Bravo’s decision to fire Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute from Vanderpump Rules — after their former costar Faith Stowers accused them of racist behavior — was “needed,” ex-Pump Rules star Billie Lee tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “I applaud Bravo for doing what they did. I think they need to go a little bit more, obviously with Jax Taylor and I’m being very clear about that. I think it’s important that people go public. I personally tried to go public, and I did a little bit with regards to the reunion on season 7 and how I felt like I was gaslighted and silenced.”
Billie announced in July 2019 that she was leaving Vanderpump Rules after experiencing “bullying” because she was a transgender woman. “I didn’t admit this until recently, but I was fired,” Billie tells HollywoodLife, “and I was told when I had my meeting — first of all, Stassi came out publicly and said she didn’t want me on the show. Jax came out and said he didn’t want to film with me.”
“When I had my meeting with Bravo and Evolution [Media], they told me, ‘We’re going in a different direction,’ “Billie tells HollywoodLife. “And their new direction was hiring two new people that also had racist comments from their past and giving more time to Stassi and her boyfriend. So, their new direction was completely the opposite direction of where I wanted to go, and that was more white privilege.” HollywoodLife reached out to Bravo and Jax Taylor for comment.
After Stassi, 31, and Kristen, 37, were fired, Billie tweeted allegations about Jax, claiming that he “refused to film with me because I was trans and [I] called him out on his white Cis privilege. Stop celebrating his disgusting actions.” Hours after Billie’s tweet, Jax, 40, tweeted that he “always has, always will” support of the LGBTQ community.
In her July 2019 blog post titled “Two Week Notice,” Billie claimed that some of her coworkers at Lisa Vanderpump’s West Hollywood restaurant SUR “were threatened by my differences, going out of their way to exclude me. One demanding I be fired from the show because he didn’t feel comfortable working with me, his exact words were, ‘I’m not gonna lose all I have worked hard for something stupid I may say or do to offend her. Are we all supposed to tiptoe around her because she’s trans?’ ”
Stassi and Kristen were fired after Faith Stowers claimed that they falsely reported her to the police in 2018 for a crime she didn’t commit. Days later, both Stassi and Kristen each apologized to Faith, acknowledging “the serious ramifications that could have transpired because of [their] actions.” Along with Stassi and Kristen, new cast members Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni were fired after offensive tweets resurfaced. They have also apologized.