As you’ve probably heard, Kim Richards of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was arrested at the Beverly Hills Hotel early last Thursday for being drunk and disorderly. Richards hid in the bathroom from the police and resisted arrest, cursing out the officers who came to detain her. Once she made it to the station, she remained belligerent and uncooperative and kicked an officer. As a result she was charged with public intoxication, trespassing, resisting an officer and battery on a police officer. She was released from custody about eight hours later.

Richards has of course had one stint in rehab, not her first, during her history on RHOBH. She was last in rehab in early 2012. Now sources tell TMZ that producers are considering axing her from the show. Apparently her history and arrest record make her an insurance liability. They’re also urging her to go to rehab again to deal with her serious addiction issues.

Sources close to production tell us producers feel Kim’s substance abuse issues make her a liability. There are insurance issues with the show, and serious concerns that if something happens to Kim, Bravo could be on the hook for keeping her on such a contentious, demanding show.

We’re told a decision has not been made, but the alarm has been sounded and there’s serious discussion about giving Kim the ax.

Here’s where there’s a split. Some production sources says Kim’s substance abuse problem has been in full bloom all season. Several members of the cast and crew say they’ve watched Kim present a public picture of sobriety, but when the cameras are off she goes off the rails.

But other production sources tell us Kim actually did better this season in the sobriety department than she’s done in years. They also think it’s hypocritical for producers to turn their back on Kim now … they say if she was such a problem she shouldn’t have been exploited all year.

The show still has a few months before production starts back up again, so producers have some time to make their final decision.

[From TMZ]

Kim is a mess, but that makes for good television and RHOBH is all about trainwrecks, fights and wasted rich women. If they do cut her, it will be due to high insurance or the fact that she’s uninsurable, I think.

Also, TMZ has a few related articles worth mentioning. They ran a story after Kim’s arrest claiming that multiple stressors in her life led her to drink: like her ex husband suffering from cancer (she’s caring for him, apparently), her son being hospitalized, lack of money and planning her daughter’s wedding. I’ve no doubt that she may have a lot of stress in her life, but to an addict, any reason will do. She can’t drink or abuse prescription drugs period and this article comes across as a laundry list of excuses.

TMZ has a follow up claiming that some people working on RHOBH believe that Kim’s addiction issues were obvious while others thought she was doing fine. Isn’t that how it usually goes with an addict?

In light of Kim’s arrest, everyone is running this clip from RHOBH of Lisa Rinna and Eileen Davidson confronting Kim in Amsterdam about her sobriety. Kim turns it around and insinuates that Lisa’s husband, Harry Hamlin, is cheating. She also accuses Kyle of not having her back. (My favorite part is when Kim says that Brandi defends her more than Kyle and Brandi responds by taking a huge swig of wine.) Lisa freaks out at Kim’s accusations and throws wine at Kim and then smashes the glass on the table. Yeah, I really think Kim needs to be off RHOBH. She is a total drunken mess and she has all the hallmarks of an addict.

photo credit: Bravo