“The Real World: New Orleans” star Danny Roberts is still processing the pain of an alleged letter written by castmate Julie Stoffer that painted him as a “dangerous homosexual.”
“It was damaging. It undermined my trust in just people in general, ”Roberts tells Page Six in an exclusive interview, reflecting on his experience discussing the note with Stoffer herself while filming Paramount + ‘s” Homecoming “reboot of the iconic MTV reality show.
“That letter was forwarded to me from executives at the organization that we were representing as mentors and role models for young people,” he claims.
“To be chosen to do that by an international organization, back then, as a gay man was a big deal. It was super hurtful then to find out that somebody I trusted was actually undermining me, especially in that time. ”
Roberts and Stoffer were in their early 20s when they arrived at The Big Easy in 2000. The openly gay Georgia native, now 44, and the “Real World’s” first Mormon, now 42 – who once called homosexuality “disgusting” on camera – worked through differing belief systems to cultivate a surprisingly strong friendship.
But it came to a screeching halt after production wrapped up, Roberts says, when he caught wind of Stoffer’s alleged attempts to tarnish his reputation and prevent career opportunities.
“I chose right then to let her know how I felt, let her know that our relationship was over and we never spoke again until the day she walked back into that house in New Orleans,” he says.
On the first episode of “Homecoming” Season 3 – which follows reunions for “The Real World: New York” and “Los Angeles” – Roberts and Stoffer addressed their residual tension. The latter MTV alum, who left the Mormon church in 2008 and has since adopted more progressive values, expressed a desire to move forward with Roberts, but still seemed unwilling to take responsibility for any statements that were specifically anti-gay.
“I think a lot of people are caught in a state of pathological narcissism,” Roberts tells Page Six, adding that he had “no expectations” for a potential reconciliation with Stoffer.
“After 20 years have passed, that person has had plenty of time to make amends and that was never done,” he elaborates. “I just walked away from that realizing that maybe this person doesn’t have the capacity for that understanding.”
Roberts isn’t the only “Real World” personality Stoffer has allegedly stiffed.
Beloved star Melissa Beck, the sole woman of color among the “New Orleans” cast, famously confronted Stoffer on “The Challenge” in 2002, claiming that Stoffer wrote a letter to deter a college from hiring Beck for a speaking engagement.
According to Beck, now 45, Stoffer assassinated her character by telling the school that she wouldn’t sign autographs or engage meaningfully with students. These alleged assertions ultimately cost Beck a check.
“When you go messin ‘with my money, you go messin’ with my emotions,” Beck memorably said at the time, later telling Stoffer directly, “I don’t want anything to do with you. I want you to keep my name out of your f — king mouth and I want you to stay the f — k away from me. ”
Beck tells Page Six that she wasn’t pining for a resolution with Stoffer on “Homecoming” as she felt she had “already closed that door” while filming “The Challenge” in Jamaica.
“I never spoke her name again, so Will Smith levels. When I was like, ‘Keep my name out your [mouth], ‘that applied to me too, ”she says, referring to the aftermath of this year’s infamous Oscars slap. “I said what I had to say, she said what she had to say and then we went on about our business. Cut to now, we have ‘Homecoming’ and it’s a thing again. “
Roberts and Beck simultaneously hashed out their issues with Stoffer in front of fellow returning cast members Kelley Limp, Matt Smith, Jamie Murray and David Broom, now known as Tokyo.
“The letter painted me as a horrible homosexual,” Roberts alleged. “Everybody’s parents were terrified of [me] being the gay in front of their teenagers. “
The LGBTQIA + activist – who gained worldwide acclaim for spotlighting the Clinton administration’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy during his groundbreaking “Real World” run – added, “And I was painted as a horrible homo who was there to be the bad guy and it just justified what they already thought before they got there. “
Meanwhile, Beck told Stoffer that she “[runs] a very big rick as the only female person of color in the room to seem bitter and petty and angry ”by airing her own grievances.
“Those actions were done against marginalized people,” Beck said to Stoffer. “You did it to a gay person and a person of color. That’s what was f-ked up about it. ”
Stoffer responded by saying she was sorry.ifShe hurt the two – and also tearfully accused them of branding her “racist and homophobic.”
“That’s called deflection,” Roberts tells Page Six of Stoffer’s reaction, while Beck quips, “In some psychological circles, that’s called projection. ”
“The Real World Homecoming: New Orleans” is available to stream on Paramount +. New episodes drop on Wednesdays.
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