Due to careers in reality television and the restaurant business, Lisa Vanderpump and her
husband, Ken Todd, have a combined net worth of $90 million. But does their wealth save
them from drama or simply add to it? Let's dig into the shady side of Lisa Vanderpump
to find out.
Speaking of drama, it was in the ninth season of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" when
the Puppygate scandal occurred and had everlasting effects on the show. In short, prior to filming,
the feud involved fellow housewife Dorit Kemsley adopting a dog from the Vanderpump Pet Foundation's
rescue center. When things didn't work out with her family and the dog, Kemsley gave
the dog to a friend who she thought would provide her with a quote, "beautiful home."
Unbeknownst to Kemsley, however, the dog she adopted from Vanderpump's foundation actually
ended up at a shelter.
So, how did the press even find out about the goings-on involving Kemsley and the dog
from Lisa Vanderpump's foundation, since it happened prior to filming season nine? That's
exactly what the other women of the show wanted to know. Kemsley, along with several others
on the show, believe that Vanderpump leaked the Puppygate story to Radar, where it originally
took off in the press. This obviously caused a rift between Vanderpump and Kemsley and
even affected other relationships, including the longtime friendship of Kyle Richards and
Vanderpump, who ultimately had a falling out on the show. In the end, Vanderpump found
herself on the outs with most of the other ladies, and it proved to be the final straw
for the series OG, who exited the show and even snubbed the season reunion to boot.
According to a 2013 Radar report, Vanderpump and her husband, Ken Todd, were, quote, "named
in a fraud, breach of contract and deceit lawsuit which [sought] to stop the reality
television couple from opening a new venue in West Hollywood." To make a long story short,
Lisa and her husband leased and began work on a new restaurant in West Hollywood. The
problem, as alleged by the plaintiffs in the suit, was that they had already, quote, "entered
into an agreement" to develop the same property into "a gay sports bar". When they encountered
issues with financing the project, the property owner circumvented the plaintiff's deal and
leased the spot to Vanderpump and Todd instead. Sounds a little shady, right?
Interestingly enough, it wasn't Vanderpump's only questionable business deal. In 2019,
fellow housewife NeNe Leakes claimed that Vanderpump, quote, "did some real foul s---
to me" when she stole the location for her restaurant and lounge, Pump, out from under
her after Leakes stumbled upon the bar location and told Vanderpump about it. Vanderpump denied
Leakes' allegation, claiming that she learned of the spot via the same landlord as the landlord
at SUR. Vanderpump added:
"It's 200 yards down the road. I didn't really need anyone to point it out to me, but thanks
anyway."
There have been many dishes coined over the years from Lisa Vanderpump's uber-famous restaurants,
including the "Famous Goat Cheese Balls," which are served at SUR. But is the food at
Vanderpump's restaurants actually worth stealing? Not likely.
According to a post from a manager at Pump, "Real Housewives of Orange County" cast member
Kelly Dodd dined at Vanderpump's establishment in 2016 only to become, quote, "irate" and
claim she was not responsible to pay her party's bill after they had "all stepped out," leaving
her with the tab. On an episode of Vanderpump's reality show, "Overserved With Lisa Vanderpump",
Vanderpump confirmed that Dodd, quote, "kinda came into Pump and didn't pay a bill".
"It takes a lot to get me pissed off, and I'm really pissed off right now."
These allegations did not make for a happy customer as Dodd then turned to her Twitter
to post some since-deleted tweets stating:
"THIS IS A LIE. A) It was 6 yrs ago. B) I was a guest of Vicki Gunvalson & her friends.
C) I paid my share & have the receipt. It was others who didn't pay! No wonder Villa
Blanca went under. #RevisionistHistory"
Vanderpump later apologized in a tweet to Dodd and said:
"I apologize if there was a fiasco and apologize on behalf of my staff. Would love to host
you."
If you've ever tuned into a full season of Bravo's "Vanderpump Rules", you'll likely
remember how there's usually at least one episode — sometimes two, depending on the
drama that goes down — dedicated to showcasing Lisa Vanderpump and her staff celebrating
LA Pride. Vanderpump has even been dubbed the "Patron Saint Of Pride," as she rode through
the 2019 Pride Parade in a Rolls Royce convertible.
Keeping that in mind, it may seem a bit strange to learn that during a confessional scene
in an episode of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" in which Vanderpump was taking a lie
detector test in regards to the Puppygate scandal, she made what some viewed as a transphobic
joke about her co-star, Erika Jayne. We're not going to repeat it here.
After the episode aired and Vanderpump faced backlash over the comment, she reached out
to Us Weekly to release a statement, which said:
"It was not my intention to belittle the trans community with my poor choice of words directed
toward Erika. I have nothing but respect and love for trans people around the world, as
I have been a staunch supporter, provided employment, offered emotional support and
championed LGBTQ issues."
Apparently, when you have a television show on Bravo where the dramatic lives and loves
of the staff are captured within the walls of your lavish restaurant, even A-list celebs
want to see what the fuss is all about.
When "American Horror Story" actor Sarah Paulson — who is a self-professed "Real Housewives"
fan — sat down to do Vanity Fair's Lie Detector Test, naturally she was asked if she would
"miss Lisa Vanderpump" on "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Paulson's response was:
"You know, I don't want her coming after me on Twitter. But, I won't miss her."
Paulson then clarified her previous claim by saying she'd, quote, "miss the dynamic
she brings to the group," but she actually "met her once at a party and she wasn't that
nice to [her]." Ouch.
