Heavy/Getty/NBCUniversal Lisa Vanderpump issues a statement about the "Vanderpump Rules" cast.
On March 15, 2023, Lisa Vanderpump released a statement on social media about the cast of the show “Vanderpump Rules.” The former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star responded to a joke made by Teddi Mellencamp accusing her of paying Raquel Leviss to have an affair with Tom Sandoval for ratings.
“No I didn’t pay cast members to sleep together for ratings #pumprules they do that on their own…#fake-news. Have a beautiful day everybody,” Vanderpump tweeted.
On the March 9, 2023, episode of Melissa Gorga’s “On Display” podcast, Mellencamp seemed to go in on Vanderpump. “She probably paid Raquel to do this,” the former reality star joked. Though she wasn’t actually serious, she did say that she thinks Vanderpump “wants the best for herself.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Many Fans Were Amused by Lisa Vanderpump’s Comment About the ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Cast
Lisa Vanderpump felt the need to set the record straight after several outlets seemed to take Mellencamp’s comments out of context and report that she was serious about her claim that Vanderpump paid Leviss for the drama. Dozens of fans commented on her tweet, praising her for speaking out.
“They do that on their own LVP shut them down!!” one person commented.
“You’re the best!!” someone else tweeted.
“You are the classiest housewife of any franchise….Teddi needs to be ‘accountable’ for all her false statements…we know she’s a known liar…like you need the ratings and publicity,” a third Twitter user wrote, adding a crying with laughter emoji.
“Love your transparency,” a fourth response read.
Andy Cohen Previously Praised Lisa Vanderpump for Recognizing That Her SUR Employees Would Make Great Reality Television
On an episode of his radio show on SiriusXM, Andy Cohen praised Vanderpump for seeing something in her group of employees that has made for great reality television over the years.
The comments came while Cohen was discussing the “Vanderpump Rules” scandal that has rocked the Bravoverse. On March 3, 2023, TMZ reported that Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix ended their decade-long relationship after she found out that he had been cheating on her with co-star Leviss.
“I cannot get over that this group… it’s like they only screw within their own group. This is a self-feeding ecosystem… it is a regenerating ecosystem that feeds within itself. Starfish. And it’s been going on for years and years, even before we met any of them on the show,” Cohen said.
“And I’ve got to give credit where credit is due, as we all are so sucked into this group of people. And that is to Lisa herself. Who saw this group and she was so adamant to us at Bravo at the time, as we were developing shows — and we were only in early, early ‘Housewives of Beverly Hills.’ She was coming to us and she said, ‘I have something special with this group. You don’t understand,'” he recalled.
Cohen went on to say that Vanderpump “saw it” and “she was right” when it came to getting this group their own reality television show.