Lisa Vanderpump hits back at Raquel Leviss’ ‘Vanderpump Rules’ criticism: ‘I don’t understand’
Lisa Vanderpump responded to Rachel “Raquel” Lewis’ statement that she would only return to “Vanderpump Rules” if they paid for her therapy.
“She said that, but I think she had a therapist with her the whole time we were filming,” Vanderpump told Us Weekly in an interview on Thursday.
The “Vanderpump Rules” lead singer said Bravo was “very attentive” to the cast’s needs and “was there even when you were filming and would say there’s someone available to talk to you.”
Lewis, 29, previously starred on the hit Bravo show but decided not to return for season 11 due to criticism surrounding her affair with co-star and Ariana Madix’s then-boyfriend Tom Sandoval.
Though Lewis is now expressing interest in returning for Season 12, Vanderpump doesn’t think it makes sense for her to rejoin the cast.
“It is difficult to integrate a person into a situation [like this]Like I said, you never know… but she has said a lot of negative things about ‘Vanderpump Rules,’ about the producers [and] about NBC. So, I think we can safely say that ship has sailed,” Vanderpump, 63, admitted.
“It would require all-expenses paid therapy,” Lewis previously told US Weekly as he discussed what he would have to do to return to the show.
“I would need a therapist on call and therapy sessions after every single filming session! I don’t know if I see a way forward because this is not a healthy dynamic. I’m trying to protect my mental health and I’m trying to live an authentic life.”
While Lewis believes her time on “Vanderpump Rules” is “done,” she’s not ruling out a return to reality TV.
She joked that she could see herself “doing a competition show.”
“We might reevaluate in a few years and see what the next projects are,” he told the outlet.
Despite not returning for Season 11 of the Emmy-nominated show, Lewis has continued to discuss both her affair and her former friends on her podcast, “Rachel Goes Rogue.”
Lewis has used his platform to call out several of his former friends — including slamming Sandoval for playing the “victim” and claiming that Vanderpump was “victim-shaming” him for suing Madix, 39, and Sandoval, 41.
In February, Lewis claimed Sandoval recorded an intimate video of her without her consent and she subsequently filed a suit accusing Sandoval of revenge porn, eavesdropping, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.
Lewis implicated Madix in the lawsuit, saying she found the video by examining Sandoval’s phone and shared it.
The former beauty pageant winner will continue to fight her legal battle from afar, as she has returned to her home state of Arizona after spending some time in a mental health facility.
