Fueling the fire! Vanderpump Rules alum Billie Lee fired back at Kristen Doute after the comedian’s loyalty to Ariana Madix was called into question.
Doute, 40, called out Lee, 39, over the weekend after her former costar was spotted leaving Tom Sandoval’s house on Friday, April 14, in the wake of his split from Madix, 37. (Us Weekly confirmed in early March that the TomTom cofounder and the Florida native called it quits as news broke that he had an affair with Raquel Leviss.)
The “Sex, Love and What Else Matters?” podcast cohost claimed earlier this month that Lee was a hypocrite since she “cried at Ariana’s house” days after the scandal made headlines.
“Ya I was crying because they BOTH are my family!” Lee wrote in the comments section of the initial Instagram post, which was shared by fan account @Cici.Loves.You. on Monday, April 17. “It was sad and still is!”
The stand-up, who left Pump Rules in 2019, then clapped back at Doute’s alleged first reaction to Sandoval and Madix’s breakup.
“What were you doing while I was crying!?” she asked, before claiming she was “[Literally] taking selfies with everyone including Ariana. Like who does that!?”
The former TV personality confessed that “it felt like a funeral” when the Schwartz & Sandy’s co-owner’s relationship with Madix ended and his months-long hookup with Leviss, 28, was made public.
Lee further alleged on Monday that Doute was “taking selfies” and failed to “read the room” as the Buying Back My Daughter actress was processing her breakup. “You’re [sic] friendship is fake and performative,” the former SUR worker concluded.
Doute, for her part, was fired from Pump Rules in summer of 2020 after her past racially insensitive remarks resurfaced. While she hasn’t been on the show since season 8, she agreed to film scenes for season 10 to show support for Madix.
“I told [Ariana], ‘I have nothing to gain from this. I, in fact, will probably look like an opportunist or thirsty,’” the Michigan native revealed during a March appearance on the “Viall Files” podcast. “I specifically said to her, ‘This has nothing to do with the network, the production, the ratings, whatever. What do you need? Because you’ve also now had to talk about this a million times with so many people, on and off camera. So if this is just one more time you don’t wanna do that, I don’t need to do it.’ She wanted me to, so I did.”
The James Mae founder has been vocal about being on Team Ariana from day one — as have many of her former Bravo costars, including Katie Maloney and Scheana Shay. Sandoval, for his part, has continued to have support from his BFF Tom Schwartz, while Leviss has been seemingly left without an ally.
Amid the drama, Us confirmed on Friday that the former pageant queen checked in to a mental health facility to process her recent ups and downs. “Raquel and her family decided before the relationship was discovered that she would enter a voluntary facility for mental health counseling,” a rep for Leviss told Us.
While some of her castmates, including Peter Madrigal claimed via social media that Leviss is at a “spa resort,” a source exclusively told Us on Monday that is “absolutely not” true.
Sandoval, meanwhile, was spotted at Coachella shortly after spending time with Lee on Friday. Madix was also at the music festival — and was seen kissing Daniel Wai.
“Ariana is single and is having the time of her life,” a source exclusively told Us on Monday, noting that the Fancy AF Cocktails coauthor is “open” to seeing what happens with Wai. “She’s enjoying her freedom and being single for the first time in years.”
