A party for Netflix’s newest reality show, Members Only: Palm Beach, was filled with drama Monday night as a cast member was escorted out of the lavish fete following a snafu allegedly over booze and bad behavior, the Daily Mail has exclusively learned.
Multiple sources claim Gale Brophy – a Florida businesswoman with ties to the Trump family – was forced to leave after drinking out of a guest’s champagne glass.
‘The check-in attendant in the front, who was stationed next to the welcome champagne drink station, saw it and reported it to me,’ Taja Abitbol, the party’s host and star of Members Club Only: Palm Beach, told the Daily Mail.
Another insider claimed the Estates by Brophy founder was seen drinking a ‘half-finished’ drink, while another claimed her actions ‘suggested impairment.’
However, when we contacted Brophy Tuesday, she emphatically denied that she was intoxicated, stating she didn’t drink any alcohol before arriving at the party and did not even drink a hard cocktail once inside.
She claimed she picked up a glass that was placed on a table at the entrance because she mistakenly thought it was ‘part of the welcoming champagne.’
‘I am not that kind of person,’ Brophy added, telling us she has ‘worked hard for her name and reputation’ and is a well-respected philanthropist in Palm Beach.
The cast of Members Only: Palm Beach, seen here, had a drama-filled party in Palm Beach, Florida Monday night on the heels of their Netflix show premiere
Gale Brophy (left) was accused of drinking champagne that was not hers and appearing ‘intoxicated,’ but she denied the allegations exclusively to the Daily Mail
Netflix star Taja Abitbol hosted the lavish party at the exclusive Bears Club gated community
The Palm Beach socialite who along with her costars, publicist Johnny Donovan of J Donovan Productions and Impact Wealth magazine publisher Adam Weiss, was one of 300 guests invited to celebrate the new reality show.
Abitbol – an entrepreneur who is married to former New York Yankees star David Cone – held the event at a $40 million estate in the exclusive Bears Club, a gated community that is home to notable figures such as NBA icon Michael Jordan.
Netflix was not involved and this was not the streaming service’s official premiere.
Brophy arrived wearing an eye-grabbing glamorous green gown, but sources claimed she ‘stirred up trouble’ by ‘disrupting the press line on the red carpet.’ Brophy denies those allegations.
‘Gale walked in with an air of trouble and left in same style,’ one source told us, further alleging, ‘[She was] vocally being rude to host Taja.’
However, Brophy claimed to the Daily Mail that it was Abitbol who took issue with her, alleging, ‘She saw the cameras all over me. She saw me, she saw the press talking to me and then she became very upset.’
Abitbol told the Daily Mail in response, ‘Gale arrived displaying disruptive behavior that raised security’s concern regarding guest safety and the overall atmosphere.
‘Her conduct included confrontational interactions, threatening me, inappropriate behavior toward other guests and actions that suggested alcohol impairment.’
‘Gale walked in with an air of trouble and left in same style,’ a source claimed to the Daily Mail
The two costars – who are ‘not friends’ – had been having issues leading up to the ritzy gathering.
On an episode of Members Only: Palm Beach, Brophy gushed that she was once best friends with the now-late Ivana Trump. She also claimed she made an opposing bid for Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago before the president bought the estate.
However, Abitbol questioned Brophy’s connections to the Trumps in an interview with Newsweek.
‘I had found out she made false accusations in a newspaper,’ Brophy told the Daily Mail of her mindset leading up to the party. ‘I told [Abitbol], “If you had anything to do with that article, you’ll be hearing from my lawyers.”‘
‘I am very close friends with the president,’ she further insisted to us. ‘I’ve known him my whole life. Marla [Maples’] kids went to school with my son.’
Meanwhile, an insider claimed that Abitbol’s eventual decision to have Brophy leave her event was ‘not personal.’
Video exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail shows the moment in which a group of security guards in suits escorted Brophy off of the premises.
Although there did not appear to be much of a physical altercation in the clip we obtained, Brophy claimed to us, ‘One of the bodyguards in a black suit pushed me and I said, “Get your hands off of me now.”‘
Brophy alleged on Netflix that she was once best friends with Ivana Trump (pictured left)
‘I am very close friends with the president,’ the businesswoman, pictured here at Mar-a-Lago, told the Daily Mail. ‘I’ve known him my whole life’
Brophy, pictured here at Mar-a-Lago, claimed Abitbol was ‘jealous’ of her
She brushed off her feud with Abitbol as ‘mean girl’ behavior, concluding, ‘This was pure jealousy. Pure jealousy.’
Abitbol told us in response, ‘As host, I have a responsibility to ensure that all guests feel comfortable, secure, and respected, and that the venue is protected.
‘The decision was necessary and appropriate under the circumstances.’
Season 1 of Members Only: Palm Beach, which also stars Hilary Musser, Rosalyn Yellin, Ro-mina Ustayev and DJ Maria Cozamanisis, is streaming now on Netflix.
