The boss isn’t happy. Lisa Vanderpump spoke out after her employees and Vanderpump Rules costars Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni’s racist tweets resurfaced.
“I do not condone any of the heinous comments made in the past by Max and Brett and I am glad they understand the severity of their offenses and have shown utmost remorse and contrition,” the 59-year-old restaurateur said in a statement to Us Weekly. “I embrace a community of diversity and do not tolerate bigotry of any form within my workplace.”
Vanderpump added that both Boyens, 27, and Caprioni, 31, are “appropriately ashamed of their past obnoxious teenage arrogance and casual use of unacceptable terms.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum concluded: “While both have now matured as adults, they have shown remorse for their prior reckless defamatory statements. I do sincerely believe both have learned the power and impact words can have, and I have every hope this will be a lifelong lesson for them as we move into this new decade.”
Boyens, who joined the cast of the Bravo hit during season 8, works as the general manager of TomTom, Vanderpump’s restaurant with Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz. He made headlines on Thursday after social media users started sharing screenshots of his offensive tweets from 2012.
“It upsets me that the word n–ga is not allowed to be said unless you are black because quite honestly it’s my favorite word,” one of the tweets read.
Boyens apologized in a statement to Us on Thursday: “I want to sincerely apologize for what I tweeted in 2012 — it was wrong on every level. It is not a representation of who I am. I am shocked I ever tweeted that — and I am disgusted and embarrassed. I am truly sorry.”
Caprioni, for his part, works at Vanderpump’s West Hollywood hotspot SUR and doubles as her personal trainer. He also joined the cast of Vanderpump Rules for season 8. Hours after Boyens apologized for his remarks, fans discovered that Caprioni had tweets with similar language that range between the years 2011 to 2013.
“I want to express my deepest apologies for the insensitive, ignorant, and hurtful comments I made,” he wrote on Thursday via his Instagram Story. “I am incredibly ashamed and accept full responsibility, and acknowledge that this language was as unacceptable then as it is now. Please know that I have learned and grown since then and would never use this language today. From the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry.”
Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
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