Former 'Vanderpump Rules' Star Billie Lee Accuses Co-Stars of Trans Discrimination

The hit Bravo reality series Vanderpump Rules has been a major source of drama in the lives of Lisa Vanderpump's staff at SUR in West Hollywood. Over the years, viewers have seen cheating scandals, divorce fallouts, crumbling friend groups, and even folks wrongly accused of crimes.

With that said, we've seen a share of reality stars leave the show as quickly as they came: Dayna Kathan, Vail Bloom, Laura-Leigh, and many more. However, some are intrigued to discover the reason behind Billie Lee's departure from the show after Season 7. While she once said the timing wasn't right, she later told her truth and it's quite intriguing.

So, what happened to Billie Lee from Vanderpump Rules? Here's what we know.

On a January 2022 episode of the I Feel Tried podcast, hosted by Dez Andrew, Billie decided to spill the beans about her experience on Vanderpump Rules.

"People were trying to get on camera, people wanted to be famous," Billie told Dez. "And like, all I wanted to do was give a voice to the trans community. I was dismissed. I publicly came out and said that I left… but what happened was toward the end of the seventh season, I was told that Jax [Taylor] and them did not want to film with me."

Billie also shared that she was fired — although she previously claimed in a blog post, titled "Two Weeks Notice," that she left the show on her own. In that post, she said that her decision to leave Vanderpump Rules was heavily based on "bullying and discrimination" from some cast members.

"Some of my co-workers were threatened by my differences, going out of their way to exclude me, one demanding I be fired from the show because he didn’t feel comfortable working with me," Billie wrote. "His exact words were, 'I'm not gonna lose all I have worked hard for for something stupid I may say or do to offend her. Are we all supposed to tip-toe around her because she's trans?'"

After everything Billie went through during her time on Vanderpump Rules, it's safe to assume she's not considering a permanent return to the show. Despite it being years since she left and many other cast members departing under less-than-ideal circumstances, the environment appeared to be very toxic. However, she does pop up in the Feb. 6 episode at Sandoval's birthday party. And that could indicate a casual return to the series.

Outside of reality TV, Billie has various projects going on too — from her comedy career to her activism efforts and podcast, Billie and The Kid — so we can’t imagine that she’d put her endeavors to the side to rejoin the cast. At least, in a full-time capacity, anyway.

Billie still keeps in touch with some of her former co-stars, notably Tom Sandoval. On Feb. 1, 2024, Billie was spotted outside Tom and his ex-girlfriend, Ariana Madix's shared home — a situation that has stirred up some tension, especially with Ariana.

Just days earlier, Ariana expressed suspicions during the Vanderpump Rules After Show, which aired on Jan. 30, suggesting that Billie might be currently staying in the home: "I think Billie Lee literally lives in my house right now, by the way," the TV personality confessed.

However, a source close to Sandoval spoke with Page Six and denied Ariana's claims. They told the outlet, "She doesn't live there, but Tom and Billie are very close friends and have been forever. She goes over often just to hang out, like a lot of Tom's other friends. That's it."

Watch Vanderpump Rules on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.