Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute arguably made Vanderpump Rules what it is today. (By extension, it means they also partly inspired Issa Rae’s new HBO Max show.) Their friendship fell apart after Doute famously slept with Schroeder’s boyfriend in the earlier seasons, but the two later smoothed things over on the show. Nevertheless, they both were embroiled in a racial controversy last year and subsequently fired by Bravo. VP executive producer and matriarch Lisa Vanderpump, curiously enough, actually wishes Schroeder and Doute would have been brought back into the fold.
Despite production for Vanderpump Rules being shut down last year due to the pandemic, the personal lives of its stars remained full of drama. Amidst a tighter focus on instances of white privilege in the entertainment industry, VR alums Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute were put in the anti-spotlight for prank-calling the cops to arrest the show’s only Black castmate, Faith Stowers. They later apologized but the damage was already done and they were not asked back to film another season. Lisa Vanderpump reflected on their exits once again to Page Six, saying,
I would have preferred to chastise them and see them learn from their mistakes as we’ve seen so many youngsters do on the show. But that was Bravo’s decision…I always want to see growth and I would love to have seen them stay here and work it out. It was really a sign of the times. Everybody [had] a lot of reactive decisions.
Lala Kent is also of a similar opinion, but this is pretty surprising coming from Lisa Vanderpump herself. Though their collective relationships changed somewhat in more recent years, she especially didn’t get along with Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute a whole lot on Vanderpump Rules itself. Vanderpump was even prone to shade them in order to bolster Season 9’s premiere, which she basically said she would have done to their faces had they come back.
Still, it is true that many of Vanderpump Rules’ cast have made major mistakes on the show but were continuously brought back anyway over the years. Jax Taylor was arrested for theft at one point and Lala Kent is notorious for calling her co-stars a lot of unsavory names. However, the show has never faced such a backlash as Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute’s past actions, which reportedly were happening elsewhere as well in other capacities. What's more is that they were not necessarily “youngsters” when the Faith Stowers incident occurred – they were in their late 20s and are now both in their 30s.
The Vanderpump Rules cast shakeup didn't just stop with Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute’s exits, either. Racially insensitive tweets were unearthed for both Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni, newcomers in Season 8, so they were also fired from the show. A few months later, longtime alums Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright revealed they wouldn't be returning for Season 9 and would be focusing on their burgeoning family.
Even though Vanderpump Rules doesn't have as many familiar faces as it once did, Season 9 still has the same old drama. According to Ariana Madix, filming the new season was actually way better without Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute and all the rest. She told Page Six:
They used to cut to their interviews and it would be them narrating this moment that meant a lot for both of us…It feels like everyone’s on a completely equal playing field now.
New episodes of Vanderpump Rules air on Tuesdays on Bravo at 9 p.m. EST. The jury is still out whether this season is truly as mature as the rest of the cast seems to think it is. Clearly, though, no one has any intention of pointing out the missing faces in their group.
