Kim Richards: Was She Off the Wagon All Season?!

Is Kim Richards sober as a judge or a raging alcoholic pill-popper?

That question has been asked by pretty much everyone, whether you watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills online, star on the show or work on its crew.

The answer? That all depends on who you ask apparently.

Some cast and production crew members say the former child star's protestations throughout the past season that she is sober are downright laughable.

Kim's sister Kyle Richards, Lisa Vanderpump and Yolanda Foster tried to simply look the other way in order to avoid confrontation (or at least try).

New cast members and soap opera stars Lisa Rinna and Eileen Davidson decided to get in her face about it, though, as we saw several times (below).

So is she off the wagon or not? The evidence is actually thin.

Anecdotally, she seems to be a mess. Sources say Kim wouldn't drink or take drugs where anyone could see her, so there is no smoking gun.

However, she would appear to be clean one moment, then disappear into a restroom or somewhere out of sight and emerge ... less than sober.

Other sources close to the production say Kim has done better controlling her addiction last season, which could mean this is all hyped up for ratings.

Would be shocking, right? A scripted reality TV show?!

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: EPIC FIGHT!

As for Brandi Glanville, Kim apologists claim she is one of them, and one of the few stars on Kim's side. Kim critics say Brandi knows she's off the wagon.

Would be shocking, right? Brandi playing both sides.

Even before Kim Richards was arrested for public drunkenness last week, her sobriety became an issue when her dog viciously attacked Kyle's daughter.

After that happened, her camp sent a dog trainer to Kim's house to assess the situation, but Kim was such a mess, the dog trainer had to help put her to bed.

As for what drove her to drink and kick a cop in Beverly Hills, there are a whole mess of theories, including that she couldn't handle watching her show's reunion.

Either way, we really hope she gets it together, and soon.

Otherwise, the topic of whether or not she returns to the show next season is the least of Kim's concerns, and ours, in the coming months.

The situation is not what you'd call good by any means.

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