RHOBH: The glitz, glamour, and lack of accountability of Lisa Vanderpump

Lisa Vanderpump remains a polarizing character on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills even after her exit.  But was her fall from grace a long time coming?

Lisa Vanderpump is a well-known part of Bravo television.  She was on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for the first nine seasons and remains a part of Vanderpump Rules, now on its eighth season.  But opinions of her remain divided.  Yesterday, we asked for opinions on Lisa on our Twitter and Facebook pages to find out why, exactly, the opinions are so divided.

The comments were positive for the most part, with the occasional negative remark about her inability to own up to mistakes.  Many commenters suggested that they appreciated her work with animals and the less fortunate, but thought she was working behind the scenes to create drama.  A lack of accountability was also mentioned a few times.

It seems that Lisa lost some fans when she couldn’t own up to her meddling.  Though Camille Grammer was also known to do some behind-the-scenes meddling, she often apologized for it on camera.  She would “own it,” as Lisa Rinna often said.  But Lisa V never did that.  If you called her out for something, she cut you off.  For good.

Brandi Glanville is not the poster child for good behavior, but back in the day, she had her own experience with Lisa.  Brandi claimed that Lisa asked her to bring a magazine with some unsavory rumors about Mauricio Umansky and Kyle Richards.  Brandi called Lisa out for packing the magazine, but Lisa said she hadn’t seen the magazine until after the trip.

Some friendships cannot be fixed…much like the one with Brandi.  The relationship with Kyle remains on ice for now as well.

Brandi said on the show at the time, “Literally, I spent the past three years being punished for crossing her in a way,” according to PEOPLE.  After that, it was all downhill for Brandi and Lisa.  Lisa never owned up to the magazine issue, and Brandi never got close enough to her again to fix things.

But last season, Lisa’s relationship with Kyle fell so far so fast.  If you recall, the issue stemmed from Dorit Kemsley dumping a dog adopted from Vanderpump Dogs at a shelter when it didn’t fit in with her family.  After that, there was a scene scheduled to be filmed at Vanderpump Dogs which included Kyle and Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave.

There was some scheming happening with Lisa behind the scenes who wanted Kyle to make Dorit look bad about the whole Lucy Lucy Apple Juicy situation.  “I was brought there to unknowingly be a part of making Dorit look bad for entertainment purposes I suppose,” according to PEOPLE.  This wasn’t the first time Lisa tried to use Kyle as a pawn in one of her schemes, but it was the last.

But now that Lisa is gone, we’re left with a lack of closure, if you will.  It does feel a bit like she got caught and left abruptly without explanation.  Perhaps if she had stayed longer to defend herself, viewers would feel differently?  Lisa owes no one an explanation, especially after all that she went through, and perhaps her castmates could have shown more compassion.

But are these fights with Lisa a coincidence, or a sign of something bigger?  If the past is anything to judge by, they are a sign of something bigger.

There seems to be a common theme with those who used to be close with Lisa but are no longer.  Lisa is a good person who wants to do good in the world but also wants things to go her way.  She puts plans into place to make things go her way – even if they shouldn’t.

If Lisa were more honest or more accountable for her actions, perhaps her friends (and enemies) would be more receptive.  On the flip side, Lisa could probably choose her minions more wisely because the Brandi’s of the world cannot be trusted to carry her plans to fruition.

The truth about Lisa Vanderpump is that if she focused all of her energy on the animals and less fortunate of the world, she might feel less of a need to scheme.  Lisa is a productive, intelligent, generous individual who has a lot to offer the world without any need to stir up drama.  Now that she’s done with RHOBH, hopefully she’ll have more time to focus on that.

But the new season of RHOBH is upon us and Lisa is no longer a part of it – so who will the group talk about now?

With such a big personality no longer in the mix, it will be interesting to see how the dynamic changes…and who will step up to the plate to stir the pot.  Paging Kyle Richards!

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills will be back April 15!