Faith Stowers feels seen and heard.
One day after Bravo announced that Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute would not be returning to Vanderpump Rules, their former cast member is speaking out and reacting to their public and private apologies.
"[Bravo and NBCUniversal] taking a stand is something we can look at and say, 'Wow. They are listening to the people. They care about black people and people of color because this is what they are doing,'" Faith shared with E! News exclusively. "They are showing that right now. That made me feel really good."
As for Stassi and Kristen's public posts on Instagram over the weekend, Faith says she was hoping for something different.
"It's not really an apology. It's a statement. I think it would have been a lot better if it was something personal because for me, it was a personal attack," she explained. "For me, I had to make a lot of changes in my life and go through a lot that a normal person wouldn't have to go through. It really hurt me emotionally so I think the apology should have matched the offense. I think it should have been just as heartfelt as their allegations were heartfelt."
Earlier this month, Faith appeared on an Instagram Live with MTV star Candace Renee Rice where she detailed her experience on Vanderpump Rules. During the interview, Faith alleged that Kristen and Stassi decided they were going to call the cops on her during an off-camera moment.
As for a possible reason as to why they decided to do so, Faith claims, "There was this article…where there was an African American lady. It was a weird photo, so she looked very light-skinned and had these different, weird tattoos. They showcased her, and I guess this woman was robbing people...The woman was at large…and they called the cops and said it was me. This is like, a true story. I heard this from actually Stassi during an interview."
According to Reality Tea, Stassi appeared in an April 2018 interview on The Bitch Bible podcast where she discussed how she and Kristen called the police to report Faith. The episode has since been taken down.
In her most recent Instagram post, Stassi said in part, "My emotions over something that happened between our friends outweighed my logic, and there is no excuse for that. I did not recognize then the serious ramifications that could have transpired because of my actions. What I did to Faith was wrong. I apologize and I do not expect forgiveness."
Kristen added, "Although my actions were not racially driven, I am now completely aware of how my privilege blinded me from the reality of law enforcement's treatment of the black community and how dangerous my actions could have been to her…I'm ashamed, embarrassed and incredibly sorry."
One cast member who is offering her apologizes privately is Lala Kent.
According to Faith, the two spoke on the phone after her Instagram Live started making news.
"I reached out to Lala awhile ago when I got the news that her father had died. Her dad is an amazing man. Her family are amazing people, they are really good people. I lost my dad and she knows this and if we had not been in the situation that we had been in, I would have helped her through that," Faith explained. "She reached out to me during all of this happening and she apologized and she told me she wanted to be on a clean slate and she thanked me for my condolences and maybe we'll be moving forward."
Faith added, "We were very, very close. I know I was really hurt by all of them. I will be honest and say I was hurt by all of them validly but when somebody reaches out personally like she did and apologizes—someone that actually knows me—that makes me feel good. I'm glad that she did. Who knows what's going to happen from here but at least she did a personal apology."
As Faith tries to move on from her experience, the actress says she is focused on raising her baby boy. And when her son becomes older, Faith hopes he can learn something from her experience.
"I want him to know that mommy did everything she could to bring light to injustices. That makes me feel really, really good," she shared. "I put myself in the line of fire so maybe one day, when he grows up, he won't have to. I want him to stand up for himself or maybe stand up for his friends."
As for Kristen and Stassi, Faith says she hopes her former co-stars use this as a teachable movement that could lead to good things.
"For me, it's something really hard for me to move forward from. As a Christian, as a god fearing woman, I do forgive them," she shared. "For now, I feel like Kristen and Stassi have a lot to learn and I wish that for them. I wish that they educate themselves and really know what's really going on in the world so they can use their privilege for the betterment of the world."
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