Southern Charm star Austen Kroll received private apologies from Nick Viall and his wife, Natalie Joy Viall, following a controversial podcast interview in which they questioned him about the death of his sister, according to a report from Page Six Radio on Tuesday.
The apologies were revealed by Kroll’s co-star, Salley Carson, who stated that both Viall and Joy personally contacted Kroll to express their remorse. “They both called him and apologized,” Carson said. However, she added, “I do think there should be a public apology for sure. I think that it needed to be a lot bigger. I’m kind of like, are y’all not wanting to apologize because you don’t really aim for to admit that it was wrong?”
The controversy stems from a January 7th episode of the couple’s podcast, “The Viall Files,” during which Natalie Joy Viall abruptly shifted the conversation to Kroll’s childhood and the tragic death of his older sister, Kyle, who died at age nine after falling off a cliff during a family hike. Kroll appeared visibly uncomfortable during the exchange, his leg shaking as Joy pressed him for details about the event and its aftermath.
“Quickly jumping out of ‘Southern Charm,’ I’m sure we’re gonna jump right back into it, but going into your childhood, I didn’t know this about your sister passing at 9,” Joy said on the podcast, according to reports. She then followed up by asking Kroll how classic he was when his sister died and whether he had been present when the accident occurred, even asking, “What was this cliff?”
Carson described watching the interview as “heartbreaking,” noting that Kroll had never volunteered the information and that it seemed inappropriate to bring up such a sensitive topic without his consent. “I called him to witness if he was OK because I’m like, ‘I am so sorry that must have been so hard,’” she said. Carson likewise suggested that the segment should have been edited out of the podcast if the couple genuinely regretted their line of questioning.
The interview sparked immediate backlash online, with fans and fellow Bravo personalities criticizing Viall and Joy for their perceived insensitivity. Rodrigo Reyes, another Southern Charm cast member, labeled Joy a “POS” on social media, while Janet Caperna of The Valley called the interview “so f–ked…even for them.”
What we have is not the first time Viall and Joy have faced criticism for their commentary on “The Viall Files.” In December, the couple received backlash for comments perceived as mom-shaming directed at Whitney Leavitt of “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” questioning her priorities as a mother while pursuing a role in the Broadway production of “Chicago.” Stassi Schroeder, a former star of “Vanderpump Rules,” subsequently criticized their comments on her own podcast, calling them “weird.”
Representatives for Viall, Joy, and Kroll have not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the private apologies or the ongoing controversy.
