Though she’s been irritatingly melodramatic and self-absorbed (even by reality star standards) this entire season, we can’t help but feel a little bummed that Lala Kent is quitting Vanderpump Rules.
The reason is not that we were holding on to any hope that she could turn things around and redeem herself.
(Her problematic observation that if you’re “not ugly” and “have tits” you should be cruising on private jets all the time pretty much squashed any chance of that.)
Rather, it’s because the feud between Lala and the entire rest of the cast is heating up in entertaining fashion, but Ms. Kent is jumping ship just as things are starting to really get good.
Kinda leads us to believe she didn’t really know what she was getting into.
If only the show had been around for several seasons before she joined the cast, so that she might’ve gotten a better idea of what she was signing on for. Oh, wait…
Anyway, things really came to a head on this week’s episode of Vanderpump, as Lala lost her last allies when Sandoval and Ariana turned on her.
Sure, she still has James Kennedy on her side, but that’s like having a hybrid of Voldemort and a shaved ferret in your corner.
And even James seems to realize that Lala’s behavior is beyond the pale these days, as he offered up the best indication yet that she doesn’t really understand what makes compelling reality television work.
It was James who spread the word that Lala tried for force her “friends” to sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for staying at a house her mysterious sugar daddy rented for Coachella.
All this season, Stassi, Katie, Kristen and company have taken no end of flak from fans for taking too much of an interest in Lala’s love life.
The NDA ordeal made it clear that their dislike for the newest SUR girl had little to do with Lala’s feminine wiles and everything to do with her secretive behavior.
Put simply, Lala is f–king up their cash cow by trying to keep the drama off camera.
In a lengthy Twitter tirade posted yesterday, fan favorite Stassi explained that the reasons for her squad’s disdain for Lala are simple – she’s a bully when she’s not filming, and she doesn’t play by the clear and explicit rules of the show.
“In between filming seasons, Lala thought she could say the most sicking degrading degrading things about Katie & my friends on podcasts, social media, and news outlets.
“She thought she could disparage every single one of us: call us old, uninteresting has-beens; say it was ‘her’ show.
“All the while she never actually showed any part of her life. We have worked so hard for 5 years to make a great show.
“We have poured our hearts and, for better or worse, exposed our lives in every way we could. VPR has been our baby. She doesn’t get to ride our coattails without having to do any work.”
It’s a fair point, and it’s the sort of thing viewers often lose sight of:
The restaurant and hostessing gigs are for show. These folks real job is starring on a Bravo reality series, and they have reason to be protective of the following they worked hard to build.
As for the NDA controversy, Stassi has this to say:
“Lala handed out non-disclosure agreements. A NDA is a COMPLETE violation of the contracts we all have to sign for our show,” Stassi continued.
“None of us have the luxury of hiding anything in our lives; therefore, I 100% made it my goal this summer to see that justice was served, regardless of what it would make me look like.
“Mission accomplished.”
Stassi and her clique will likely continue to be accused of bullying, but if they were genuinely trying to rid the cast of behaviors that might hurt the quality of the show, their actions are justified.
We imagine many fans will blame Lala’s departure on the “mean girl” behavior of her female co-stars, but the fact remains, this show has a low tolerance for boring cast members (We’re looking at you, Vail Bloom!), so if Ms. Kent was taking great pains to hide the most interesting aspects of her life, she probably wouldn’t have lasted long anyway.
Watch Vanderpump Rules online to get caught up in time for the final days of Lala. We hardly knew ye.