Heavy/Getty Lisa Vanderpump
The reunion for the 10th season of “Vanderpump Rules” was an emotional one because it was filmed just a few weeks after news broke of OG cast member Tom Sandoval’s affair with Raquel Leviss and subsequent split from Ariana Madix.
Viewers of the three-episode reunion, which wrapped up June 14, 2023, saw Madix and most of the VPR cast lash out at Sandoval and Leviss. But other cast members, including Lala Kent and James Kennedy, criticized Lisa Vanderpump as she tried to mediate the reunion discussion.
Saying “that was wild,” host Andy Cohen told Showbiz Cheat Sheet on June 23 that he felt some of the cast members were a bit harsh toward Vanderpump. “I mean, they were, like, ‘Get out of my way, we’re coming through,'” he said. “Yeah, they were a little hard on her.”
But he also called Vanderpump “tough,” saying he thought she handled it well. He said that he wished people would dial back the hate toward Tom Sandoval because it’s been a few months now since the Scandoval. “People need to chill out,” he said. “They bared themselves to you — warts and all — and so I think it’s time to kind of let it sit.”
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Andy Cohen Said Viewers Should Remember the Reunion Was Filmed Just Weeks After the Affair Came Out
While speaking with Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Cohen reminded viewers that the reunion was shot just three weeks after news of the Scandoval broke, which is why there was so much anger from the whole cast toward Sandoval and Leviss.
“They were all really feeling very betrayed and upset and so it was very raw,” he said. “And, you know, by the time it aired, it was months later — we’ve all been sitting with this and everything, so much has been said — so you just have to remember where they were at that time.”
Although the “Vanderpump Rules” reunion was intense and emotional, it wasn’t as tough to get through as a host as the season 13 reunion of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” Cohen said. He said it was easier for him to host VPR because “you just kind of put a quarter in and everybody did their thing.”
The “Watch What Happens Live” host, describing his role as more of a “traffic cop,” said that because the reunion was filmed just after the scandal came out, all of the cast was fired up and ready to talk about the situation.
Kristen Doute & Jax Taylor Both Said They Didn’t Like to See Lisa Vanderpump Stand Up for Tom Sandoval
It wasn’t only Kent and James who were hard on Vanderpump. Two alums of the show sounded off on their former boss as the reunion aired on Bravo. Jax Taylor addressed Vanderpump’s reunion performance during a podcast appearance on Scheana Shay’s Dear Media podcast “Scheananigans With Scheana Shay.”
The OG star of the show said he felt like Vanderpump was “sticking up for Tom a little bit too much” and he didn’t like to see it. “I’m bored with Lisa,” he added. “I don’t like the fact that they’re sticking up for him a little bit too much and that bothers me.”
Taylor’s comments were echoed by Kristen Doute, who unpacked the reunion on her own podcast, “Sex, Love, and What Else Matters.” The former “Vanderpump Rules” star criticized Vanderpump for dismissing Kent’s claim that Sandoval was a “dangerous human being” and pointed out that Kent wasn’t being literal.
“Lisa Vanderpump, I’m sorry, but let’s all be a little smarter than to take that so literally from Lala, Lala’s not saying that Tom is going to physically harm someone,” Doute said. “She’s saying he’s dangerous mentally, psychologically, and emotionally.”
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