Multiple sources are revealing to E! News how Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute are dealing with their Vanderpump Rules firing.
The network addressed its decision to fire several cast members in a statement on Tuesday morning. “Bravo and Evolution Media confirmed today that Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni will not be returning to Vanderpump Rules,” the statement read.
In light of the news, multiple sources shared with us how the two reality TV stars are handling the news.
“Not only are Stassi and Kristen distraught, several of the other cast members are as well. They know the show will never be the same,” an insider explained to E! News. “Stassi has been an emotional wreck. She’s having a very hard time and has no idea what to do. She feels completely lost and is very disgusted by her actions in the past.”
“Stassi and Kristen have spoken about their actions, and have been in touch about what’s going on,” the insider went on. “They both feel awful about what happened.”
A second source shared the same sentiments as the first insider about the former Pump Rules cast members.
“Stassi had, of course, been upset over the weekend but she’s weathered social media backlash before and was hoping if she apologized, it would pass,” the second source said. “Stassi and Kristen are completely distraught. They’re in shock and crying.”
The news of Stassi and Kristen’s firings comes exactly one week after their former cast mate, Faith Stowers, detailed her experiences with them.
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On June 2, Faith opened up about what it was like to be the only Black person on Vanderpump Rules—which she appeared on as a recurring character on the fourth season and later returned as a guest in the sixth season.
During an Instagram Live with MTV star Candace Renee Rice, Faith revisited her experience with both Stassi and Kristen and said they called the police on her over a false stealing claim.
“I believe it hit the ceiling for me, and made me really want to run for the hills, when Kristen and Stassi decided they were going to call the cops on me,” Faith told Candace during the IG Live session.
“There was this article…where there was an African American lady,” she recalled. “It was like a weird photo, so she looked very, very light-skinned and had these different, like weird tattoos or whatever and they showcased her, and I guess this woman was like robbing people…The woman was at large…and they called the cops and said it was me. This is like, true story. I heard this from actually Stassi during an interview. She’s telling them what they did to me.”
In 2018, Reality Tea reported that Stassi talked about her and Kristen’s incident with Faith in an interview on The Bitch Bible podcast. The episode has since been deleted.
Around that time, Kristen also tweeted a link to a report about the unidentified woman. “Hey tweeties, doesn’t this ex #pumprulesthief look familiar,” she wrote in a now-deleted post. “Someone put her on mtv & gave her a platform for press. I didn’t wanna go there but I’m going there.”
Faith told Candace, “It was just funny, because they thought it was me because it was a black woman with a weave. So, they just assumed it would be me, and they called the cops on me and it didn’t work, so they were upset about that.”
Following Faith’s Instagram Live, both Stassi and Kristen issued apologies and expressed regret over their behavior.
“I have been taking some time to really process what I’ve been seeing, feeling and learning. And I need to address something specifically that happened a few years ago with my former castmate, Faith Stowers,” Kristen shared on Instagram.
Adding, “Although, my actions were not racially-driven, I am now completely aware of how my privilege blinded me from the reality of law enforcement’s treatment of the Black community, and how dangerous my actions would have been to her,” she continued. “I’m ashamed, embarrassed, and incredibly sorry. I will do better. I have to do better.”
Stassi took to Instagram as well, and said, “It is important that I continue to take accountability for what I have said and done, while pushing myself to do better. I have grown significantly from the person I was then, and I am still filled with remorse and regret for the hurt I caused.”
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“I also want to address my former castmate, Faith Stowers. My emotions over something that happened between our friends outweighed my logic, and there is no excuse for that,” she continued. “I did not recognize then the serious ramifications that could have transpired because of my actions.”
Closing her statement, she wrote, “What I did to Faith was wrong. I apologize and I do not expect forgiveness. I am going to continue to look closer at myself and my actions… to take the time to listen, to learn, and to take accountability for my own privilege.”
A third source tells E! News that Lisa Vanderpump has “genuinely been affected by this situation.”
“Lisa has prided herself on standing on the right side of social justice issues and it’s important to her that she handles this situation correctly,” the source explained. “She wants to use her platform to spread positivity and good, and it has been hard to now realize that hasn’t always happened.”
In January, Pump Rules newcomers, Brett and Max—who both joined the cast in the eighth season—issued an apology over resurfaced tweets that were, as Brett put it, “insensitive, ignorant, and hurtful comments.”
Moreover, the source pointed out that Lisa was “disappointed” to learn about Max and Brett’s past.
Our source said, “Discussions about firing [Brett] and [Max] had already taken place before Stassi and Kristen’s past actions resurfaced. Cutting ties with these four cast members is step one, but [Lisa] knows she has more work to do moving forward.”
(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)