While Lisa Vanderpump is focused on her new podcast, fans are wanting to know what the future of Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules is following the firings of four cast members in June over racial issues. On July 30, the restaurateur tweeted, “I have finally started preparing for my own Podcast! I am excited to connect with you guys on business, design, restaurants, cooking, activism, dogs, ponies, marriage, relationships, sex.. or lack thereof lol! Submit your questions if you have them to LVP@kastmedia.com.” Immediately one fan asked her about the lack of diversity on Pump Rules.
Question: Why the lack of diversity in the Vanderpump Rules cast? I mean it was mainly straight white people right? And is it coming back after all the firings?
— Cathal Farrell 🏳️🌈 (@Cathal_Farrell) July 31, 2020
User @Cathal_Farrell replied to her tweet by asking, “Question: Why the lack of diversity in the Vanderpump Rules cast? I mean it was mainly straight white people right? And is it coming back after all the firings?” Original cast members Stassi Schroeder, 32, and Kristen Doute, 37, were let go on June 9 following a racial incident coming to light involving one of the show’s only black cast members, Faith Stowers. The pair allegedly called the cops on Faith in 2018 and wrongly reported her as a suspect wanted in connection with a series of robberies. Season eight Pump Rules newcomers Max Boyens, 27, and Brett Caprioni, 31, were fired at the same time over past racial tweets.
That is so true…also not everybody wants to be in the eye of the storm.
— Lisa Vanderpump (@LisaVanderpump) August 1, 2020
One fan came to Lisa’s defense, with @lolabea_perry tweeting, “They have hundreds of staff and are diverse, this particular cast was a group of friends and they were what they were.” That caught LVP’s attention, as she responded how lolabea’s post was accurate, and that not all of her employees want their professional and private lives playing out on TV.
“That is so true…also not everybody wants to be in the eye of the storm,” Lisa responded to her fan’s tweet on July 31. The 59-year-old issued a long response to the VPR firings on June 10, the day after the terminations went down, but without naming names. In a lengthy Instagram post, Lisa wrote, “My hope is for this generation to treat each other with respect and humanity, and realize that actions have; and should have, consequences.”
“I love and adore our employees and I am deeply saddened by some of the lack of judgment that has been displayed. As many of you know, after watching me for 10 years, 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. We’ve never tolerated it in the workplace or our lives,” LVP continued. Lisa spent nine seasons as an OG cast member on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in addition to her eight seasons on Vanderpump Rules.
“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. 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,” Lisa added.
The restaurateur’s show follows the group of employees at her West Hollywood hotspot SUR. She also owns the WeHo restaurant Pump and cocktail bar TomTom, and opened up her Vanderpump Cocktail Garden in Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace in March 2019. Lisa and her husband Ken Todd, 62, shut down their flagship Beverly Hills ladies who lunch restaurant Villa Blanca for good in July 2020 after 12 successful years. It had been closed since March 16 following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the pair decided to shutter the eatery for good at it’s current location.