When Bravo announced that its beloved series “Vanderpump Rules” would be completely retooled with a brand-new cast for season 12, leaving only Lisa Vanderpump in the mix, fans quickly expressed doubt that the reboot could live up to the original.
VPR season 12 premiered on Dec. 2, and so far, it has received mixed reviews from viewers. The season is still in its early days, and those who have enjoyed it believe the show deserves time to find its footing. In fact, even amid all the backlash, the new cast remains optimistic and focused on winning fans over as the season unfolds.
‘Vanderpump Rules’ Season 12 Cast Reacts to Fans’ Mixed Reactions
BravoThe cast of the rebooted “Vanderpump Rules” season 12 isn’t letting negative reviews keep them up at night. In fact, the employees of Lisa Vanderpump’s SUR restaurant in West Hollywood say they’ve felt far more love than hate for the new season so far.
While speaking to Us Weekly, Audrey Lingle, who works as a server at SUR, shared, “Honestly, the amount of negativity has been overshadowed by all of the love, and it’s been so surprisingly overwhelming to feel that.”
She continued, “Anything that anyone has said that is negative has just been put in the ground tenfold by the kindness that people have given us.”
Venus Binkley, who has emerged as a standout this season, echoed Lingle’s comments.
“I just feel very grateful for all the love that we’ve had at SUR and all the fans that have come in. I know that there’s a lot of hate on the internet, but it just feels really nice to be surrounded by people who do love us, and the cast is sticking together no matter what,” he shared.
Cast member Marcus Johnson admitted that he’s “drowning out” the negative reviews.
“But there’s so much positive feedback and support that I’ve just been focused on that and the people that are here to enjoy and get to know us. I’m feeding into that, and I’m drowning out all the rest of it,” he told the outlet.
The Original VPR Cast Shared Support for the New Cast
BravoThe original cast of “Vanderpump Rules” had nothing but praise for the new cast. It’s certainly not easy to share your ups and downs on camera, take it from Ariana Madix, who shared with Extra, “Well, I’m excited to see, I guess, how it works. It’s such a hard thing to do I think, to put yourself out there.” She continued, “They have a tough road ahead of them, as, obviously, we’ve all lived. Anybody who’s done that has lived that, and I think they’ll be great. I think they’ll have fun.”
While attending BravoCon 2025, Tom Schwartz shared that he was “hyped” for the new season, though he acknowledged that the cast had big shoes to fill.
“I’m hyped for the new ‘Vanderpump.’ I’ve seen mixed reviews; it’s a polarizing thing because the original is sacred, it was lightning in a bottle, once in a lifetime cast, with like, deep-rooted relationships,” he shared.
On her “Untraditionally Lala” podcast, OG star Lala Kent sat down with season 12’s Natalie Maguire, sharing her honest thoughts after watching the first couple of episodes.
“Two things that I have noticed where I go, ‘Oh, this show is going to be really [expletive] good,’” Kent said to Maguire. “The security cam footage of you losing your [expletive] in SUR. You were making a fool of yourself; it was so real and authentic. That shows me that you guys were not putting on for the cameras.”
She also added that drama between the cast continued even after the cameras went down, showcasing that the cast isn’t creating fake drama.
“Cameras are fully down right now, but [expletive] is still popping off,” she shared, adding, “Oh my gosh, ‘Vanderpump Rules’ is alive and well.”
