Katie Maloney made a dig about how Lala Kent accused others on Vanderpump Rules of caring too much about public opinion — while potentially doing the same thing.
During the Tuesday, July 2, episode of the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, Katie, 37, was asked whether she thought Lala, 33, revealed their private conversations at the season 11 reunion because she was getting too much backlash from the public.
“Would you say [she was] living in the comment section?” Katie quipped. The response was a reference to Lala’s reunion claims that their costars — such as James Kennedy and Scheana Shay — were behaving based on how they thought Bravo fans wanted them to.
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules picked back up mere months after Tom Sandoval‘s affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss made headlines — and ended his nine-year relationship with Ariana Madix. While most of the cast initially sided with Ariana, 39, following her split from Sandoval, 41, some wavered in their loyalty as the season continued.
Lala specifically questioned how Ariana was navigating their split after the scandal. She continued to stir the pot at the reunion after accusing Katie of talking about Ariana behind her back — but not addressing it on the show.
“I think we were at odds because from my point of view, she was not very honest this season. I don’t recognize that Katie [because] the reason why she and I really freaking connect is because we are no bulls—t,” Lala explained on a May episode of the Vanderpump Rules After Show. “You may not like what comes out of our mouths, it may be harsh or aggressive but this is what it is.”
Lala went on to quote what Katie said about Ariana.
“She was getting annoyed like, ‘I’m the only one doing things for this sandwich show. Where is she? She’s always late on her half of the rent. She’s dropping the ball,’” Lala claimed. “She was very worried about rocking the boat after she invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into this restaurant and her business partner is Ariana. I can’t say I wouldn’t feel the same way. I probably would. She had opinions. You can have opinions and still have Ariana’s back.”
In response, Katie has argued that she worked out her issues with Ariana before cameras were picked back up for season 11. As a result, Katie didn’t feel the need to reference the drama, despite Lala’s accusations that she wasn’t being honest.
“I felt like obviously she had been harboring certain feelings and thinking certain things that I didn’t know she had felt. And so she was saving them for the reunion, which I didn’t feel like was super authentic,” Katie noted on Tuesday’s podcast. “To sit there and be called an inauthentic person or fake. But meanwhile, I’m sitting next to somebody who I thought I knew and knew very well and was open and honest with me but had been feeling a certain way about me for a very long time. That was shocking.”
Katie also hinted that she couldn’t see herself getting to a better place with Lala right now.
“Once you violate my trust like that, it’s very hard to come back from. Trust is the most important thing to me. And when you try to manipulate me with that and use it against me and say we talked about these things,” Katie continued. “Those weren’t the kind of conversations that were meant for the camera. Not everything is. … I’m allowed to have some kind of privacy and talk about emotions with people. I do with my mom, I do with other friends.”
Meanwhile, Lala hasn’t discussed the show much since news broke about season 12 being put on pause. Lala did issue an apology, however, after getting backlash for comments she made about fans on her “Give Them Lala” podcast.
“I’ve made comments on this podcast I’m sure you remember that were not kind. And I think it’s no secret that I react off of emotion most of the time. I have always been that way. It gets me into a lot of trouble. It puts me into hot water,” Lala said on a May episode. “It’s also made me have to apologize more than anyone should have to. And not because of anybody else, but because I simply see something I don’t like, hear something I don’t like, and go for the jugular because I feel hurt.”
Lala said it has taken time for her to accept that her reality is different.
“This was the first season in my eight years of doing the show that my show reality and my reality could not coexist. They had to be so separate that if one touched the other, it took me out,” she detailed. “So what I want to do right now is focus on the facts of things. My feelings are not facts. But what I can tell you is this show is based on perspective. That’s a fact. The cast is going to have a perspective. The audience is going to have a perspective.”
She concluded: “Because the cast having an opinion allows us to make a show, and the audience having an opinion allows us to make a show. The combination of those two things has allowed Vanderpump Rules to be a successful show for the past 11 years. Fact. I want you guys to know that this show is something I am extremely grateful for.”
Vanderpump Rules season 11 is currently streaming on Peacock.