For Stassi Schroeder, Vanderpump Rules was a career-changing opportunity, but she says it also came with a troubling reality that she couldn’t ignore.
The Bravo TV show was a juggernaut of a reality show about a group of friends hoping to make it in Hollywood while working at Lisa Vanderpump’s iconic restaurant, Sur. While there were plenty of makeups, breakups, and affairs, the men seemed to get off a lot easier than the women when it came to the show’s editing.
It’s a topic Schroeder openly discussed with her former Vanderpump Rules castmate Katie Maloney on her new Freeform and Hulu series, House of Stassi.
“I loved Vanderpump Rules, but it also is literally what we’re gonna have PTSD about and have to talk to therapists about for the rest of our life,” she said to Maloney, and added, “It was always, ‘Make the girls look psychotic, make the girls look like they have issues.’ They covered for the boys, they covered for the men.”
Anyone who watched the Scandoval unfold in Season 10, where Tom Sandoval cheated on his longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix with her bestie Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. The pop culture scandal drew the ire of fans, who were then shocked to see the redemption arc Sandoval was given in Season 11. His bad behavior appeared to be nothing but a fever dream.
Schroeder seems to be leaning into this narrative, and while she’s “appreciative” of the opportunities Vanderpump Rules gave her, she is also willing to admit that the show “normalized so much darkness.” A rewatch of her relationship with Jax Taylor in the early seasons of the series would send anyone into a tailspin.
It may seem like a contradiction for Schroeder to stay in the reality TV realm given her history, but she’s nailed a new title this time around: executive producer. That new role will give her more control over House of Stassi.
“I’m scared of reality TV, but it’s all I know. I love it, but I’m also traumatized by it,” she said in the first episode’s confessional. “But I can’t stay away from it. But I was not gonna let Vanderpump Rules be my legacy. I had to make this happen. I had to.”
Now, Schroeder is determined to rewrite the reality TV narrative. This time, it’s on her own terms.
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