Lisa Vanderpump is reflecting on Bravo's decision over the summer to fire several "Vanderpump Rules" stars for past racist actions. Although she understands that the acts were wrong, she doesn't think the cast members have ill will in their hearts.
"It wasn't right what they did at all, but do I think they're racist? 1,000 percent not," Lisa said on "The Skinny Confidential's Him & Her" podcast. "Because I have a lot of diverse people working for me that they've all been working very close to for many years."
She added, "Do I think it was a racist action? Not at all. I just think it was awful timing and stupid and ignorant."
In June, Bravo fired Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute for past racist acts, which were brought to light by Faith Stowers, who appeared on seasons 4 and 6. Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni were also let go after racist tweets resurfaced.
In regards to Stassi, Lisa said the new mom had a "lack of awareness" and "lived in her own bubble" and that Bravo had to "do what they had to do."
"I think everything was so inflamed at that time, but it had also been an accumulation of things she had done," Lisa added, referring to the Black Lives Matter protests that dominated the summer of 2020. "It wasn't just one remark, and I think the fact that she was proactive in calling with this whole Faith situation just was not the way to handle things."
Stassi later addressed her comments on Tamron Hall's talk show, but insiders said the former reality TV star was upset with the line of questioning.
Lisa claimed she was never made aware of Stassi's actions until this past summer.
"This story had never reached my ears, and I'm sure whatever they talked about at the time, they thought was funny. … But I had certainly never heard that," she said. "I never listen to any of their interviews, quite frankly."
Lisa actually thinks that the reality TV show might have made Stassi and the three other fired stars become better people.
"I don't like this cancel culture, either," she said. "Of course, I do think sometimes people should be punished and there should be punitive ramifications and actions do have consequences, but I think people can grow from their mistakes. I really do, and I think reality television is quite a good place to learn and see the growth."