Lisa Vanderpump addressed the past racist tweets of two of her employees on the Vanderpump Rules reunion.
The reunion, which was taped via Zoom several weeks ago from the cast members’ Los Angeles-area homes, aired amid nationwide protests against police brutality and racism following the horrific death of George Floyd . During the discussion, the cast’s own racially insensitive past was brought up by host Andy Cohen.
In resurfaced tweets dating back nearly a decade, Vanderpump’s TomTom general manager Max Boyens used the N-word, posted homophobic tweets, and made derogatory comments about Asians. Brett Caprioni, a server at SUR, also used the N-word in old tweets.
On the Season 8 virtual reunion, Vanderpump said she has never seen that side of her restaurant employees.
“I have never seen any inkling of anything that would make me believe that that’s the beliefs they’re holding now,” Vanderpump said, per People . “And if I had, they wouldn’t be working for me.”
The Bravo star also looked at the rest of the Vanderpump Rules cast to remind them that if she had to fire every one of them that has made mistakes, “probably none of you would have a job.”
Boyens, whose grandfather is black and mother is biracial, said he posted the inappropriate tweets nearly 10 years ago when he was a teenager and that he cringes to think that he ever said those things. The bar manager added that there’s “no excuse” for his past behavior.
Caprioni also acknowledged his past and said his hurtful words are something he regrets “deeply.” The Vanderpump Rules newcomer explained that he and his friends were just “making jokes with each other” at the time, but that he knows it was a “dumb” thing to do.
“I’m doing my best to move forward and be the best person I can be,” Caprioni added.
On social media, some viewers fired back at the timing of the reunion and asked how Bravo and Vanderpump can justify keeping Boyens and Caprioni on the payroll.
“In lieu of the recent unrest around the world due to systemic racism, how can you justify keeping [Brett Caprioni] and [Max Boyens] on VPR ?” one viewer tweeted. “Allowing them is the very essence of what the protests represent.”
“[Lisa Vanderpump], the fact that u justified their comments & behaviors is the entire premise of the protests right now. I can’t help but express my disappointment,” another tweeted.
Boyens and Caprioni previously apologized for their past social media behavior after the racist tweets resurfaced just as the two were introduced as new cast members on Vanderpump Rule s.
