Lisa Hochstein of Real Housewives of Miami experienced little controversy during her freshman season on the Bravo franchise other than some pesky preservation issues involving her cavernous Star Island estate. But now Hochstein is in the news for suing a woman who made a comment about her on a reality TV blog.

Hochstein claims that Jessica Lederman’s comments that she “was an escort who also did soft porn in Vegas” caused her severe emotional distress and has damaged and threatened her employment and social life. She is suing Lederman for more than $15,000, says TMZ.

We spoke to Hochstein, who admitted that the controversy over the lawsuit, filed quietly a few months ago, has taken her by surprise.

“This was filed awhile ago, and somehow it surfaced. This isn’t something I was going to publicize. It’s not the kind of exposure I was looking to get. I do want to put out there that I get it, that I’m out there on TV and there’s gonna be anonymous bloggers and posters who will say what they want about me,” Hochstein said. “This person is an acquaintance we’ve invited in our home and who has smiled in our faces. She had no shame in saying these horrible things. If you are going to put something that nasty, saying someone’s an escort, a porn star, that’s a big deal to me . . . . The fact that she knows me, and I’ve seen her in my home, well, it just sits the wrong way . I’m not going to go after every blogger and commenter out there. Trust me, I’ve been called way worse. I have thick skin as part of this whole show, but this really struck a chord. I didn’t want it to get out of hand, and I’m all for freedom of speech, but when you know someone personally and act like you’re friendly with them and then go making an accusation like that, it’s a big deal.’’

When we asked her how the comments affect her employment, the former model explained that “People are still looking to use me as brand ambassador and people who think I am a hooker, an escort . . . . I don’t take myself that seriously, but it just rubbed us the wrong way. Maybe[the lawsuit] could have been a little extreme, but at the time we felt but at the time we felt [it was something] we needed to do.”

Lesley Abravanel