What Did Scheana Shay Say About the 'Vanderpump Rules' Production Team?

Of all the seasons that have occurred since the RHOBH spin-off, Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules was certainly the most polarizing. Thanks to the actions of Tom Sandoval, Season 10 and Season 11 both centered around the aftermath of his infidelity. Season 11, however, flipped the script with an obvious attempt to humanize Tom while attempting to vilify Ariana Madix. Scheana Shay and Lala Kent essentially turned against Ariana. They decided to forgive and side with Tom for reasons that remain unclear.

Whispers about the fate of Vanderpump Rules began to spread, and many fans began to wonder if the show was canceled after Bravo announced they wouldn't be filming this summer. Bravo said the reasoning behind the hiatus was to give the cast a break. After Scandoval broke the news, the network began filming Season 11 almost immediately following the Season 10 reunion. The reasoning for the hiatus is valid, but Scheana shared that production said the show was in danger of being canceled during Season 11 filming.

On her podcast, "Scheananigans with Scheana Shay," Scheana divulged that during the filming of Season 11, the cast was warned that the show might be canceled. She said, “I know Alex Baskin has said that midseason, the show was not in a good place.” She added, "It was, you know, 'X, Y, and Z need to happen. Or we’re going to have a short season, and the show’s going to be canceled, and that’s it. Go live your lives.'"

On her podcast, Scheana said that after hearing that the series could get canceled, she and Lala felt extra pressure to make sure they gave the viewers a good show. “Well, we don’t want the show to get canceled," she said during the episode. Scheana continued, "Not just for ourselves and our families, but there’s a crew of 80 to 100 people who work on this show." What she said sounds incredibly noble, but it also raises a question about the shift in their actions toward the end of the season.

Lala and Scheana were initially team Ariana, which makes sense as they were all extremely close at the time. As the season played out, however, viewers began noticing that they were beginning to warm up to Tom, which naturally infuriated Ariana. They went from being her best friends to adversaries. During the Season 11 reunion, they essentially attacked Ariana for respecting her personal boundaries. Many longtime fans of the show want Lala and Scheana fired for their actions.

During an event held by Variety, Vanderpump Rules executive producer Alex Baskin responded to a question about what Scheana claimed he said on her podcast. He admitted that there was a midseason meeting, but it was more focused on making sure the cast wasn't too overcome by what was happening on social media. Alex denied feeding the cast actions for the show. He said, “We basically were telling them to drown out the noise." He also said, "It didn’t mean that we gave them any specific talking points.”