There have been a bunch of rumours that the real estate agents on Netflix series Selling Sunset aren’t actually licensed (a reality show casting phonies? Unheard of!).
Now, Jason Oppenheim, president and founder of The Oppenheim Group, has strongly denied the wild claims.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Oppenheim defended his agents — Chrishell Stause, Heather Rae Young, Christine Quinn, Mary Fitzgerald, Davina Portraz, Maya Vander and Amanza Smith — and their “50 years of combined” experience working in real estate.
Jason Oppenheim, president and founder of The Oppenheim Group. (Credit: Netflix)
“Mary, Heather, Maya, and Christine were licensed and successful real estate agents at The Oppenheim Group many years prior to filming our show. Amanza worked with us as a designer, and has been a close friend of Mary’s and mine for many years. Chrishell was a practicing agent at another brokerage, many years previous to filming Selling Sunset. As a licensed agent, Davina had transacted many deals before joining the team in 2018,” Oppenheim said.
He continued, “Any insinuation that the agents on our show are not experienced, successful, or licensed, evidences a complete disregard for the facts. Even a superficial investigation would identify previous team photos, hundreds of millions in transacted sales, and more than 50 years of combined licensed real estate experience from these agents.”
It comes after a bunch of viewers, including one Chrissy Teigen, expressed doubt over the cast’s qualifications.
Teigen recently revealed that some of her friends in the industry weren’t familiar with the Selling Sunset agents.
“I will say, I look at L.A. real estate a lot and have never seen any of these people lol [neither] have our agents, who I have obsessively asked,” Teigen tweeted last week.
I will say, I look at LA real estate a lot and have never seen any of these people lol either have our agents, who I have obsessively asked.
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) August 19, 2020
The whole cast is listed as agents on The Oppenheim Group website, while Jason Oppenheim is listed as the owner.
After Teigen’s wild conspiracy theory, a couple of members of the cast defended themselves on social media, according to toofab.
“Staging starts tomorrow, hits the market Monday. I’m really a real realtor — LOL!” Stause reportedly shared on her Instagram Story last week.
Her co-star, Vander, added that she wasn’t offended by Teigen’s speculation.
“Oddly enough, I did sell a house on the same street where she and John Legend purchased a house a couple of months ago,” she told E! News. “I’m definitely not offended. And I’m actually excited she watched the show again. Any publicity is good publicity.”
“If she ever wants to buy in Miami I’m here to help!” Vander added.
The cast of Selling Sunset.
Portraz echoed Vander’s statements to the outlet. “I know a lot of agents and if you’re not a luxury condo buyer, you may not know me, but I closed and sold deals for $9 million and up,” she said. “So, certainly I’m not offended by anything that she said.”
Dunno ’bout you guys, but this conspiracy theory (and the lead dude’s determination to cover it up) makes it alllll the more spicy.
Seasons 1-3 of Selling Sunset are currently streaming on Netflix.
