we'll update this post if we hear any more. For now, what do you think is the right thing for the show to do?

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