Vanderpump Rules loves a little drama, but not the kind it faced last year. As Season 8 played in the background, newcomers to the show were accused of inappropriate language on social media and longtime star Stassi Schroeder faced a racism scandal alongside co-star Kristen Doute. They were all ultimately fired from the reality show, but Lala Kent is weighing in on whether that was the right decision.
As protests for racial inequality erupted across the nation last year, Vanderpump Rules star Stassi Schroeder’s previous behavior and actions were called into question. Her former co-star Faith Stowers, who is Black, described how Schroeder called the cops on her at one point for a crime she did not commit. The fallout resulted in Bravo firing Schroeder after eight seasons on the show. Co-star Lala Kent, however, believes Bravo should have taken a different approach. She said on the Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald podcast:
I wish that they would have used that moment as a teachable moment, rather than just let her go because we’re on a reality TV show, we show what is happening in our lives. I wish in that moment that they would have picked cameras up and shown Stassi, who really did build this like ‘basic’ empire for herself, and what it was like to have to pay for all of these things she’s said and done in her past and basically lose everything.
Reality stars are frequently afforded leeway to say and do crazy things, but many were shocked by Faith Stowers’ experience and by the fact that Stassi Schroeder’s behavior had been seemingly brushed aside for too long. The police incident reportedly happened in 2018. Former Vanderpump Rules co-star Billie Lee even described some of the “toxic” behavior that she experienced with Schroeder as recently as 2019.
But Lala Kent thinks Stassi Schroeder should’ve been given the opportunity to face the scandal directly on Vanderpump Rules. Others have had similar thoughts about Chris Harrison and The Bachelor. It’s a polarizing debate centered on the concept of “cancel culture” and whether growth or consequence is the better route for forward movement. On Schroeder, Kent elaborated:
I think she has a beautiful heart. I don’t think that she possesses hate. I think she says stupid things or has in her past as we all have.
Months after being fired, Stassi Schroeder publicly admitted to her mistakes on The Tamron Hall Show. Recently on The Good, The Bad, The Baby podcast (via US Weekly), Schroeder spoke about how her firing from Vanderpump Rules affected the sex reveal of her baby with Beau Clark. Apparently, it was meant to be a plane fly over with a banner of the gender, but they decided against it because they “weren’t in the mood to celebrate.”
But with Stassi Schroeder and near half of the old cast fired (and Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright quitting), the ninth season will probably be very different from what most fans are used to. Lala Kent and Scheana Shay will be new mommies, for one. And DJ James Kennedy is making some big promises. Hopefully, the reality show can survive without some of its major (and controversial) players.
