Lala Kent isn’t on Tom Sandoval’s side, but she’s standing by her decision to defend him at BravoCon.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly on Saturday, November 4, Lala, 33, explained why she called fans out for booing Sandoval, 41, at their Vanderpump Rules panel.
“I just felt like it was enough. I don’t know that it was really directly for Sandoval. It was just like, we can’t keep doing this. We’ve got to move on at some point,” she told Us while on the BravoCon red carpet. “And I didn’t feel like the punishment is fitting the crime any longer.”
Sandoval and Raquel Leviss‘ season 10 affair — which ended his relationship with Ariana Madix — was still the talk of the town at the Las Vegas event. Bravo fans got a glimpse at how the aftermath of the scandal will continue to play out in a first look clip screened at the panel on Friday, November 3.
Before the sneak peek, however, the cast came on stage to a wide range of reactions. While Ariana, 38, received an outpouring of support, Sandoval was immediately met with boos from the crowd.
Sandoval was booed again after he was asked “what he’d do differently” when it came to his affair. The TomTom cofounder’s response left a little to be desired and another round of boos took place when an attendee asked why Sandoval was even at the event.
“I’d rather stand here and face it. I don’t know what you do,” Sandoval said before Lala jumped in with her own take on the situation, adding, “In a weird, weird way, I don’t care if you f—king boo me. … With everyone really hating on Tom, he still went out, he still performed shows. … Life went on. … if I were in his position, I’d tell y’all to go f—k off.”
The “Give Them Lala” podcast host also discussed her experience filming season 11 after the drama. “I feel personally — Sandoval, I know what we filmed [together] — but I’ve been in a room with him for many years when I didn’t want to be, so for me it was normal,” Lala quipped. “Nothing changed for me.”
Lala later clarified that she doesn’t think the focus should only be on Sandoval.
“We’ve all got to move on in some way — and we had a fantastic season 11. It’ll look very different, but it’ll still be amazing,” she shared with Us on Saturday. “The question that came in for him was so rude. And then the booing. Honestly, if I were him, I’d be chucking up my middle fingers and telling you to kick rocks.”
While cameras were still rolling earlier this summer, Lala hinted at some surprising twists and turns unfolding on the hit series. “There will be a day where the dust settles. People move on. It is the strangest season that we have ever filmed,” she said on her “Give Them Lala” podcast in July while discussing season 11. “Usually when we film I am like, ‘I can’t wait until this airs.’ This round I am more, ‘I am going to go do and be and then I will retreat because I am very much in a healing process right now.'”
Lala’s costar Scheana Shay had a lot to say about the ups and downs of filming as well.
“There was one day [that was] beyond the most emotionally draining day I have ever had in 11 seasons of Vanderpump Rules,” Scheana, 37, said during an Amazon Live that same month. “No joke, my eyelashes hurt from how much I cried that day. My contacts were dry and I was congested. I felt weak in every way possible. Eleven seasons and that day got me the most.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
