LISA Vanderpump is being pushed out of her show Vanderpump Rules, it has been claimed.
Despite being an executive producer on the reality TV show since the series' 2013 premiere, Lisa's role has changed significantly in recent years
When it first began, most of the cast members worked for Lisa at her SUR restaurant in West Hollywood, but they have all since become famous and have their own careers.
Lisa was mostly seen chatting one-on-one with the stars at her home during Season 11 in the aftermath of Tom Sandoval's cheating scandal, but she is getting less screen time, according to a Hollywood insider.
The show is currently on hiatus, but sources previously told The U.S. Sun that Bravo is still planning to greenlight at least one more season.
Author Thea de Sousa, who recently released The Unofficial Vanderpump Rules Ultimate Trivia Book, claims she may not have a big part if it does indeed return.
"I heard....Bravo has been trying to push Lisa Vanderpump out of the show.
"First of all her paycheck, [the] number that she adds to the show, second of all, her relevancy, with the cast having moved on from her restaurants.
"For the past season, they've been trying to minimize her contact with the show. That's Bravo's doing. That's nothing to do with the cast.
"So people are perceiving that to be Lisa distancing herself, and it's not. It's the other way around. It's the show trying to distance itself from Lisa.
"She's at like a guest star level now on Vanderpump. It's a lot less money."
The U.S. Sun reached out to Lisa's team and Bravo for comment but did not hear back.
'DEMOTING' BIG STARS
Thea previously alleged that the show is becoming too expensive, as cast members get a pay bump every season and the likes of Ariana Madix make around $600,000 a year.
She claimed the only way to reduce their pay is to "demote" them, so they have less airtime on the show.
"So now we're up to Season 12, so you can imagine how completely just underwater Bravo is in terms of paying this cast, and that's been the issue since spring," Thea said.
“That's been the reason why they didn't film over the summer. They couldn't handle the same contracts.
"So they had to start negotiating [with] people and trying to move people down from maybe main cast member to "friend of," which they had tried to do a couple [of] seasons before."
Following "Scandoval," many cast members are not close friends anymore, while Ariana refuses to film with her ex [Tom], and the show needs new stars.
Thea claimed around Season 10 they were looking to do a spin-off at Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz's bar, Schwartz and Sandy's, but the plan was scrapped.
"It was supposed to be cameras up mid-October and that's already been postponed. So, that's happened about three times now where they've said, ‘Okay, we're almost ready,’ but they have not greenlit."
Asked about the rumors the network wants to "demote" stars, a Bravo spokesperson said, "There is absolutely no truth to this reporting."
Earlier this year, Lisa told The U.S. Sun she has been expecting Vanderpump Rules to end every year for the past three years, but then the cast creates drama and it's back on screen.
"Take a breath, we'll be back," she laughed.
Lisa also previously opened up about her role on the show to the Wall Street Journal, explaining how sad she was when Sandoval cheated on his long-term girlfriend Ariana with their friend, Rachel Leviss.
"As a mother figure and as a cast member, it was devastating to see an existing relationship break down in such a brutal and public way," Lisa said.
She said she gets "emotionally involved" with what's going on with the cast and admitted the scandal caught her off guard.
"As a producer, of course, it's interesting to capture exactly what's transpiring, and that's what they signed up for. And the cast are very good about actually being pretty honest with what's going on in their lives," she explained.
"I think that’s why people felt cheated when they found out this had happened, and that they didn't know, because normally we know more than we want to."
Aside from Vanderpump Rules she also has many businesses she runs with her family, along with adopted dogs to look after.
"I spread myself thin," Lisa admitted, adding, "But once I’m there, I give my all."
Source : www.the-sun.com
