Lisa Vanderpump has broken her silence after several stars of the reality show Vanderpump Rules were fired by Bravo.
OG castmembers Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute were fired for racial profiling a Black co-star and making racist comments.
While new castmembers Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni were axed from the show following resurfaced racist tweets.
The restaurateur and TV personality released a statement on Instagram, stating: ‘Over the past two weeks, many things have been brought to my attention, of which I and many others were previously unaware.
‘It was necessary for me to be quiet until now, until decisions had been made. Now I can freely speak from the heart.’
She continued: ‘As we’ve seen such devastating sadness that has played out globally, we all have a part to play to create a kinder, more just society.
‘My hope is for this generation to treat each other with respect and humanity, and realize that actions have; and should have, consequences.’
The reality star added: ‘I love and adore our employees and I am deeply saddened by some of the lack of judgment that has been displayed.
‘As many of you know, after watching me for 10 years, I have always been an equal rights activist and ally – my family, my businesses and I condemn all forms of cruelty, racism, homophobia, bigotry and unequal treatment. We’ve never tolerated it in the workplace or our lives.’
The statement continued: ‘While you only see a fraction of our employees on the show, a specific friend group, across all of our companies, we have always been a very diverse group of people – every color, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
‘Most of our employees have worked for us for over a decade, and we have become a family; one that embraces and celebrates each other’s differences. I am proud of the inclusive company that we’ve created.
‘We will continue to embrace diversity as one of our greatest strengths, and I’m excited to give you deeper look into the multi-faceted fabric of our company in the future.’
Lisa stated: ‘The world needs to move forward with a kinder generation. Everybody deserves to feel safe, heard and appreciated in their communities. So much of what has transpired in the world is not right, fair or acceptable.
‘We all have work to do to create a society we can be proud of and I hope as we venture forward, we strive to live in a world where kindness and compassion are our highest values.’
Meanwhile, Andy Cohen also spoke about the issue as he stated: ‘There’s so much happening in the Bravo universe.
‘I will say this: so much talk about Vanderpump Rules and then of course the reunion ended up airing last night. I will say this about what happened. I absolutely support Bravo’s decision, I think it was the right decision.’
He told listeners on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy: ‘And I want to remind people because I’ve been getting so many tweets and messages and whatever about Vanderpump Rules and about Southern Charm and other shows.
‘I am not, I don’t—I feel like I remind people this all the time—I’m not in charge of programming at Bravo anymore. I am not an Executive Producer of Vanderpump Rules. I don’t have anything to do with the show except I love it and that I host the reunions.’
The Bravo producer added: ‘I don’t produce the show so what I want people to know is I have no say in hiring and firing.’
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