Could the Vanderpump Rules cast overhaul be tracked back to Lala Kent‘s season 11 rant about Ariana Madix? She thinks so.
During an Amazon Live on Thursday, December 19, Kent, 34, explained why she thought her breaking the fourth wall contributed to the changes happening on Vanderpump Rules.
“I do often wonder if I would’ve kept my mouth shut — like, if a producer wouldn’t have stepped in and told me that I’m allowed to say the things that I said off-camera about filming — if the show would’ve been able to go on,” Kent noted. “Or if I was just the final nail in the coffin. I guess we’ll never know.”
The reality star claimed she wasn’t as upset about her time on VPR coming to an end. (Bravo announced in November that season 12 of Vanderpump Rules would return after a brief hiatus — but with an entirely new cast.)
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“I’ve spoken about this many times, so I apologize if I’m boring you,” she continued. “I felt like I started mourning Vanderpump Rules the moment I purged on that finale. So not only did I know it was coming to an end after that, but I feel like the moment we started filming season 11 it was going to be the last.”
Kent added: “It just felt like there was nothing — it was broken. It was very broken. So I feel OK with it. I feel very much at peace.”
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules picked up months after Madix’s split from Tom Sandoval due to his affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. Kent initially sided with Madix, 39, but ultimately shocked viewers during the finale when she broke the fourth wall by slamming Madix for not filming with Sandoval, 42.
“I was livid and I am sorry if I hurt you but I stand by what I said [during the finale],” Kent said during the May reunion special. “Why does she get to dictate how this goes down when I’ve never gotten to dictate?”
Madix, meanwhile, stood her ground about showing the authentic aspect of her life. “Arguably, if you want to talk in show terms, me walking away from that conversation was a lot more interesting than me sitting there and having it [with Sandoval],” she added. “Was that not a better ending to your season? To give you another season for another paycheck?”
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Madix continued: “It hurts my feelings a lot because I was trying so hard. I feel like it is our job to live our lives and I am living authentically walking away from that. I could have done it for the show but I don’t think our show thrives when we aren’t fully real. And that was not real on my part.”
Kent continued to throw digs on various podcast appearances where she accused Madix of not pulling her weight. After receiving backlash, Kent only issued an apology for referring to fans that didn’t agree with her as rabid.
“Filming this season was bittersweet,” Kent said on her “Give Them Lala” podcast that same month. “Reliving it was — in my opinion — one of the most difficult things or difficult seasons that I’ve ever had. I stopped talking about this season because I have to be honest, I was seeing things on social [media].”
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Kent said it took time for her to accept that her reality was different from public opinion.
“This was the first season in my eight years of doing the show that my show reality and my reality could not coexist. They had to be so separate that if one touched the other, it took me out,” she detailed. “So what I want to do right now is focus on the facts of things. My feelings are not facts. But what I can tell you is this show is based on perspective. That’s a fact. The cast is going to have a perspective. The audience is going to have a perspective.”
Kent concluded: “Because the cast having an opinion allows us to make a show, and the audience having an opinion allows us to make a show. The combination of those two things has allowed Vanderpump Rules to be a successful show for the past 11 years. Fact. I want you guys to know that this show is something I am extremely grateful for.”