Tom Sandoval shared some advice for the new cast of “Vanderpump Rules,” and it turned into a spontaneous defense of his former co-star Katie Maloney.
During a March 3 appearance on “Watch What Happens Live,” – which came three years to the day that Sandoval’s headline-making cheating scandal with Raquel Leviss was uncovered—Sandoval told Bravo host Andy Cohen that the newcomers should show respect to the cast members who paved the way for them to be on the show.
“First of all, I would say you’re on ‘Vanderpump Rules,’” Sandoval said as he looked at new cast member Chris Hahn. “And you know, whether you know, myself, Katie Maloney, the OG cast, you know, we’re the reason why that show is still on, and you’re here, you know what I mean?”
“Even if you didn’t know who Katie Maloney was, you probably shouldn’t have said that,” he told Hahn, referencing the newcomer’s past claim that he didn’t know who the VPR OG was.
He also urged Hahn to apologize to Maloney.
“But you know what? If you want, you can clear it up right now,” Sandoval continued. “I’m just trying to help you out, but you know, you could apologize maybe to Katie and the rest of the [cast].”
Cohen pointed out that Hahn did apologize to Maloney in a heartfelt social media post.
Chris Hahn Said He Respects Katie Maloney and the VPR OGs
BravoSandoval and Maloney were both original cast members on “Vanderpump Rules” and appeared in the first 11 seasons of the show. For Season 12, the entire cast was rebooted with Hahn, Jason Cohen, Venus Binkley, Shayne Davis, Angelica Jensen, Marcus Johnson, Audrey Lingle, Natalie Maguire, Demy Selem, and Kim Suarez all joining the series.
But during an appearance on the “Detox Retox” podcast, Maloney said the new cast “feels cheap, and I don’t like cheap.”
When asked about Maloney’s remark about the new cast, cast member Shayne Davis asked E! News. “Who’s Katie Maloney?” and Hahn added, “I don’t know who you are, Katie.”
Hahn received backlash from multiple VPR OG’s, including Maloney, who called out his OnlyFans storyline with his cousin on the 12th season of the show.
Hahn later told the “Gabbing With Gib” podcast that the backlash he received over the exchange was “humbling.”
“I think what I learned was to maybe do more due diligence,” he admitted. “The fact of the matter is, I meant no disrespect toward it, it was just my honest, genuine reaction. I have never watched the show. And I think I never really wanted to watch the show because I didn’t want to have any notions before, while filming …I didn’t want to have any preconceived ideas of what to expect. That was just my genuine reaction. I didn’t mean any disrespect to Katie at all.”
On WWHL, Hahn told Sandoval, “Like, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you guys. …. And I never meant for it to be disrespectful at all. It was just my genuine response to her talking negatively about it, you know, and she’s entitled to that opinion. And yeah, I’m just an [expletive] idiot.”
Tom Sandoval Said He’ll Always Defend What’s Right
Sandoval and Maloney did not have a friendship by the time they finished their run on “Vanderpump Rules.” Their final season on the show was strained after Sandoval cheated on Maloney’s close friend Ariana Madix with Leviss.
When WWHL host Cohen noted that viewers couldn’t believe that Sandoval “somewhat” defended Maloney with his lecture to Hahn, Sandoval explained why he did it.
“Yeah, I’m not the biggest fan of Katie,” the former “Vanderpump Rules” star admitted. “But you know me, when I see something I’ll always stand up for what I feel is right.”
