Salley Carson is weighing in on the controversial Viall Files interview that left Southern Charm fans talking, and she’s making it clear a private apology isn’t enough.
While promoting the new season of Southern Charm on SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio, Salley addressed the now-viral moment where hosts Nick Viall and Natalie Joy pressed Austen Kroll on a sensitive topic many viewers felt crossed a line.
According to Salley, watching the exchange was painful.
“It honestly kind of broke my heart for him,” she said. “Watching it back, I called him and made sure he was okay because I’m like, I am so sorry. That must have been really hard. It also just came out of nowhere.”
Hosts Danny Murphy and Evan Real agreed the questioning felt relentless, noting the moment when it was clear Austen was uncomfortable but the conversation kept circling back.
Salley said she recognized the signs immediately.
“I could tell he was uncomfortable because his leg was shaking,” she explained. “I’ve been friends with him for a while and I haven’t even asked. That’s something he should bring up when he feels comfortable.”
She confirmed that both Nick and Natalie reached out to Austen privately to apologize — but in her view, that doesn’t go far enough.
“They definitely did apologize to Austen,” she said. “But I think that it needed to be a lot bigger than that.”
Because the interview happened publicly and reached a large audience, Salley believes the apology should match the scale of the moment.
“I do think there should be a public apology for sure,” she added. “I’m kind of like, are y’all not wanting to apologize because you don’t really want to admit that it was wrong?”