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‘Vanderpump Rules’ Recap: Lisa Vanderpump Rallies Staff After Orlando Shooting, Lala Kent Gets Dumped

Lisa Vanderpump helped her team gather strength. On the Monday, December 12, episode of Vanderpump Rules, the Sur staff was shaken by the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, but Lisa was able to rally her coworkers — and the rest of the L.A. community — after national tragedy struck.

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Panty Party

The episode opened with the Sur team excitedly planning the restaurant’s L.A. Pride celebration. Lisa reminded her staff that Pride is one of the biggest days of the year for Sur, and every year the party gets bigger and better.

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Nothing spearheads the spirited celebration quite like the team’s Pride “uniforms.” Lisa whipped out several hot pink ball caps (“Nice gay pink Pride hats,” as she referred to them) for the men, who immediately noticed that the relatively simple hats were surprisingly less “zany” than the angel wings they wore three years before.

The ladies’ outfits, on the other hand, got even skimpier. Lisa asked Ariana Madix and Lala Kent to try on teeny-tiny Pride-inspired lingerie — but Lala announced to the group that she couldn’t fulfill Lisa’s request because she wasn’t wearing underwear.

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“You’ve got a short dress on and no underwear?” Lisa retorted, stunned by Lala’s commando candidness.

The coworkers looked around at each other, completely disgusted. “I hope they burn that chair that she’s sitting in,” Katie Maloney remarked.

Lala’s Love Games

As they prepared for the start of their shifts, Tom Sandoval told Jax Taylor and Scheana Shay that he and Ariana had lunch plans with Lala and her mysterious boyfriend. Tom seemed convinced that Lala’s new relationship was legitimate, but Scheana and Jax reminded Tom that Lala only dates rich, married men to sustain her lavish lifestyle.

Despite the warnings, Tom continued to defend Lala (even though he failed miserably trying to explain how Lala could possibly afford her flashy Range Rover on a hostess’ paycheck). But when the time came to finally meet Lala’s “boyfriend,” she showed up solo. Tom asked Lala to at least reveal his name, but she refused.

“I mean, why can’t she just tell me his name?” Tom later asked the cameras, perplexed. “Is it really that big of a deal?”

Just as her coworkers’ suspicions reached an all-time high, Lala hung out with her partner-in-crime, James Kennedy, and told him that she suddenly got dumped out of nowhere. Perfect timing?

Birthday Bash, To-Go

Stassi Schroeder invited some friends visiting from New York to meet her at Sur for a lunch date. A few drinks deep, the group began planning a luxurious Hamptons getaway for Stassi’s upcoming birthday. While the ladies chatted excitedly about the beach bash, Lisa decided to pop in to say “hi.”

“We do do food to-go, you know,” Lisa coolly reminded Stassi in front of her friends, causing the future birthday girl’s face to drop.

Just in case Lisa’s subtle dig wasn’t enough to lower Stassi’s spirits, Ariana later revealed that she wanted to plan a trip for her birthday, too — right around the time of Stassi’s Hamptons party. Stassi received double the shade for her birthday.

Battle of the Bartenders

Ariana giddily announced that she’s putting a cocktail book together. After getting approval from Lisa, Ariana arranged to film her first set of tutorials at Sur.

“Like, I don’t know if you can tell that I’m beaming … but I’m beaming!” Ariana raved. “It’s not just bronzer.”

Tom insisted he was proud of Ariana, but he struggled to show any type of support for his girlfriend. Instead, he swooped in and took over her shoot, effectively stealing her shine (and even took off his pants in the process).

Ariana and Lala

Tom tried to defend his actions by claiming that bartending is actually his dream career, not Ariana’s. “Bartending has always just been a job to her,” Tom said. “But with me, it’s my passion.”

But Ariana called it how she saw it. “Somebody’s a Bitter Betty,” she quipped, cutting Tom off like the true bartender she is.

#LoveWins

Lisa showed up to the heavily anticipated L.A. Pride parade with an equally heavy heart — just a few hours earlier, the Pulse nightclub massacre had occurred in Orlando.

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“What happened in Orlando was a heinous act of terrorism against the LGBTQ community,” Lisa somberly stated. “What are we supposed to do?”

Katie met Lisa at the parade, but couldn’t find the emotional strength to stay. Katie headed home to meet Tom, Stassi and Tom Schwartz, who all considered backing out of Sur’s Pride celebration.

“I’m going to have a hard time keeping it together today,” a heartbroken Tom said through tears, shaking uncontrollably.

Tom Sandoval

But Lisa refused to let the hate scare her away. Casting her worries aside, Lisa proudly paraded through L.A. and was able to help bring the community together during the trying time.

“The fact that they’re all here celebrating is truly what matters going forward,“ Lisa insisted. “Today is about love, and it’s about acceptance, and I’m here to celebrate with them.”

After hearing that Lisa went through with the parade, most of the Sur staff decided to show up to the party. Even Lisa’s former employee applauded her for her strength.

“Differences aside, there wouldn’t be a parade if there wasn’t Lisa on a bus,” Stassi humbly admitted. “I have to say I’m impressed.”

Tell Us: Could this finally be the end to Lisa and Stassi’s subtle feuding?

Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.

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