In early March, my girlfriend and I went on a vacation to Los Angeles, specifically in the city Burbank. It was our first vacation trip together, and it was a very “me” trip according to her. We went to a Laker game (the last one for awhile), saw the Hollywood sign, and went to Universal Hollywood amongst other activities. She only had one request: having dinner at SUR in West Hollywood.
I knew nothing about SUR. However, my girlfriend is a massive reality television fan, and SUR is owned by Lisa Vanderpump. Vanderpump is one of the original cast members of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and her own spinoff show, Vanderpump Rules, that chronicles the lives and personal drama of the employees at SUR. So when we went, my girlfriend is mentioning this and that and that over there that she’s seen on the show. And one of the cast members who is the manager of SUR, Peter, cleared our table when we were done. She was freaking out while I just saw some random dude.
What does this have to do with quarantine? Well when we returned from vacation, the pandemic kicked into high gear and stay at home orders were implemented. I was having trouble coping at first, always worrying about COVID and reading all about it. I was looking for a distraction from the outside world. On Hulu, I happened to see Vanderpump Rules by chance. After some thought, I figured I’d give it a look. Just to say “its cool that I was like…right there”. Well needless to say…I got a tad hooked!
My girlfriend was surprised, mainly on account of how many times I’ve made jokes about her watching reality television and how much it is ridiculous. To be honest, the lives and interpersonal drama between the employees at SUR got my mind off of the pandemic. With that, I wanted to highlight some thoughts I have with Vanderpump Rules.
THOUGHTS ON LISA VANDERPUMP
Lisa Vanderpump is an absolute boss. She can be very intimidating but there is something about her that absolutely draws me in. Lisa is someone I wouldn’t mind working for, yet would be terrified of at the same time! She is also a great champion for the LGBTQ community, heavily featuring in Pride Weekend each year and her work with rescue dogs through her organization Vanderpump Dogs. It's good to see her philanthropy and how it inspires the cast members to strive to be like her. Hands down my favorite moment of hers was when she told Stassi: “You’re not important enough to hate. Sit down”. Stassi’s reaction was priceless…and so was mine!
MY FAVORITE CAST MEMBER
My favorite cast member in the show is Ariana Madix. First appearing in season 2, Ariana found herself in the middle of a situation with Tom Sandoval and Kristen Doute, who were dating at the time. Eventually, Ariana ended up with Sandoval in season 3 and they have been together ever since. What I love about Ariana is that she seems really down to earth and tries not to get caught up in all the bullshit drama that arises. She really know what she wants out of life and does not let others influence her as easily as some other cast members are influenced. She is definitely someone I wouldn’t mind hanging out with!
WHAT I DON’T UNDERSTAND
Now I understand that a big part of reality television is the drama that brings in viewers and every show has one character that is usually in the center of it. But what I don’t understand about this show is Jax Taylor. Now the thing about Jax is that he is usually always lying or caught up in a lie. He didn’t get a girl pregnant in Vegas, he didn’t sleep with Kristen or Faith, he got a job in Florida with a hockey team, came home and found Brittany and Kristen hooking up, the list goes on and on. I just wonder if the rest of the cast actually trusts him in the slightest or if its all done for drama but I’d guess the latter. Sometimes, fights would break out because people would gossip about others but to my surprise people would tell a different tale of events than what actually happened. I found that to be a little bit ridiculous every time. And maybe...just maybe if everyone didn't drink so much nearly every single time they went out or on a trip there would be less drama. But what do I know? I’m a newbie at this reality television thing!
FINAL THOUGHTS AND FUTURE
Unfortunately, Vanderpump Rules has been in the news over the last few weeks as four cast members were fired for various racist remarks and behaviors over the past few years. Stassi and Kristen were fired for their treatment of former cast member Faith Stowers, the only black cast member to date, while Max and Brett were fired over past racist tweets. I am really disappointed in Stassi Schroeder’s past behavior because to me she had the arc that changed the most over the course of the show. I will admit that I was one hundred percent against Stassi in season one but slowly over time I came to like her to my surprise. She started off as kind of a brat but really built her brand and her career. Who knows what comes next as she loses sponsorships, shows and speaking engagements left and right. I'm sure the show will continue, but nowadays you never know. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if another cast member (possibly Jax) or members also get fired for something in their past. At this point anything is fair game.
Will I continue to watch Vanderpump Rules? I guess my answer is probably, given all the time I’ve put into it. It also gives me and my girlfriend something to bond over since I’m always dragging her with me to superhero films (her words not mine!). Has Vanderpump Rules given me the reality television bug? No, I don’t think I'll be venturing into other shows…there’s like a bajillion of them and I barely kept up with the crazy of this one! But it will be cool next time we go to SUR and Peter’s there and I can turn to my girlfriend and say “Yeah, I know who that is now”, and that will be cool…I guess!
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