Lala Kent Says Filming Season 11 of ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Left Her Feeling ‘Numb’ and ‘Checked Out’
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Season 10 of Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules” garnered the reality series an Emmy nomination while drawing record breaking viewership, thanks to the #Scandoval cheating scandal — but star Lala Kent tells Variety that the aftermath of the controversy that bled into Season 11 left her feeling “numb.”
“I think it’s gonna be really hard for me to watch this season, because I’m in a very different place,” she said. “It’s the first season that I felt a little bit numb, and a little checked out.”
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In Season 10, which concluded in June, Kent’s “Vanderpump Rules” cast members Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss — who has since left the show — were at the center of one of reality television’s greatest controversies, after it was revealed that he’d cheated on his long-term partner Ariana Madix with Leviss.
The #Scandoval has dominated headlines, landing Madix and Sandoval, respectively, on “Dancing With the Stars” and “The Masked Singer,” and generated two-“Vanderpump” adjacent spinoff series. The explosive season also shocked cast members, as they chose sides in the fallout. Filming for Season 11 commenced after the fallout from the scandal in order to capture the changed dynamic for the group of friends.
While hosting the Brent Shapiro Foundation for Drug Prevention Summer Spectacular in Beverly Hills on Saturday, Kent couldn’t pinpoint any one cast member who surprised her the most, but tells Variety she “saw sides of people that I didn’t think existed.”
Aside from being a part of the most-talked reality TV show of the year, Kent has been busy using her platform to advocate for causes she’s passionate about, including sobriety and drug prevention. “Sobriety is near and dear to my heart,” she says. “I seek fulfillment in many different areas, and advocacy is one that really fills my cup.”
Kent took to her Instagram last week in a now-deleted post to express her frustration about the tendency of outlets solely to cover drama — but she now says she understands.
“I’m not saying don’t write about pettiness — we all love to talk about those things,” she says. “Take my name out of it: I just want light to be shed on the things that I have my hands in, to truly make a difference in some small way.”
Kent continues: “I remember from a very early age, I said that I wanted to grow up and make a difference in this world. What good is my platform if it’s not used to do just that?”
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