Vanderpump Rules stars Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute have been fired from the Bravo franchise after past racist actions against former co-star Faith Stowers resurfaced this week.
In a statement to ET, Bravo and Evolution Media confirmed on Tuesday that "Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni will not be returning to Vanderpump Rules."
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Earlier in the day, Variety confirmed that Schroeder had also been dropped by her publicist and agent, with UTA telling the outlet that Schroeder is no longer a client of the agency. Likewise, Metro Public Relations confirmed to Variety that they "made the decision this weekend to part ways with Stassi."
The fallout for Schroeder and Doute comes days after Stowers recalled a 2018 incident during an Instagram Live session.
"There was this article on Daily Mail where there was an African American lady. It was a weird photo, so she looked very light-skinned and had these different, weird tattoos," Stowers said. "They showcased her, and I guess this woman was robbing people. And they called the cops and said it was me."
"This is, like, a true story. I heard this from actually Stassi during an interview," Stowers added, seemingly referencing Schroeder's past appearance on the B*tch Bible podcast.
Around the same time as Schroeder's podcast appearance, Doute tweeted the Daily Mail article and a message to her followers.
"Hey tweeties, doesn’t this ex #pumprules thief look familiar? someone put her on MTV and gave her a platform for press. I didn’t wanna go there but I’m going there," she wrote, referencing Stowers.
Stowers told Page Six on Tuesday that she felt "vindicated" at the news that Schroeder and Doute had been fired from the show.
"I hope they use this time that they have now to educate themselves to why this happened to them and try to use [their] voice later for real change," she said. "I feel so vindicated studios and production are able to see blatant racism and make these positive changes and help move the race forward — help with the fight forward."
"I was ready to put myself in the line of fire, because I don’t know what will happen if I don’t say anything, but I'm glad I did," she added. "Now I’m seeing Bravo follow suit, releasing women that have given crazy ratings for them because they want to be on the right side of history, and I’m seeing people are finally hearing us."
Schroeder and Doute both issued statements of apology on Instagram on Sunday.
"Racially insensitive comments from my past have resurfaced. It is important that I continue to take accountability for what I have said and done, while pushing myself to do better," Schroeder wrote. "I have grown significantly from the person I was then, and I am still filled with remorse and regret for the hurt I caused. I am grateful for the people in my life that continue to check me and push me to evolve into a more educated person."
"I also want to address my former castmate, Faith Stowers. My emotions over something that happened between our friends outweighed my logic, and there is no excuse for that," she continued, alluding to Stowers' affair with Jax Taylor, who was dating his now-wife, Brittany Cartwright, at the time. "I did not recognize then the serious ramifications that could have transpired because of my actions."
"What I did to Faith was wrong," Schroeder added. "I apologize and I do not expect forgiveness. I am also sorry to anyone else that feels disappointed in me. I am going to continue to look closer at myself and my actions -- to take the time to listen, to learn, and to take accountability for my own privilege."
Meanwhile, Doute wrote that she's been "taking some time to really process what I've been seeing, feeling and learning" amid the recent protests.
"I need to address something specifically that happened a few years ago with my former castmate, Faith Stowers," she wrote. "Although, my actions were not racially driven, I am now completely aware of how my privilege blinded me from the reality of law enforcement's treatment of the black community, and how dangerous my actions could have been to her. It was never my intention to add to the injustice and imbalance."
"I'm ashamed, embarrassed, and incredibly sorry," Doute added. "I will do better. I have to do better."
Back in 2018, Stowers opened up to ET about the online bullying she had received as a result of the cast's backlash towards her following the Jax cheating scandal.
“It was just tough because social media is supposed to be this platform where you can help others and show people youe life,” she said, tearing up. “I did make the decision to live my life the way I did, and make the choices… but it was just tough because I wasn’t able to tell [the viewers] what really happened from my side, for them to change their opinion... So it was tough getting the backlash, some of her fans were, you know, saying really mean things to me…. I can act tough and [act] like it doesn’t bother me, but it bothers me.”
During last week's Vanderpump Rules reunion, Boyens and Caprioni also addressed their past use of racist, homophobic and misogynistic language in past tweets.
"I'm an adult now, and I cringe even thinking that I said those things," said Boyens, who repeatedly used the n-word and tweeted derogatory language against Asians. "We live in a generation now where saying some things, even if you are of that culture, is just frowned upon. I just want to say I'm just really, sincerely sorry. I'm not even — there's no excuse."
Caprioni also apologized again for his use of the n-word. "It wasn't okay then, it's not okay now," he said. "It's something I regret deeply, and it was just kind of making jokes with each other, like we'd literally be in the same room and just say stupid s— to each other, and it was a dumb f—ing thing to do. I'm doing my best to move forward and be the best person I can be, and try to emulate that to everybody else."
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