Credit: Bravo/Todd Williamson, Instagram
Lisa Vanderpump is firing back at Rachel “Raquel” Leviss‘ suggestion that she attempted to use her former dog, Graham, to lure her back to Vanderpump Rules — and set her up for an on-camera surprise reveal of the dog being given back to her former fiance, James Kennedy, with whom she previously shared the pet.
While attending the Pump Rules season 11 premiere party on Wednesday, Lisa, 63, gave a nod to Raquel’s despicable betrayal of Ariana Madix, 38, whose now-ex-boyfriend, Tom Sandoval, 41, she slept with for months, as she called out Raquel, 29, for failing to have her “facts” straight and reacted to her tell-all podcast interview with Bethenny Frankel, 53.
“Well, she also said that she’s Ariana [Madix]’s best friend. That’s how I respond to that,” Lisa told Us Weekly on January 17 after being asked about using Graham for a storyline. “I do think if she’s going to call something out, she should know the story. I take my dog foundation [The Vanderpump Dog Foundation] and rescuing dogs very seriously. That dog was brought to my attention, so I would not use that dog. It was delivered to Vanderpump Dogs, but you’re going to see the way it transpires [when season 11 airs].”
After Raquel entered a mental health facility in March 2023, she surrendered Graham to trainers at the California Doodle Rescue due to his aggressive behavior, which she has since blamed on James. A while later, the dog wound up at Vanderpump Dogs and was ultimately reunited with James, who has given him a new name: Hippie.
Although Graham seems to be doing well with James and girlfriend Ally Lewber, 29, who recently confirmed positive “progress,” Raquel said on her podcast earlier this month that a false story was put out about the animal.
“Basically, the story that they put out there is that Lisa told everyone that I surrendered my dog at a kill shelter and he was hours away from being euthanized,” she alleged on Rachel Goes Rogue.
In response, Lisa said, “She should get all the facts before she kind of makes these statements. And I don’t think anybody’s really trusting what she says. The lion doesn’t care what the sheep are doing.”
During a separate interview at the same event, Lisa admitted she wasn’t happy about Raquel’s August 2023 interview with Bethenny.
“I wish she’d actually come to me instead of sitting in the safety of somebody else’s podcast,” Lisa told Page Six. “Had she come to me, I think I would’ve been good to her. Because it’s one thing just saying this out here, just saying that out there. And some of it wasn’t true! Like I was paying her like an intern. I know exactly how much money she made. It was six figures. It was good!”
While Raquel told Bethenny she hadn’t “seen a penny” from “Scandoval,” Lisa previously said she made more than $350,000 for season 10.
She also said she wished Raquel had “come back and really spoken her truth.”
“She knows I’m not gonna be judgmental. I’m gonna listen and give her a moment,” Lisa noted. “All the people that are so involved in the story [simply] wanted to see growth [and] contrition.”
According to Lisa, she was interested in hearing how Raquel “felt” after she “went away for a few months.”
“I think it would’ve behooved her to come back. I really do,” she shared. “But maybe not the whole season because I think they were all pretty kind of reticent.”
Lisa then stated that a return may have been “too much for [Raquel],” adding that she “understand[s] that, too.”
Vanderpump Rules season 11 premieres on Tuesday, January 30, at 8/7c on Bravo.
