Vanderpump Rules has fired some of its cast—including Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute—ahead of its next season. The firings come after allegations that the pair called the police on former castmate and the only black woman on the show Faith Stowers, believing her to be an African American woman they read about in the news who was caught stealing.
In an Instagram Live, quoted by US Weekly, Stowers, who appeared on season four of Bravo’s hit reality TV series about the ups and downs of working at the West Hollywood restaurant SUR, shared her experience with racism on the show. As the only black member of an all white cast, she prefaced her story by saying that working on the show was “a lot.” For one, she noticed she was the only cast member to not have confessional interviews and be able to tell her story.
Then, in 2016, Stowers allegedly hooked-up with co-star Jax Taylor, prior to his engagement to now wife Brittany Cartwright, and became the face of the show’s latest scandal. The cast turned on her as Schroeder and Doute “attacked” her, claiming to the police that she met the description of an African American woman who allegedly robbed someone.
We shouldn’t need to say it but, given the systemic racism against black Americans and the potential risk that comes from calling the police on a person of colour—let alone claiming someone committing a crime just for some twisted revenge—this is a serious offence.
“There was this article on Daily Mail where there was an African American lady,” she recalled in the Instagram Live. “It was like a weird photo, so she looked very light-skinned and had these different, weird tattoos or whatever. They showcased her, and I guess this woman was robbing people, the woman was at large and they called the cops and said it was me.”
“This is, like, a true story. I heard this from Stassi during an interview… It was just funny because they thought it was me because it was a Black woman with a weave. So, they just assumed it would be me, and they called the cops on me. It didn’t work, so they were upset about that.”
“This is when I quit—like, I left the show. I was invited back to tell my truth but decided it wasn’t going to do anything for me.”
According to an insider source, Vanderpump Rules has since removed Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute from filming the upcoming season, along with fellow co-stars Max Boyens and Brett Capriono after racist tweets from their past emerged in January. In response to the controversy, and after brands announced they were pulling out of sponsorship deals with the reality TV star, Schroeder admitted, “what I did to Faith was wrong.”
“My emotions over something that happened between our friends outweighed my logic, and there is no excuse for that,” she said in an Instagram apology. “I did not recognise then the serious ramifications that could have transpired because of my actions.”
“What I did to Faith was wrong. I apologise and I do not expect forgiveness. I am also sorry to anyone else that feels disappointed in me. I am going to continue to look closer at myself and my actions—to take the time to listen, to learn, and to take accountability for my own privilege.”
“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,” added Doute. “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.”
“I’ve been getting a lot of messages lately because a lot of them have been saying ‘Black Lives Matter’,” concluded Stowers. “Like… I know some of them definitely don’t care about Black people like that. There’s a few of them that do but there’s a lot that really don’t give a damn.”
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