Lisa Vanderpump may be refusing to film with some of her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills costars, but Kyle Richards hopes their friendship can survive the drama in the 90210.
“You know? I love her, I really do. She’s a good friend of mine for many years and I love doing the show with her and I hope so. We have fun together, laugh together, so we shall see,” Richards, 49, told Us Weekly exclusively at the Rebag Los Angeles Store Opening in West Hollywood on Thursday, November 8.
Us broke the news in October that Vanderpump, 58, was not on speaking terms with her castmates, including Richards. An insider told Us that many of the women, including Lisa Rinna, Teddi Mellencamp, Erika Jayne and Dorit Kemsley, allegedly caught the Vanderpump Rules star in a lie. Another source revealed that Vanderpump’s husband, Ken Todd, got into a heated argument with Richards while filming the series.
“I keep seeing stories out there that she’s not been invited and excluded. She’s invited to every single thing that we’re … everyone’s been invited to everything,” Richards told Us. “There has not been any event that she’s not been invited to. So if she’s not there, it’s because it’s her choice. So, I mean, I love Lisa and I have to respect that it’s her choice.”
She added: “People speculating or people saying, ‘Oh, she’s being bullied or excluded’ is not true. That’s not the case at all. So they’re going to have to watch this season and see themselves, but, you know, she’s always included, and I guess if she wants to come around and show up, she will.”
While none of Richards’ RHOBH costars were in attendance on Thursday, her sister Kathy Hilton, close friend Faye Resnick and Rebag founder and CEO, Charles Gorra, were all at the event. As for reports that Bravo has yet to announce a premiere date for season 9 of the Bravo hit because of the drama with Vanderpump, the American Woman producer does not believe that is the case.
“You know what? We started later this year, so every year we start a little later and later. At the very beginning, we premiered in October. Then it was November, then it was December, so over the years, its kind of gone on,” Richards explained. “A lot of it actually has to do with our schedules ourselves, so we had to get all of the traveling out of the way over the summer before we started to shoot. Because before we were like, ‘One’s not back yet, one’s not back yet.’”
When RHOBH does finally return, Richards told Us that fans can expect “craziness.”
“It’s, like, a wild ride this season, I swear,” she teased. “You never know what’s going to happen. Every day, I’m like, ‘What is happening next?’ I don’t even know.”
With reporting by Emily Marcus
