Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules repeatedly showed cast members like Lala Kent and Scheana Shay worried about their future on the Bravo series. The concern didn't seem real since the show got new life after #Scandoval. However, Bravo revealed the original cast is getting replaced with a new one for Season 12. There are many factors going into this decision, but I still blame Sandoval and so should you.
A source told People one of the alleged reasons the network is rebooting the series is that "there were so many fractions" in the original cast. Kent and Shay were not close with Ariana Madix and Katie Maloney. Kent spent most of season 11 criticizing Madix for living with Sandoval, but refusing to film scenes with him for Vanderpump Rules. Schay tried to convince Madix to talk to Sandoval repeatedly. Madix said they could hang out with Sandoval, but she wouldn't participate. She still participated in cast filming opportunities when he was present, like the beach episode and the finale party.
The insider also revealed a reason the cast took a longer break after the season. "There had been a long pause in production, and nothing had really changed among the cast since the reunion," the person claimed. "Everyone was still stuck in their feelings and refusing to bend. The network felt there was no path forward with the group in that capacity." The friction wasn't only between the women. Shay's friendship with Sandoval didn't last after she begged for Madix to give Sandoval another chance last season. She revealed on Watch What Happens Live in October that she doesn't talk to Sandoval at all and has small conversations with Madix. The mother admitted she needs a deeper conversation with Madix and they're not as close as they were before the reunion.
It seems like everyone who placed their bets on Sandoval lost. Schwartz & Sandy's Lounge, which was backed by Lisa Vanderpump herself, never recovered from the backlash of #Scandoval. On Nov. 26, the Schwartz & Sandy's owners announced on social media that it will be closing. Schwartz spoke openly about how the business was negatively affected by the Sandoval backlash. "When I would see his face and I wanted to, not punch it, but my god," he told Collider during last season's airing. Sandoval took a break from handling the business to tour with his band, which didn't help the situation. Schwartz continued his friendship with Sandoval and insisted people give him another chance. "I have to remember that he's a human being and human beings do stupid shit sometimes," he said in the same interview.
This was often the reason given for forgiving Sandoval. He's only human, but he's a human that has a pattern of repeatedly fumbling other people's good will. Sandoval undermined Kent, Shay, Schwartz, and Vanderpump's hard work to get him in good graces with the fractured group he created. "I'm not a pop-culture historian really," the disgraced reality star told The New York Times. "But I witnessed the O.J. Simpson thing and George Floyd and all these big things, which is really weird to compare this to that, I think, but do you think in a weird way it's a little bit the same?" The comparison of #Scandoval where Sandoval was an active bad actor to George Floyd, a Black man, killed by a white officer for using a counterfeit $20 bill didn't help his case. What was the show's solution? Kent tried to give him an out by saying he was reaching for things that were "newsworthy" to how #Scandoval blew up in headlines. Brock Davies called the reporting about Sandoval's upsetting comment "clickbait" despite it being a long feature about him navigating the scandal. Kent begged Sandoval at the reunion to not give any further interviews. This doesn't address the source of the problem, which is Sandoval.
He was the one who had an affair with Raquel Leviss behind Madix's back. Afterward he then put up a legal fight over their shared home, and Kent repeatedly criticized Madix for continuing to live there. Sandoval later revealed he couldn't afford the house without Madix and asked Schwartz to be his roommate to keep it. They claimed at the reunion they were looking to buy a new home together. The other ugly side to Sandoval in season 11 was him turning on Leviss.
Leviss refused to return to film with him, and stopped talking to him as she was seeking mental health treatment. He called her a "coward" for this at the reunion, which made Madix and Vanderpump's eyes widen. Sandoval wanted his fellow cast members worried for his mental health while throwing insults at Leviss for making healthier choices. He also was angry at Leviss's claim that he "groomed" her at the reunion and incorrectly linked the term to pedophilia. Kent explained grooming is about power and taking advantage of someone who is impressionable. "I was very impressionable when she took all her clothes off and jumped in my fucking pool," he replied. The camera cut to multiple cast members covering their faces. Madix reminded the cast that Sandoval used their private discussions about her suicide ideation against her publicly. He responded by again accusing her suicidal ideation of being a manipulation tactic.
It's obvious that #Scandoval changed the dynamics of the cast, but not Sandoval. The producers could've made the more interesting move of not asking Sandoval to return and keep the rest of the cast. Madix said she was ready to film season 11 focused on the bond between the women who comforted her in season 10. If everyone in Vanderpump Rules is replaceable, then why use more effort replacing everyone instead of the one person who is the cause of the friction? We would still have conflict with Kent and Shay trying to move forward with Madix and Maloney.
There is some hope there with Madix and Shay continuing to talk. It would've been harder for Kent and Madix to resolve their issues. Kent's finale rant that Madix thought she was "Beyoncé" blindsided her. Sandoval called Madix "lazy" for not wanting to film with him and Kent said similar things in the aftershow. Madix reacted to this in real time at the reunion. The rift between the women probably continues because neither feel called to apologize. Kent revealed she stood by her actions in Season 11 on her podcast, Give Them Lala. However, she probably would've tried to mend things based on her stance on filming with people you don't like last season. If Sandoval wasn't around, there would be less tension between the ladies and an opportunity for a resolution.
There was a lot of scapegoating of who would be the downfall of Vanderpump Rules in season 11. Kent claimed Maloney threatened her business at the reunion if she talked about their private conversation about Madix and Something About Her. The mother also talked repeatedly about needing Vanderpump Rules to support her family. If only she shifted the blame where it rightfully belongs, then the cast could move forward. Sandoval is the one who started this with his affair with Leviss. He continued being hurtful by trying to shift blame for the end of his relationship to Madix and her mental health. Multiple cast members didn't want real consequences or accountability for Sandoval. If we can learn anything from Kent telling him to stop doing interviews, then we know some prefer to keep him quiet to continue the series.
The women were always the draw for the Vanderpump Rules audience. Shay becoming the new server and her affair with Brandi Glanville's ex-husband, Eddie Cibrian, was the premiere's story. Stassi Schroeder brought star power to the new show from previously being on Queen Bees. Of course, we can't forget the titular Vanderpump who was on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The show always lived and died by the women whether the men in their lives stayed or left. We've seen the show's self-proclaimed "number one guy," Jax Taylor, get fired and the show survived. We should keep in mind as we watch a new cast of young SUR servers arrive in Season 12 that we've lost women we've followed for years — at interesting points in their lives — all because of Tom Sandoval.
