Vanderpump Rules fans just realized that Lala Kent got their reaction to her season 11 arc all wrong.
Lala, 33, made an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in March, where she was asked about her comments from the season 11 trailer regarding Ariana Madix. In response, Lala hinted that there was more to the story and viewers would get more context at the end of the season.
“I think toward the end of the season, it is going to be made very clear why I said that and I think a lot of you will be with me,” she told host Andy Cohen in the resurfaced clip.
Bravo fans, however, don’t understand why Lala thought they would side with her.
“Lala was so confident that the audience was going to have her back this season. Girl was so wrong. 💀,” a fan account wrote via X while another replied, “Stunned how her, production, and Andy so misread the room here.”
Another viewer questioned whether the subsequent backlash caused Lala to get upset at the reunion, writing, “I think that’s really why she had a breakdown at the reunion. She really thought she was going to go in and do something and she watched it backfire in real time.”
Not everyone swore off Lala after a divisive scene during season 11.
“Lala is the main reason to watch the show now. People are just bothered,” a social media user fired back in response to the hate against Lala.
When Vanderpump Rules returned to Bravo earlier this year, Lala originally sided with Ariana, 38, after Tom Sandoval‘s cheating scandal with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. Lala’s loyalty didn’t last long though once she let go of her anger for Sandoval. By the end of the season, Lala was questioning Ariana’s decisions in the aftermath of the scandal.
“I’m going to be real about Ariana. She coasts through every single f—king season. And we are asking you to have one conversation with Tom Sandoval — the guy you shoved down our throats for so many years,” Lala said on an episode of the Vanderpump Rules After Show earlier this month. “That guy, who you still live with. We are asking you to have one conversation and you can’t do that?”
Lala argued that “every single person” on Vanderpump Rules has had “tough conversations” except Ariana. She also surprised viewers when she broke the fourth wall during the season 11 finale to scream about Ariana leaving an event after almost getting cornered by Sandoval, 41. Lala stood by her decisions at the three-part reunion — but has since issued an apology for referring to fans that didn’t agree with her as rabid.
“Filming this season was bittersweet,” Lala said while wrapping up the Wednesday, May 29, episode of her “Give Them Lala” podcast. “Reliving it was — in my opinion — one of the most difficult things or difficult seasons that I’ve ever had. I stopped talking about this season because I have to be honest, I was seeing things on social [media].”
Despite growing frustrated with viewers, Lala walked back her criticism.
“I’ve made comments on this podcast I’m sure you remember that were not kind. And I think it’s no secret that I react off of emotion most of the time. I have always been that way. It gets me into a lot of trouble. It puts me into hot water,” Lala continued. “It’s also made me have to apologize more than anyone should have to. And not because of anybody else, but because I simply see something I don’t like, hear something I don’t like, and go for the jugular because I feel hurt.”
Lala said it has taken time for her to accept that her reality is different from public opinion.
“This was the first season in my eight years of doing the show that my show reality and my reality could not coexist. They had to be so separate that if one touched the other, it took me out,” she detailed. “So what I want to do right now is focus on the facts of things. My feelings are not facts. But what I can tell you is this show is based on perspective. That’s a fact. The cast is going to have a perspective. The audience is going to have a perspective.”
Lala added: “Because the cast having an opinion allows us to make a show, and the audience having an opinion allows us to make a show. The combination of those two things has allowed Vanderpump Rules to be a successful show for the past 11 years. Fact. I want you guys to know that this show is something I am extremely grateful for.”