Vanderpump turned to her Twitter in response to Paulson's claims with a photo showing herself
and Paulson at a Hollywood event. In the photo, Paulson is holding Vanderpump's famous dog,
Giggy, who passed away in late 2020. Vanderpump's tweet stated:
"Apparently @MsSarahPaulson you are in a picture with me holding my precious lil giggy, I rarely
let anybody hold him as he is so delicate, you must be friendly with one of those mean
girls. I have no reason to be anything but kind to you."
Hmm… a little hard to decipher what exactly happened there.
One might think that the staff at Lisa Vanderpump's famous Hollywood restaurant and lounges would
get the best treatment as there's cameras around a lot of the time to capture things
for "Vanderpump Rules," but it turns out that may not be the case.
According to E!, in December 2019, a former employee of SUR, Pump, and Tom Tom filed a
class action lawsuit against Vanderpump and her husband for, quote, "allegedly breaking
California labor laws at their restaurants." The suit alleges that Vanderpump and her husband:
"Failed to pay workers minimum and overtime wages, provide proper meal and rest breaks,
provide accurate wage statements or provide workers with pay stubs at the end of their
employment."
In July 2020, E! reported that Vanderpump was facing another class action lawsuit from
a different employee with claims of the same nature.
In March 2021, The Sun reported yet another class action lawsuit that was filed against
Vanderpump in the fall of 2020 by an ex-employee who claimed that Vanderpump's restaurant,
Pump, has, quote, "failed to pay overtime wages," as well as manipulated or edited employees
time sheets in order to "show lesser hours than actually worked during the pay period."
The outlet also reported that in November 2020, the couple "filed a formal response
and denied all accusations against them."
Even though former "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast member Brandi Glanville left the
series after Season 5, she popped back in during Season 9 after all of the Puppygate
drama. According to People, in Glanville's mini-return to the series, she didn't waste
any time taking sides. She tweeted:
"My truth about LVP is that she tried to ruin my life! She had employees trash my wine,
she gave ultimatums on the show it was either her or me, she conveniently lost her memory
during my lawsuit which cost me all my savings. So yes she is my personal devil."
The lawsuit Glanville referenced is a defamation lawsuit reality star Joanna Krupa filed against
her, in which Vanderpump was deposed.
After the news was confirmed that Lisa Vanderpump was officially leaving "Real Housewives of
Beverly Hills," Glanville fired off this celebratory tweet:
"Just because one clown quits doesn't mean the circus is over! Hire a new clown."
Yikes.
You don't need to watch more than an episode of "Vanderpump Rules" to get a sense for Lisa
Vanderpump's affinity for dogs. She told USA Today that the animals adopted through her
rescue center, The Vanderpump Dog Foundation, are grateful and, quote, "embrace their new
[lives]". At the time of the May 2020 interview, Vanderpump also had six dogs herself.
According to Page Six, in 2017, Lizzie Scherer, the owner of Saving Spot dog rescue centre,
alleged that Vanderpump and her husband, quote, "actively came after my rescue shelter and
ruined me." The relationship fizzled after the couple stiffed her out of $32,000... forcing
her out of business. The original plan was to turn the dog shelter into a Vanderpump
Dog Foundation, but things escalated even more between them when Scherer and her husband,
Bill DeWitt, filed a lawsuit seeking $500,000 for breach of contract, fraud and physical
assault. Vanderpump called the claims, quote, "b-------" and planned to "fight this all
the way."
That wasn't the only dog-related drama for Vanderpump. According to People, in January
2020, a former employee of Vanderpump Dogs adoption services sued the foundation for
sexual harassment at the hands of a manager, who was named as the defendant in the case.
Lisa Vanderpump is no stranger to posting cute selfies with her husband and business
partner, Ken Todd, on her Instagram page. But has it always been diamonds and rosé
for their marriage of nearly 40 years? It's hard to say.
Vanderpump's ex-friend, Cedric Martinez spoke out on his podcast, "Behind the Velvet Rope,"
and said that Vanderpump, quote, "had a thing [or] two with a captain [of] a yacht." Martinez
went on to say that Vanderpump even described it to her friend by saying:
"He kissed me. I didn't want to, but he kissed me with such passion and things [...] I haven't
felt in years."
But wait, there's more!
In 2013, Vanderpump was a contestant on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," and she allegedly
came out of the experience with more than a love of dancing. While a guest on "The Bellas
Podcast," Vanderpump revealed that she thought her partner, Gleb Savchenko, was, quote, "beyond
gorgeous" and the two got "very close" during training and filming. She even went on to
say:
"We had a little bit of an emotional affair in terms of having to connect and hold on
to each other because it's so scary [...] I adored him."
According to People, even though Lisa Vanderpump claims to have a special bond with her staff
and fellow castmates and that she "loves them," things aren't always going to go super smoothly.
During the Season 7 finale of "Vanderpump Rules," longtime bartender Ariana Madix, who's
boyfriend, Tom Sandoval, works with Vanderpump in partnership with fellow co-star Tom Schwartz
at the bar Tom Tom, voiced her opinion to her boss about her treatment of the men throughout
their professional relationship. But on the "Vanderpump Rules" Season 7 After Show, Madix
then spoke about regretting her decision to speak up to Vanderpump. She said:
"She'll never take what I'm saying seriously; I'll always be her minion. What is the point?
All I'm going to do is make her mad. She'll get vindictive."
Those are some strong words. According to Us Weekly, Vanderpump later defended her relationship
when she stated that she has a, quote, "jovial relationship with the Toms".
Also, on the Season 8 finale of "Vanderpump Rules," Vanderpump let longtime employee Jax
Taylor have it after he didn't want to wear a matching t-shirt with his co-workers for
a staff photo shoot. Vanderpump sounded off with:
"You have a habit of self-destruction, you know that? I don't know if it's a need to
be the center of attention, but, come on."
Seriously, guys — where's the love?
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