Tracy Tutor has entered the ring in the public match over the intersection of real estate and reality television.
Last week, Compass’ Leonard Steinberg and Eleonora Srugo, a luxury broker at Douglas Elliman and star of Netflix’s “Selling the City”, took the stage at The Real Deal’s annual NYC Forum to debate the industry’s depiction on the small screen.
Steinberg added to his decade-plus of online dispatches against the industry’s appearance in shows from “Million Dollar Listing” to “Selling Sunset,” the Netflix franchise under which Srugo debuted the East Coast installment.
“If I was a woman, I would feel extremely disappointed,” Steinberg said of reality television’s depictions of the industry. “I think it over-sexualizes the role of the professional.”
Some of the debate’s high points appeared in a video posted to TRD’s Instagram page, which sparked a lively comment section of sharp reactions and an even sharper response from another big name in residential and reality.
“The arrogance in this and his comments surrounding women’s attire is infuriating,” Compass broker and “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” star Tutor captioned in a repost of the panel video.
In a following Instagram story, Tutor, who said she watched the full video of the brokers’ onstage remarks, took issue with Steinberg by name, who is currently chief evangelist at their shared brokerage.
“The idea that Leonard Steinberg, you, Leonard, feel like you are in the Judge Judy chair and you get to comment on how we choose to promote our businesses, which has nothing to do with you,” Tutor said, “is not only offensive, it’s condescending, and beyond that, gross.”
The top broker said she “got most fired up” about Steinberg’s “ability to sit on a stage and comment on how he feels that women should dress in a professional setting.”
“One, Leonard, you’re in no position to talk about how anyone should dress with your Hokas and your suit on that stage. Let’s start there,” Tutor said, referencing the sneakers Steinberg sported for the appearance.
“The idea that you have this 1950s sentiment surrounding how women should dress in a professional setting is not only outdated, sexist, misogynistic and unfair,” Tutor said. “You are in no position to tell any woman what to wear so long as that woman is getting deals done.”
“At the end of the day, if I want to wear Louboutins to a showing and a short skirt, as long as I get that showing on lock and I close that deal, more power to me,” Tutor said. “You should be celebrating that, not disparaging it.”
During last week’s debate, Steinberg also contended that many agents who rode the small screen to fame might not have been able to do so without it. “I think reality TV has made star agents of agents who might have otherwise been rather mediocre,” he said.
Tutor called Steinberg’s comment “offensive.” She added that Elliman’s Frederick Eklund, Corcoran Group’s Steve Gold, Ryan Serhant, Josh Altman, Josh Flagg, “myself and every other agent that has appeared on our franchise I happen to know, do a ton of business and are super successful.”
“So, how dare you? How dare you come for all of us?” Tutor asked. “It’s reeking of jealousy, insecurity and it’s a little tone deaf.”
(For his part, Steinberg himself replied to a comment similarly calling him insecure, saying he thinks “most would not use the word … to describe me,” adding that his main issue is that the industry’s participation in reality shows “[fuels] a horrible stereotype.”)
Continuing his clarification in the comment section, Steinberg underlined the point he made onstage, that television programs “have damaged the reputation of an entire profession.” In several comments and his onstage appearance, Steinberg pointed to the roughly $1 billion in settlements paid out across the industry as part of the class action lawsuits against the National Association of Realtors’ commission guidelines.
“So good for a few and bad for — expensive — for thousands of others,” Steinberg wrote.
“I just had to say it out loud and get it off my chest ‘cause that’s what I do,” Tutor said in her video. “And I would love to sit on a stage across from you any day and debate this further, kisses.”
Farrah Brittany of The Agency and Netflix’s “Buying Beverly Hills”, along with Tricia Lee and Jess Taylor of Serhant and Netflix’s “Owning Manhattan,” offered their support for Tutor’s comments, posting emoji affirmations for the “Million Dollar Listing” star.
Tutor did not respond to requests for comment Friday morning.
The agent previously made waves when she left Douglas Elliman in January. Compass gained Tutor and her 18-person team with offices in Beverly Hills, Dallas and Austin. The company reported at the time her team held active listings in excess of $550 million.
The team’s move ended local market chatter. Speculation mounted following Tutor’s revelation to the New York Times last July that she accused former top Elliman agent Oren Alexander of drugging her at a 2014 cocktail party. Oren, along with his brothers, Tal and Alon Alexander, face federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking with a trial scheduled for next year.