Scheana Shay addressed the backlash to her Vanderpump Rules confessionals about Ariana Madix being offered Dancing With the Stars over her.
During the Friday, March 15, episode of her “Scheananigans” podcast, Shay, 38, answered a fan question that asked whether she had regrets about her comments regarding Madix, 38.
“To save myself the embarrassment, sure. But that was my genuine emotion in the moment and as cringe as I might be sometimes, I don’t ever regret sharing. That is literally my job here,” she explained. “This season, I was priding myself on trying to be the most open and honest version of myself — even if at times the audience may not agree with me.”
Shay stood by her decision to put it all out there, adding, “I went way out of my comfort zone this season and I’m hoping that y’all can show me some grace and just understand that a lot of the things that we’re navigating are relatable. I’m putting it all out there because I hope that it helps people who have gone through similar things.”
In a new episode of Vanderpump Rules, which aired on Tuesday, March 12, Shay admitted to Lisa Vanderpump that she felt hurt when ABC approached Madix to compete in the competition series.
“This year, I started taking dance class. I was preparing in case I did get it. It was kind of a punch to the gut, for sure,” she shared. “I am so happy for her. But I can be happy for her and sad for me at the same time.”
Shay followed that up with a confessional, where she appeared to make a snide comment, saying, “Good for her. She has come such a long way from being my backup dancer.”
After the scene circulated on social media, Shay used her podcast to clarify her state of mind. “I literally meant this as a joke. I did not mean shade,” she noted on Friday. “I often feel that at times when I tend to be self-deprecating, it’s not received well. It doesn’t land.
Shay mentioned how Madix took part in her season 1 performance on Vanderpump Rules as a way to create an onscreen flashback sequence.
“I always look for opportunities where the show can do flashbacks,” she continued. “I think that’s one thing that I’ve been really good about in my 11 seasons on the show is just bringing up moments where you can look back. Because it’s always fun to see a flashback. So there was no shade meant by that.”
Shay had nothing but praise for Madix’s dance abilities — especially after watching her compete on season 23 of DWTS.
“Ariana is an incredible dancer, as we all saw on Dancing With the Stars. That’s why I asked her to be a part of my show to begin with because I knew she would elevate that performance,” she shared. “There is no way in hell I would have wanted to compete against her on Dancing with the Stars. So I just want to put that out there. That was not meant to be shade. I’m sorry that it came out that way.”
Madix weighed in on the drama on Tuesday’s episode of WWHL when she pointed out that her involvement with DWTS paved the way for more opportunities for her costars. Shay, however, made it clear on her podcast that she wasn’t actually upset with Madix.
“I was one of the last to find out [about Ariana being on DWTS], so it just hurt my feelings. Because if there was an NDA, but other people knew, then why didn’t I know?” she asked. “Does that mean you don’t trust me anymore? I just felt really hurt in that moment because I used to be the person she would tell everything to first. So that’s how I felt. But looking back, I wish we could have just skipped over all of that.”
Despite the onscreen drama, Shay said her friendship with Madix is “very real,” adding, “It existed before reality TV cameras came into the mix. .. Our friendship is always going to exist. She is family.”
Shay also answered a question about dealing with fans who have strong opinions about the show.
“It’s just noise. Now that I’m a mom, I feel I can’t live in that noise. I need to create peace within myself so that my daughter isn’t living in that noise,” Shay, who shares 2-year-old daughter Summer with husband Brock Davies, added. “You’ll see a bit of that [during season 11]. … Hopefully I’m doing a good job in just being a version of myself that my daughter is proud of. That is my ultimate goal at the end of the day.”
Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET and will be available to stream on Peacock the next day.
