Bravo is addressing claims made by Raquel Leviss regarding Kristen Doute’s casting on the upcoming Vanderpump Rules spinoff.
“Kristen was just starting to talk about her tumultuous relationship with James [Kennedy] and what happened behind closed doors. Then all of a sudden she’s presented with this spinoff,” Raquel, 28, claimed during part 2 of her iHeartRadio podcast interview with Bethenny Frankel on Thursday, August 17. “I believe [it] is a way to silence her — to keep that under wraps — so that the longevity of Vanderpump Rules can continue.”
Raquel, who ended her own relationshpip to James, 31, in late 2021, said she believed Kristen’s past comments about how toxic things got between her and the DJ. J. (Vanderpump Rules documented Kristen, 40, and James’ ups and downs when they dated during seasons 3 and 4. The former couple raised eyebrows when they got physical at Scheana Shay‘s 2014 nuptials to Mike Shay.)
“I’ve seen him be a violent person so I have no doubt that what she’s saying is true. I hope that one day it will come to light and there will be justice,” Raquel added. “It is interesting because the cast members that were fired and canceled at that time, now have this big comeback because this scandal is so salacious that we are the ultimate villains — Tom [Sandoval] and I — and now they have a platform to redeem themselves.”
A Bravo spokesperson released a statement in response to Raquel’s comments, telling Us Weekly, “Kristen Doute was one of the people approached for an upcoming spinoff because she is part of the friend group that is featured on a new show.” Us has also reached out to personal reps for Kristen and James regarding Raquel’s remark.
Kristen was an original cast member on Vanderpump Rules when it debuted in 2013. She was fired alongside Stassi Schroeder in June 2020 due to past racially insensitive behavior toward former costar Faith Stowers.
One month after her exit, Kristen broke her silence about the scandal.
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned is that I have so much to learn,” she said on the “Hollywood Raw” podcast in July 2020. “I know that’s super cliché and a lot of people say that, but it’s absolutely true, because I think that I thought that I understood racism, but now I’m really learning about unconscious bias. Learning about anti-racism. Learning about how we can do things locally to really truly make changes and putting work into your community locally to make those changes I think [are] so important.”
Earlier this year, Deadline reported that Kristen, Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright were locked into a new reality series. The show, which has an eight-episode order, will focus on a group of friends as they leave their wild younger years behind in exchange for parenthood and adult life in California’s San Fernando Valley.
Jax, 44, and Brittany, 34, who departed Vanderpump Rules in December 2020, have since been seen filming with Scheana, 37, and Lala Kent.
“It is fully happening, and I think they start this week,” Lala, 32, shared on July 24 during an Amazon Live. “It is so weird that they have a show and they aren’t on our show. And as of now, we aren’t on their show. We are all best friends and we should be filming a show together.”
