‘Vanderpump Rules’ Cast Reacts to Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute Being Fired From the Series

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'Vanderpump Rules' Cast Reacts to Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute Being Fired From the Series

It's hard to say goodbye. Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute were fired from Vanderpump Rules in June — and their former cast members are still reeling from the news. "Bravo and Evolution Media confirmed today that Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni will not be returning to Vanderpump Rules," the network said in a statement to Us Weekly at the time. Schroeder, 32, and Doute, 37, were original cast members on the popular reality series, and came under fire earlier this month after Faith Stowers recalled that the former SUR employees once falsely reported her to the police in 2018. Both the "Straight Up With Stassi" podcast host and the He's Making You Crazy author apologized via Instagram, but an insider later told Us exclusively that they "didn't reach out to Faith directly" before sharing their public statements. "Although my actions were not racially driven, I am now completely aware of how my privilege blinded me from the reality of law enforcement's treatment of the black community, and how dangerous my actions could have been to her," Doute admitted in her apology shortly before news broke of her firing. "It was never my intention to add to the injustice and imbalance. I'm ashamed, embarrassed, and incredibly sorry. I will do better. I have to do better." Schroeder, for her part, pledged to "continue to take accountability" for her past remarks after losing various endorsement deals in the wake of the scandal. Us also exclusively confirmed that her PR company dropped her. [jwplayer zBEXwmv8] "I have grown significantly from the person I was then, and I am still filled with remorse and regret for the hurt I caused," she wrote at the time. "I also want to address my former castmate, Faith Stowers. ... I did not recognize then the serious ramifications that could have transpired because of my actions. What I did to Faith was wrong. I apologize and I do not expect forgiveness." Boyens and Caprioni, for their parts, both faced backlash at the beginning of the year after racist tweets from several years prior were uncovered. Neither of the Vanderpump Rules newbies were punished for their actions at the time, but Lisa Vanderpump told Us that she didn't "condone any of the heinous comments" they had made in their pasts. After four cast members were ousted from the show, the SUR owner, 59, admitted that she was "deeply saddened" by the scandal. "Over the past two weeks, many things have been brought to my attention, of which I and many others were previously unaware," she wrote via Instagram in June. "As we’ve seen such devastating sadness that has played out globally, we all have a part to play to create a kinder, more just society. My hope is for this generation to treat each other with respect and humanity, and realize that actions have; and should have, consequences." Scroll down to see how the Vanderpump Rules stars reacted to the shocking cast shake-up. [podcast_block]

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Tom Schwartz

"I don't think I've processed it. It doesn't feel real," the TomTom owner told costar Lala Kent during an August episode of her "Give Them Lala ... With Randall" podcast. "I hope it doesn't seem like a cop-out but I just honestly haven't processed it. Maybe I'm running from it a little bit or I'm in denial that it ever happened. ... I love my friends and I support them. It's been rough but we'll be OK, we'll get through it."

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Lala Kent

The Utah native told her Instagram followers in July that the exits of her longtime costars still hadn't hit her. "To me, when people ask me how I feel about it — I try to not really get into it," she said during a livestream. "I will say that them not being on the show anymore hasn't sunk in yet because we've had such, like, this crazy ride together and our life consists of each other. ... You know when someone passes and you're still fine because your body goes into shock, like you’re not used to it? That's what it feels like."

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Tom Sandoval

"It's crazy," Sandoval told St. Louis' News 4 of the drama in June. "It definitely changes things and honestly, we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens." Sandoval has been part of the series since its first season in 2013 and previously dated Doute, from whom he split in 2014. 

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Lisa Vanderpump

The SUR owner addressed the allegations against the former reality stars in a lengthy Instagram statement in June. "It was necessary for me to be quiet until now, until decisions had been made. Now I can freely speak from the heart," she wrote at the time. "As many of you know, after watching me for 10 years, I have always been an equal rights activist and ally – my family, my businesses and I condemn all forms of cruelty, racism, homophobia, bigotry and unequal treatment. We’ve never tolerated it in the workplace or our lives. ... I am proud of the inclusive company that we've created. We will continue to embrace diversity as one of our greatest strengths, and I'm excited to give you deeper look into the multi-faceted fabric of our company in the future."

In August, Vanderpump admitted she would have kept Schroeder and Doute, but the network made the decision to cut ties with the former SURvers.

“Stassi hadn’t worked for me for a couple of years, nor had Kristen. So that part wasn’t down to me really at all,” she told Entertainment Tonight, noting that she “reached out” to Schroeder more than once but didn’t hear back. “It’s not my decision. And I think that was then and this is now, but I’m all about giving people second chances, yes, but also about holding people accountable.”

She explained: “I think it’s sad, really, what happened, because I do think that people can learn from their mistakes, and I’m all about that. I think you’ve seen that on the show. Of course, we do know that we’re in this momentum of really people kind of standing up for what’s right, and I’m all about that and embracing that — and I do believe in zero tolerance for that — but I also believe that you can come back from that and you’re young and you can learn from it.”