Following Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules, Lala Kent is receiving some backlash from fans. Even though Andy Cohen understands why fans are pushing back, he also understands her POV.
Prior to the reunion, Andy spoke up in support of Lala.
Lala forgave Tom
“When they broke the fourth wall,” he told Us Weekly, “As a reality producer, I really respect what she was saying about ‘We are all on this show, and this is doing our jobs.’ I think it’s one of those great arguments where I could see both sides.”
After the Season 10 reunion of Pump Rules in 2023, Lala was firmly on Ariana Madix’s side against Tom Sandoval. So was everyone else in the group, outside of his BFF and business partner Tom Schwartz.
However, as Season 11 progressed, Lala’s feelings toward Sandy softened. In the end, she forgave him for cheating on his girlfriend of nearly a decade with mutual friend Rachel Leviss.
In a March episode of his Sirius XM show Radio Andy, the Bravo EP said, “[Lala] has become the voice of reason on the show … I went [to] her before the reunion, and I said, ‘This is your best season.’ Without question.”
Ariana’s supporters weren’t happy with the way Lala confronted the former bartender about her handling of the breakup with Tom. They lived under the same roof, yet Ariana refused to even speak to him. And we know why, Sandoval was only willing to talk to Ariana with cameras to capture his acting the moment. Though some people were shocked by Lala’s confrontation with Ariana, Andy thought it was great TV.
Ariana refuses to face Tom
“I’m going to be real about Ariana. She coasts through every single f*cking season,” Lala said on an episode of the Vanderpump Rules After Show in May. “We are asking you to have one conversation with Tom Sandoval … that guy who you still live with. We are asking you to have one conversation, and you can’t do that?”
Lala maintained that “every single person” on the series has had “tough conversations” with Tom except Ariana. At the season finale, Lala broke the fourth wall and screamed about Ariana leaving a cast event rather than having to talk to Sandoval. Perhaps that time Lala made people sign NDAs to not talk about her married boyfriend has escaped her – pregnancy brain is a thing.
After hearing fan response to her reunion behavior, Lala decided to address the criticism. “[Season 11] was … one of the most difficult … seasons that I’ve ever had,” Lala said on the May 29th episode of her Give Them Lala podcast.
While she expressed how frustrated she was over the backlash, Lala admitted she tends to get emotional. Probably even more so now that she’s pregnant with her second child.
“It’s no secret that I react off of emotion most of the time. I have always been that way,” she continued. “It puts me into hot water. [I’ve also had] to apologize more than anyone should have to … I simply see something I don’t like, hear something I don’t like, and go for the jugular because I feel hurt.” That said, none of the above is a reason for hurting a former friend.
Vanderpump Rules is now streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK ARIANA NEEDS TO FACE TOM IF SHE’S GOING TO BE ON THE SHOW? OR DOES SHE HAVE THE RIGHT TO IGNORE HIM?
