Weighing in. Lisa Vanderpump responded to a fan’s question about diversity amongst the Vanderpump Rules cast.
The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 59, originally tweeted her interest in receiving questions from fans as she prepares to launch her own podcast. In response to her tweet from July 30, a user asked why there was a “lack of diversity” across Vanderpump Rules’ main cast.
“I mean it was mainly straight white people, right?” the individual continued. “And is it coming back after all the firings?”
In defense of the Bravo show, another fan argued that SUR Restaurant — the establishment where the cast is employed — currently has “hundreds of staff and are diverse.” The viewer then claimed that “this particular cast was a group of friends and they were what they were.”
The British restaurateur, in turn, responded in agreement with the second user by writing on Saturday, August 1, “That is so true … also not everybody wants to be in the eye of the storm.”
Vanderpump Rules debuted on Bravo in 2013. The popular series gave an inside look at the drama that goes on behind-the-scenes at her SUR Restaurant.
In June, the network announced the firings of Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Brett Caprioni and Max Boyens. Longtime series stars Schroeder, 32, and Doute, 37, were accused of falsely reporting former costar Faith Stowers — who is Black — to the police for a crime she didn’t commit. Additionally, a resurfaced image from the Next Level Basic author showed her referring to her outfit as “Nazi chic.”
Caprioni, 31, and Boyens, 27, had a series of social media posts featuring racist remarks resurface.
Vanderpump spoke out on the controversy by noting how she’s “deeply saddened by some of the lack of judgment that has been displayed” by the cast. “I have always been an equal rights activist and ally — my family, my businesses and I condemn all forms of cruelty, racism, homophobia, bigotry and unequal treatment,” the businesswoman wrote via Instagram on June 10. “We’ve never tolerated it in the workplace or our lives. While you only see a fraction of our employees on the show, a specific friend group, across all of our companies, we have always been a very diverse group of people — every color, ethnicity and sexual orientation.”
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She continued, “Most of our employees have worked for us for over a decade, and we have become a family; one that embraces and celebrates each other’s differences. I am proud of the inclusive company that we’ve created. We will continue to embrace diversity as one of our greatest strengths, and I’m excited to give you deeper look into the multi-faceted fabric of our company in the future.”
Series star Jax Taylor later faced his own set of controversy when he was accused of previously claiming Stowers, 31, committed crimes and fellow alum Billie Lee claimed that he “refused” to work with her because she is transgender. Taylor’s longtime pal and business partner Lance Bass also condemned the 41-year-old reality star for his “ignorance.”
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