'The woman is a menace to society' — Fans react to how the Dupree family handles a crisis on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, the Dupree family reign supreme over the estate of Fairmont Crest. However, some fans are not impressed with how they law-bend and are so self-entitled

The first two weeks aren't even over for Beyond the Gates, and the Dupree family are running riot over their gated community. Dani Dupree, one of Anita and Vernon's daughters, has already shown violent tendencies that are enabled by her older sister, Nicole, who by all accounts is a well-known and well-thought-of psychiatrist. “When Dani messes up, I clean up. That’s our eternal dance, Daddy,” says Nicole to Vernon. That in itself is troubling to think about, given that professionally, Nicole herself should realize she’s her sister’s enabler, and by agreement, so is their father. The next thing we knew, Dani pulled a gun at a wedding and fired a bullet at her ex-husband's new bride. If you thought it couldn't get worse, you'd very much be mistaken: The Dupree family held a press conference to try to get ahead of their daughter's crime wave.

This press conference shown on Beyond the Gates was a sham, and Vernon, the male head of the Dupree family, is an ex-Senator. He first silenced the press and their questions, then told them some cockamamie story about it being an accidental discharge, stating, “Which isn't a crime!” Right, how about we talk about why Dani brought a gun to a wedding in the first place? Is she licensed to carry? Does she have a concealed carry permit? The weapon was hidden in her purse, after all.

Vernon shut down any chance the press had of questioning what instantly sprang to mind for the fans and viewers. Anita, the matriarch of the Dupree family, then took the podium and told the press they should be ashamed of themselves for asking these questions of such a well-thought-of family. Of course, why should they be held to the same standards as everyone else? Silly us. One of Dani’s daughters was live streaming the wedding to her Instagram page, and the ensuing chaos after the shot being fired was captured in brilliant high definition and went viral. Anita scolded the press for seeing what they saw on the live stream and having an opinion that wasn't something like how excellent the Dupree family was.

As if that wasn’t enough, there was the pièce de résistance: A robbery/homicide detective was present at the wedding. Yes, he was a family member, and no, he didn't arrest Dani for shooting in a public space and endangering the lives of all present. He did nothing helpful, not even calling it in. That part is so unbelievable. What cop, family or not, wouldn't take action in that situation? Another law enforcement officer arrived and started to take statements, but he was summoned at the culprit’s request, and the Duprees told him what those statements would be and who from. When he dared to ask a question, Vernon informed him that he was going to be golfing with his boss, aka his best friend, the next day. Vernon then gave an implied threat not to say anything in his report that would make the family look bad or state that anything unlawful happened.

Fans and viewers of Beyond the Gates went to the soap central website and visited the message boards associated with the show to discuss this and their thoughts on the Dupree family’s crimes and how they dealt with them.

Beyond the Gates: The level of entitlement within the Dupree family

User H Harriet wrote, “These Duprees have little to no self awareness and their sense of entitlement is outrageous and mind boggling. It is disgusting that Dani the unhinged lunatic is not in jail for terrorizing Bill, Haley and everyone else in that country club with her gun. The woman is a menace to society. Vernon is also sickening with how he manipulated that poor cop with his veiled threats… all while smiling. That entire family is sickening. I used to think that the Newmans on Y&R were spoiled and entitled, but these Duprees are worse with their law bending, their whining, their snobbiness, their unfairness and their sense of entitlement. And Dani… what a whack job. That woman needs to be in the loony bin A.S.A.P…. or prison. I’m surprised that Bill stayed married to that lunatic for as long as he did.

“I told you she needed help LOL.. I'm good at reading people, even when it's a fake story.” — Message Board user, Newuraqt

zenmaster5 said, “It is sickening how the Duprees are! I too believe Dani should have been arrested at the wedding for what she did...poor Jacob, the detective is now questioning his ability as a detective because he knew he should have done more as a detective sworn to protect and to serve but he did nothing because he's married to Naomi and she seems to run him which is just awful! Vernon even has the police officers afraid of him...this just shouldn't be. Dani will continue to be unhinged and act out because her family are her enablers! I think her sister Nichole knows Dani needs help, she sees the signs but she coddles her which isn't helping.

Thecourt99 commented, “Yes!!! It's soapy. The benefits that come with income and prestige can easily result in entitlement! So I am happy to see it. The best part of that is watching the battles. The battles between them and others of their ilk, and the ones that aren't at their level. It's easy to see how entitled the Duprees are, but for me, it is just as easy to see how Bill used their power and prestige to make a name for himself, and now that he has his own status, he wants to walk away from them...calling them entitled. We see how Vernon threatened the cop. We also saw how Bill helped someone and told them that he may ask for a favor later. Same thing. Also, Dani may very well be entitled, but we saw how Bill gassed her up from the time that she was young, and is now acting as if he never felt that way about her. She lived her life for him, and he threw her away. It was her choice, but she has every right to be angry. She's not expressing it well, but it’s a soap! And all of the people talking about their entitlement are also angry that they don't have that level of money themselves.”

The opinions tackle both sides of the coin on Beyond the Gates, but where do you stand? Are the Dupree family self-entitled law benders? Or are they just a strong family with the money and means to circle the wagons and protect their own, no different from any other wealthy family portrayed on television? Let me know in the comments.

Watch full episodes of Beyond the Gates weekdays on CBS or stream live or on-demand on Paramount Plus.