Billie Lee spoke to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY about how Lisa Vanderpump allegedly kept her quiet from speaking negatively about the show.
Vanderpump Rules became one of the most talked about shows over the past week when Bravo made the decision to fire Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute after their former costar Faith Stowers accused them of racist behavior. Billie Lee, 36, who was axed from the series herself after its 7th season in 2019, “applauded” Bravo for what they did while also touching on speaking out about her problematic issues and the hurdles that were allegedly placed in her way during our EXCLUSIVE interview.
“I personally tried to go public, and I did a little bit with regards to the reunion on season 7 and how I felt like I was gaslighted and silenced,” she began before going in on her claims about Lisa Vanderpump, 59. “And then when I publicly talked about how there was not enough color or black people or LGBTQ people on the network, Lisa herself called me and told me that I needed to not talk negatively about the show, that it would hurt my career and she made my TV career and she could take it away if I didn’t stop talking negative things about the show.”
Former ‘Vanderpump Rules’ star Billie Lee. Credit: Shutterstock
Lisa Vanderpump. Credit: Shutterstock
Billie then discussed the effects it took on her personally after Lisa’s alleged actions. “So I was silenced and as an activist that really hurt me and it was really disappointing to someone that I looked up to to find out that they themselves had their own privileges and didn’t understand where I was coming from.”
“And then to see everything that came out with Faith,” she continued. “I’m part of all these marches and I’m very much a part of the Black Lives Matter movement and I was really proud of her. Like I said, I struggled very much leaving that show, not having money and I can’t imagine someone of color doing the same thing.”
Faith herself told HL exclusively that she thinks Stassi & Kristen weren’t genuine in their approach after the situation exploded. “As far as reaching out to me personally — Kristen did a public statement with Stassi — then after being pressured to privately apologize to me from all of the amazing supporters out there, she [Kristen] did. She directly apologized to me through a [Instagram] DM. So, it’s just unfortunate that she did that after being pressured.”
Sourse: hollywoodlife.com
