If you’re a Vanderpump Rules fan, then by now, you’re almost certainly aware that Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute have been fired from the show for engaging in what appears to be racially-motivated abusive behavior.
And unlike two other cast members who were let go from the show that same week, Stassi and Kristen have been accused of something far worse than cracking racist jokes on Twitter.
By their own admission, Schroeder and Doute called the cops on Faith Stowers, who was their co-star at the time, and who is still the only Black cast member to ever appear and speak on camera in multiple episodes of Vanderpump.
Stassi and Kristen say they called the cops because they felt that Faith fit the description of a wanted criminal.
Stowers says they did so because they’re racist bullies.
Whatever the case, unless you’ve spent the past six months living in a cave on some distant planet, we probably don’t need to tell you why two white women siccing the LAPD on a Black co-worker they dislike is a bit of a problematic situation.
Even if Stassi and Kristen were somehow able to prove that they really thought Faith was a criminal, the "fits the description" line has been used to justify a whole lot bigotry over the years.
There’s really no way for these two to explain this situation away, and their only recourse at this point is to disappear for a while and try to become better people.
But Stassi is pregnant with her first child, and she needs to get her career back on track ASAP.
And so, she’s preparing to make the media rounds and embark on what should be one of the most awkward apology tours in recent memory.
Her first stop is the Tamron Hall show.
Hall is a highly-respected journalist, so Stassi certainly chose well for her first post-scandal interview.
But she also chose a serious interviewer, not some podcaster who’s made a career out of fawning over celebs.
So Schroeder might find that she’s out of her depth here, especially since her previous attempts to clear her name have been less than compelling.
"Racially insensitive comments from my past have resurfaced. It is important that I continue to take accountability for what I have said and done, while pushing myself to do better," Schroeder wrote on Instagram after she was fired.
“I have grown significantly from the person I was then, and I am still filled with remorse and regret for the hurt I caused," she added.
"I am grateful for the people in my life that continue to check me and push me to evolve into a more educated person," Schroeder continued.
"My emotions over something that happened between our friends outweighed my logic, and there is no excuse for that," the former reality star concluded.
"I did not recognize then the serious ramifications that could have transpired because of my actions.”
Needless to say, there’s quite a bit of excuse-making in that apology, and it’s a little obnoxious that she tries to pass off her actions (calling the cops on a marginalized person) as mere "insensitive comments."
Schroeder had better hope for her own sake that she’s capable of talking a better game on Tamron’s show.