It might be one of Bravo’s most addictive series, but a Vanderpump Rules boycott has fans quitting cold turkey and ditching the series amid the latest scandal involving Tom Sandoval.
Now, at this point, there have been so many scandals involving Sandoval that it can be difficult to keep them all straight.
Like most of the controversies involving the reality-star-turned-pariah, this one has to do with Sandoval’s affair with Raquel Leviss and his ongoing determination to dig himself an even deeper hole.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Sandoval played the victim and compared his situation to the protests over the murder of George Floyd.
Not surprisingly, those remarks resulted in some pretty major backlash.
And now, the public reaction to Sandoval’s latest act of stupidity could threaten the future of the show that made him famous.
Vanderpump Rules Boycott: Why Are Fans Ditching the Popular Series?
Ahead of Tuesday night’s installment of Vanderpump, fans on the show’s subreddit announced that they would be skipping the episode in protest of what they say is Bravo’s decision to cosign the controversial star’s behavior.
“I’m skipping out tonight and genuinely curious if anyone else is,” wrote one user, adding:
“I know I’m just one viewer, but I’m a really dedicated one, and I’m sick of Bravo’s sh-t and Sandoval-apologist f-ckery.”
Some commenters in that thread revealed that they’re ditching the show less because of Sandoval’s behavior and more because of the declining quality of the series in the wake of Raquel Leviss’ exit.
The Beginning of the End For Tom Sandoval and Company?
“It’s all so overproduced and awkward now it feels almost insulting the viewers,” wrote one user.
“At this point, I feel like the entire cast is dragging this drama on far longer than they need or even want to because they know it brings in viewers and money,” another added.
Those comments were echoed in a review from the Daily Beast‘s Alec Karam, who suggested that last night’s episode might have been the worst in Vanderpump history.
“We’ve gotten an episode so pedestrian it begs the question: Did the Scandoval save Vanderpump Rules or irreconcilably break it?” Karam asked.
Karam noted that for all their criticism of Sandoval on social media, the other cast members seemed surprisingly willing to let bygones be bygones during the group trip to Lake Tahoe.
“On one hand, it’s interesting that this group who lambasted Sandoval incessantly on social media and podcasts are too timid to do anything of the sort in person,” he wrote.
“On the other hand, it’s a reminder that this group is fractured and doesn’t gel organically. A cast full of keyboard warriors isn’t fascinating TV.”
Yes, the old Vanderpump group chemistry has gone the way of the dodo — and we’re talking about the extinct bird, not slipping in another subtle dig at Sandoval.
But hey. at least if they get the ax soon, the cast can blame it on the boycott, thus drawing attention away from the fact that their show just isn’t very good anymore.