Rielle Hunter, the mistress of former Sen. John Edwards who slammed the dead wife of her boyfriend, was a big yawn in the ratings for her TV interview debut Friday night.
Hunter, promoting her tell-all book in a much-hyped, hourlong appearance on ABC’s “20/20,” was good enough only for second place behind NBC’s “Dateline,” according to early ratings released over the weekend.
A “Dateline” story about a real-life murder mystery in Virginia drew an estimated 5.6 million viewers compared to about 4.9 million for the Hunter interview.
Viewers appear to have been turned off by Hunter, who, in her book, characterizes Edwards’ late wife Elizabeth as “crazy” and a “witch on wheels.”
The audience for news magazine shows is traditionally female, and Hunter, who frankly described her affair with the married former presidential hopeful without regret or apology while his wife was dying from cancer, seems to have been a big turnoff.
She is scheduled to appear several more times tomorrow — the day her book goes on sale — on “Good Morning America,” “The View” and “Nightline,” all also on ABC.