Although the cast of Vanderpump Rules just lost much of its main players, Tom Schwartz is still excited for Season 9. The TomTom co-owner, who has appeared on the Bravo show since its first season, opened up about the firings of Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni on the Aug. 4 episode of Lala Kent and Randall Emmett’s podcast, Give Them Lala … with Randall.
“I don’t think I’ve processed it. It doesn’t feel real,” Tom admitted, in reaction to his friends’ departures from the show, which happened all at once. He added, “Maybe I’m running from it a little bit or I’m in denial that it ever happened.” Regardless, Tom is still looking forward to the new direction that Vanderpump Rules is taking.
“I’m optimistic about the future of Vanderpump Rules. I feel like the show still has legs…it has so much life to give,” Tom said, although he did acknowledge that the Bravo show is “never gonna be the same, that’s for sure.”
Tom tip-toed around the controversies that preceded his friend’s firings, however. “I love my friends and I support them. It’s been rough, but we’ll be OK. We’ll get through it,” Tom simply said. Right before they were booted from the show, Stassi and Kristen had come under fire after their former co-star, Faith Stowers, talked about how the two friends tried to call the cops on her over a crime she did not commit. Stassi and Kristen made the attempt in 2018, and Faith shared her true feelings about her co-star’s actions during an Instagram Live chat with Floribama Shore’s Candace Rice on June 1, in the wake of the growing Black Lives Matter movement.
Bravo and Evolution Media confirmed today that Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni will not be returning to Vanderpump Rules. https://t.co/7niPSG7THY
— Bravo (@BravoTV) June 9, 2020
“There was this article on Daily Mail where there was an African American lady. It was a weird photo, so she looked very light-skinned and had these different, weird tattoos. They showcased her, and I guess this woman was robbing people. And [Stassi and Kristen] called the cops and said it was me. This is like, a true story. I heard this from actually Stassi during an interview,” Faith shared.
Meanwhile, Max and Brett were heavily criticized for past racist tweets, which they both apologized for. On June 9, HollywoodLife was provided the following statement: “Bravo and Evolution Media confirmed today that Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni will not be returning to Vanderpump Rules.”
Tom hasn’t been the only cast member to comment on his co-stars’ exits. The other Tom on the show, Tom Sandoval, caught up with KMOV4 reporter Alyssa Toomey in June and said, “It’s crazy, it definitely changes things and honestly we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens.”