Lisa Vanderpump ‘deeply saddened’ after firing of ‘Vanderpump Rules’ stars

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Lisa Vanderpump finally broke her silence on four “Vanderpump Rules” cast members’ racist behavior and subsequent firing from Bravo and Evolution Media. “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 …

Lisa Vanderpump finally broke her silence on four “Vanderpump Rules” cast members’ racist behavior and subsequent firing from Bravo and Evolution Media.

“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 wrote on Instagram Wednesday.

“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,” she continued. “My hope is for this generation to treat each other with respect and humanity, and realize that actions have, and should have, consequences.”

Vanderpump’s statement comes after Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni were axed from the show following resurfaced racist tweets and Kristen Doute and Stassi Schroeder were fired after making a false police report against former cast member Faith Stowers, who is black.

All four cast members have publicly apologized.

Vanderpump, 59, affirmed after defending Caprioni, 32, and Boyens during the Season 8 reunion, “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. 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.”

However, two former “Vanderpump Rules” cast members have been vocal with differing opinions.

Billie Lee, the show’s first and only transgender star, discussed her experience working on the show and for Vanderpump in a lengthy blog post.

“When I publicly questioned the show and network I got a call from Lisa herself demanding I not speak negatively about my experience and the show, ‘I made your career and I can take it away’ she said,” Lee, 36, alleged in the post titled, “Dear BravoTV.”

“She also explained to me about how she has black people around, ‘My number one server is black,’” Lee continued. “Yes, Lisa you have staff that are black but your show (that has a massive audience) does not show him or any other black, gay, or trans person. Like Stassi, Lisa does not see how her actions are harming an entire race and gender.”

Meanwhile, Stowers, 31, proclaimed on the “Red Flags Make Cute Scarves” podcast that “Lisa does a lot for the LGBTQ community and support, and she does a lot for dogs all across the world to try to help them with what they’re putting dogs through all over the world. Unfortunately, George Floyd is not a dog, and that’s how I feel, because had George Floyd been a dog, Lisa would have marched like she did for Vanderpump Dogs.”

Still, Vanderpump maintained that her staff has “become a family” that embraces their differences.

“I am proud of the inclusive company that we’ve created,” she said in her statement. “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.”

It is unclear at this time if “Vanderpump Rules” has been renewed for a ninth season.

“The world needs to move forward with a kinder generation,” Vanderpump offered. “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.”