Doing what’s best. Rachael O’Brien is speaking out about being involved in Stassi Schroeder’s resurfaced offensive photo amid her Vanderpump Rules firing.
“I 100 percent did fight Stassi to not to post that photo with that caption,” O’Brien told Us Weekly exclusively on Tuesday, June 9. “I told her that the caption is not funny. It’s horrible and I am ashamed to be in the photo.”
The Next Level Basic author, 31, posted a photo of herself alongside O’Brien and Kristen Doute in 2018, which has since been the subject of controversy. Schroeder was pictured smiling while wearing a black hat and a black sweater, referring to the look as “Nazi Chic.”
A source told Us exclusively that O’Brien began distancing herself from Schroeder and Doute, 37, after the pic was posted. “Rachael was really upset and mad at Stassi about the photo and Kristen was saying, ‘It’s fine. Just be yourself,’” the insider said. “Stassi also started icing Rachael out after that incident.”
O’Brien “wants to cancel her future live tour dates with Kristen when life resumes,” the source added.
The image recently resurfaced along with other alleged racist actions from both Schroeder and Doute’s past. The former Bravolebrities were accused of reporting former costar Faith Stowers to the police in 2018 for a crime she didn’t commit. (Stowers, 31, recently recalled the experience in an Instagram Live.)
Us confirmed on Tuesday, June 9, that Bravo fired Schroeder and Doute from Vanderpump Rules. Newcomers Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni were axed from the series after their past racist posts resurfaced earlier this year.
In the wake of the firing news, O’Brien affirmed how appreciative she was to have put the past with Schroeder behind her. “I am grateful to have distanced myself from that friendship,” she told Us. “Our personalities and hearts are not the same. Ultimately, my heart does not agree with anything they have done though.”
Schroeder has lost her brand endorsements, was dropped by United Talent Agency and was let go by her publicist at Metro Public Relations. Her and Doute’s Witches of WeHo Wine, which they created with Katie Maloney-Schwartz, has also been pulled from shelves due to the racism scandal.
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