Lisa Vanderpump remains unbothered by Rachel “Raquel” Leviss‘ claims that dog Graham Cracker was used to try to get her back on Vanderpump Rules.
At the Vanderpump Rules season 11 premiere party on Wednesday, January 17, Vanderpump, 63, spoke to Us Weekly about Leviss, 29, accusing her of purposely rehoming Graham to James Kennedy for a story line.
“Well, she also said that she’s Ariana [Madix]’s best friend. That’s how I respond to that,” Vanderpump quipped, referring to Leviss’ affair with Madix’s now ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval.
“I do think if she’s going to call something out, she should know the story. I take my dog foundation [The Vanderpump Dog Foundation] and rescuing dogs very seriously. That dog was brought to my attention, so I would not use that dog,” Vanderpump continued. “It was delivered to Vanderpump Dogs, but you’re going to see the way it transpires [when season 11 airs].”
Graham Cracker made occasional appearances on Vanderpump Rules throughout the seasons after Leviss got the pet as a gift from her parents. Then-couple Leviss and Kennedy, 31, coparented the dog until Leviss became Graham’s primary guardian after ending her engagement to Kennedy in late 2021.
Leviss later made the decision to rehome Graham when she checked herself into a mental health facility in the aftermath of Scandoval. Graham initially remained with her family but after he injured her mother, Leviss surrendered Graham to trainers at California Doodle Rescue in April 2023.
“I surrendered all rights to Graham when I gave him to the rescue to be rehomed with a good family who’s experienced with dogs who have aggressive behavior,” Leviss detailed on an episode of her “Rachel Goes Rogue” podcast earlier this month. “And Lisa goes and adopts him, takes him to Lake Tahoe, and surprises James with Graham.”
Leviss claimed that Vanderpump tried to convince her to come back to the show to tell her side of the story. Despite being tempted by the offer, Leviss chose not to film any scenes for season 11 of Vanderpump Rules.
“Basically, the story that they put out there is that Lisa told everyone that I surrendered my dog at a kill shelter and he was hours away from being euthanized,” Leviss alleged.
Vanderpump, for her part, isn’t concerned about Leviss’ comments. “She should get all the facts before she kind of makes these statements. And I don’t think anybody’s really trusting what she says,” she told Us on Wednesday. “The lion doesn’t care what the sheep are doing.”
Kennedy confirmed that Graham was back in his care in July 2023 while production was underway for season 11. “Look who made his way back home, back into my life. I’ll take care of you forever, and I love you,” he captioned an Instagram photo of him with the dog, who he later renamed Hippie.
Kennedy has since discussed how Hippie has thrived in his home with girlfriend Ally Lewber.
“[He is] so good. He’s amazing,” he gushed to Us in November 2023 before Lewber added, “He’s so great. I love him. He’s so happy and we have a yard. He’s been a great boy.”
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules premieres on Bravo Tuesday, January 30, at 8 p.m. ET and will be available to stream on Peacock the next day.
With reporting by Hannah Kahn
