I Never Thought ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Would Deliver a Feminist Hero, But Here We Are →
"Vanderpump Rules isn't typically a show one looks to for role models of any kind. The cast members drink heavily, cheat on each other often, fight like it's their job (which, I guess it literally is), and sometimes steal shades from a Sunglass Hut in Hawaii. Oh, and they occasionally work at S.U.R, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Vanderpump's West Hollywood lounge and restaurant. Watching Vanderpump Rules brings the same kind of joy people find in delicious soap operas, like Dallas or The Young and the Restless—which, ironically, one of the former cast members has starred in. (Remember Vail?)
So imagine my surprise this season when I found myself rooting for cast member Lala Kent. At first Lala wasn't somebody I'd consider a feminist role model for our times. She's a more recent addition to the cast—joining the show in season four as a recurring character—and initially she seemed to be filling the tried-and-true reality show (and soap opera) archetype of the pretty newcomer who arrives to stir up trouble. She wasn't afraid to flirt with whoever she wanted and she didn't back down from the show's own Mean Girls–like clique of Stassi, Katie, and Kristen. Though to be fair to them, Lala didn't endear herself when she chastised them for not "working on their summer bodies." Lala even walked away from the show for a chunk of last season after rumors (that continue, even now) that she's seeing a married man were brought up. (Recent reports claim he's now officially divorced and once previously filed for legal separation in 2015.)