Lisa Vanderpump has been adamant she had nothing to do with leaking the ‘puppygate’ story to the press — even leaving the show after co-star Kyle Richards called her out.
Now, one of the show’s executive producers is speaking out and has revealed that Lisa did, in fact, leak the story.
via Page Six:
“When Lisa lost the narrative in the show, and she realized that it wasn’t going the way she wanted, that’s when she leaked the story to the press,” “RHOBH” executive producer Chris Cullen told Dave Quinn in his “Housewives” tell-all book “Not All Diamonds and Rosé.”
The doggie dustup began when co-star Dorit Kemsley adopted a dog from Vanderpump Dogs — but then gave it away to another family when she decided it wasn’t a right fit.
The family later placed the dog in a kill shelter, which alerted Vanderpump Dogs, and led Vanderpump to confront Kemsley about her handling of the pooch situation.
Shortly after the incident, an inside source leaked Kemsley’s story to the press. The cast accused Vanderpump of doing so, which she vehemently denied.
The cast eventually turned on Vanderpump, causing her to leave the show halfway through Season 9.
Later on in the season, Vanderpump asked another producer to “sit the cast down and tell them they needed to believe her [about not leaking the story]” executive producer and Evolution Media President Alex Baskin claimed. He said he refused her request to gather the cast.
The scandal led Vanderpump to leave the series and severed relationships between her and fellow cast members, including her former best friends Kyle Richards and Kemsley.
Richards, 52, and Vanderpump have not repaired their relationship, and they have continued to take digs at one another. Most recently, Vanderpump claimed that Richards had spread rumors about co-star Erika Jayne and estranged husband Tom Girardi’s financial and personal woes at Andy Cohen’s 2019 baby shower.
Richards denied spreading the rumor, however, and claimed Vanderpump “wasn’t even at the baby shower” where the alleged gossiping took place.
“One could argue perhaps that maybe her [Vanderpump’s] memory is fading along with her relevance,” Richards said on an episode of “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” in September.
Vanderpump then responded on Twitter, “Doesn’t the saying go that people who are good liars use jokes to deflect? Good job Kyle we believe you did start the rumors.”
Girardi’s now-disgraced law firm, Girardi Keese, owes over $101 million in debt, while Jayne, 50, is also being sued for $25 million by the trustee handling the Girardi Keese bankruptcy case.
We knew Lisa did it. ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ four-part reunion continues Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
