Lisa Vanderpump is not leaving Vanderpump Rules, Andy Cohen confirms
Speaking today on his Andy Cohen Live SiriusXM Radio show, Cohen (basically the guru for all things Real Housewives) confirmed that Lisa will stay put on her spin-off Vanderpump Rules. That obviously makes some sense, given that the entire premise doesn’t work the same without her. Also, it has Vanderpump in the title! Having it without her feels like a waste of everyone’s time, even if we’re well-aware how popular some of these other cast members are in their own right.
As for Lisa’s Real Housewives departure, big shocker — Cohen wishes that she was around to film the most-recent reunion show:
“I wish she had been there, what can I tell you. I really wish she had been there … And I hope and I think she actually could have left with some resolution.
“No one will ever replace her … And no one can replace her. I mean, it has been well-documented that when we were developing the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, I was not totally sold on doing the show … but when I saw Lisa Vanderpump on that casting tape, man, she was the one who really sold me on doing the show.”
What else did you expect to hear Cohen say here? Of course, he is going to say that he wanted Lisa to continue on with the show and be there for the reunion. Many of us want that! We have loved watching Lisa on the show all these years – so much so that our dog’s name was inspired by her (Coco Chanel Vanderwoof).
The one thing we do disagree with the idea of resolution. Vanderpump left the show in order to avoid its long-festering sense of negativity this season, and if she were to turn up, she probably would’ve just felt attacked. A lot of times these reunions turn into verbal free-for-alls, with some of the women trading barbs and accusations and some of those accusations this season were really difficult to watch. Maybe 20% of the time there’s actually something that feels like resolution, but with what happened this season we don’t see Lisa getting that from the reunion show.
The show must go on…
But that doesn’t mean that Cohen has any idea who is going to be the next Real Housewife. He denied talk that the producers have already went to Kathy Hilton; this is something that instead will be figured out through the several months. We do think that the series does need another big name, largely because these shows aren’t getting cross-platform promotion anymore. Unless you’re a diehard Bravo viewer, do you think there would really be THAT much conversation in your life about these shows? It’s hard to imagine so. They exist within a particular sphere and because of that, they face ratings limitations.
For some more news on Lisa’s Real Housewives exit…
Just be sure to visit the link here! Meanwhile, let us know — do you think she did the right thing getting away from the reunion rather than taking part? Share below. (Photo: Bravo.)
This article was written by Jessica Carter and you can follow her on Twitter here.