Aug. 12 (UPI) — Lisa Rinna is staunchly defending her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills co-star Erika Jayne.
The 58-year-old television personality showed her support for Jayne, 50, during Wednesday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live following allegations Jayne’s estranged husband, Tom Girardi, embezzled funds from clients.
When asked what she thinks Jayne knew about Girardi’s alleged crimes, Rinna said she believes Jayne knew nothing.
“Okay, listen. I’ve known Erika a long time. I don’t think she knew anything,” Rinna said.
“Why would Tom Girardi tell Erika anything? The lawyers didn’t even know,” she added. “I mean, that is how I feel. I’m going to stand by it. If I’m wrong, I’ll [expletive] deal with it.”
Rinna confirmed she’s taking a less aggressive approach to questioning Jayne than she did with her previous co-stars Kim Richards, Yolanda Hadid and Denise Richards.
“I’ve grown since last year, and I’m not going to behave the same way that did last year with Denise with Erika,” Rinna said. “It’s different. It’s like apples and oranges. We’re dealing with a totally different set of circumstances.”
“What I do have to say is the audience needs to just wait and let it play out. We’re just at the beginning of this,” she added.
Rinna also said she can’t “carry the show” on her back by being the only one asking questions.
During the WWHL after-show, Rinna denied that Jayne invested in her makeup line.
“She did not invest in my makeup line, let’s get that really straight right now. That was a very terrible rumor,” Rinna said.
“Erika did not give me a dime,” she added. “And by the way, I would never borrow money from a friend.”
Jayne filed for divorce from Girardi in November after more than 21 years of marriage. News subsequently broke that Girardi is being accused of misappropriating millions of dollars in client funds.