Scheana Shay Defends Ariana Madix From Lala Kent’s Digs About Not Bringing Enough to ‘VPR’

Scheana Shay disagreed with Lala Kent‘s recent comments about how Ariana Madix didn’t deliver enough on past seasons of Vanderpump Rules.

During the Friday, June 14, episode of her “Scheananigans” podcast, Scheana, 39, answered a listener question about Lala’s claim that Ariana, 38, wasn’t a fan-favorite.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said that. If Lala did, she has her own thoughts and opinions separate from mine. I think each one of us is a favorite to different people in different ways,” she explained. “I’m sure there are people who Katie [Maloney] is their favorite, I’m their favorite, Lala’s their favorite, Ariana’s their favorite. I don’t know about the Toms [Schwartz and Sandoval] anymore, but I do think everyone has their favorites, and I’m sure Ariana has been many people’s favorites.”

Scheana changed the topic to a specific dig that Lala, 33, has made about Ariana.

“I know Lala made a comment about Ariana just floating for a few seasons or not giving much,” she noted. “But I also know that Ariana was battling with depression for several years, and I think that she was giving her 100 percent.”

While reflecting on their time on Vanderpump Rules, Scheana praised Ariana for being authentic.

“She was doing the best she could — and whether people found that entertaining or not — that was just her living her truth and putting her mental health journey out there,” Scheana continued. “I think those type of things are what people can really relate to and know that they’re not alone. So many people in this world with so many eyes on us are battling those same things, and I applaud anyone who can put that out there because it’s very important to just let people know they’re not alone.”

Lala has received backlash recently for the way she spoke about Ariana in the aftermath of Sandoval’s cheating scandal. The cast returned to film season 11 of Vanderpump Rules months after Ariana and Sandoval, 41, called it quits due to his infidelity. It didn’t take long for most of the cast to shift their loyalty from Ariana to Sandoval for the sake of their show.

Scheana surprised viewers when she claimed production played a role in the decision.

“It was a whole season of feeling like we all kind of had to walk on eggshells. I know [executive producer] Alex Baskin has said that midseason, the show was not in a good place,” she claimed on her “Scheananigans” podcast last month. “It was, you know, ‘X, Y and Z needs 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.’”

The executive producer, for his part, said Scheana’s outlook was a “pretty dramatic, heightened account” of what actually took place.

“We did get the entire cast together, and we thought we had hit a point in the season where I actually think that they were impacted by what was happening on social media,” Alex said at a panel this month, according to Variety. “We basically were telling them to drown out the noise, and to make the show that they had made over the previous 10 seasons — and that didn’t mean we asked them to manufacture anything.”

Meanwhile, Lala found herself fighting off criticism after throwing shade at Ariana for not filming with Sandoval.

“I’m going to be real about Ariana. She coasts through every single f–king season. And we are asking you to have one conversation with Tom Sandoval — the guy you shoved down our throats for so many years,” Lala said on an episode of the Vanderpump Rules After Show in May. “That guy, who you still live with. We are asking you to have one conversation and you can’t do that?”

Lala has since doubled down on her claim that “every single person” on Vanderpump Rules has had “tough conversations” except Ariana.

“It’s extremely difficult to film a reality TV show with someone [who doesn’t want to discuss certain topics]. Cameras shut down [during] season 10 for producers to talk to Ariana like, ‘You gotta give something. You gotta care a little bit,’” Lala claimed on the Monday, June 10, episode of the “Two Ts in a Pod” podcast about a scene where Ariana didn’t want to dig deep. “And if you’re the type of person where you’re like, ‘I just don’t care.’ Excellent. First of all, I am very jealous. I wish I could just not care. Second of all, I don’t know that this is the space for you.”

Ariana shut down the accusations against her after the VPR reunion.

“Here’s the thing that’s so stupid. I gave them the best f–king ending to what that season could have had in that moment by leaving. It was real and it was exciting to watch. Sorry, if you literally are only looking at it from a perspective of like good reality TV, I gave you good reality TV,” she said on the “Disrespectfully” podcast. “[A conversation] would have been a boring cap to a boring-ass season, to be honest.”

Ariana continued: “As far as real life stuff, that’s always been real and authentic for me. I can’t fake that. What did I not show you? I showed you my storage unit of a f–king bedroom. If you watch the season and you don’t see how low I am during the whole time, you need glasses. I showed all of that stuff. And if there’s stuff that they filmed and then decided not to air, that has nothing to do with me. But I gave it all.”

Vanderpump Rules season 11 is currently streaming on Peacock.