Lisa Vanderpump already knows a thing or two about fake friends, but she draws the line at fake social media followers. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star had a laugh over co-star Erika Girardi’s recent insinuation that a chunk of her social media support must be coming from paid fake followers.
During a guest appearance on The Jenny McCarthy Show , Erika Girardi talked about the backlash the RHOBH castmates have received over this season’s Puppy Gate drama after the cast accused Vanderpump of leaking a negative tabloid story to Radar Online . Girardi implied that the backlash has been so intense—and the support for Vanderpump so overwhelming—that she suspects some of it could be coming from hired bots, Reality Blurb reports.
Girardi revealed that in four seasons as a RHOBH cast member, she has never seen “the vitriol like this” from angry fans.
“It almost looks mechanical in a way. I’m just saying anything is possible. The numbers don’t lie. There’s a lot… I’ve never seen the hatred like this coming after five people that just happen to disagree with you.”
It’s no surprise that Lisa Vanderpump had a witty response to Erika’s Girardi’s insinuation that she could be paying people to support her and also troll her co-stars online. The wealthy restaurateur posted to Twitter to ask what is “a bot” and “what is a stan?”
After fans filled her in on the bot definition, Vanderpump tweeted , “Ok, I get it… There are many of you, maybe I can take out a loan.”
Lisa Vanderpump later noted that if she pays anyone to “bot or whatever,” they deserve a lot more money.
If I pay you stan or bot or whatever… I think you deserve a raise… pic.twitter.com/ZFffB07DKK
— Lisa Vanderpump (@LisaVanderpump) April 14, 2019
In a funny twist, Vanderpump’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills co-star Lisa Rinna was named in a 2018 New York Times article as a celebrity who “lost a substantial number of followers” after Twitter purged fake accounts last year. Vanderpump—who wasn’t named on the list that also included model Kathy Ireland and American Idol’s Clay Aiken—happily retweeted the Times article that called out Rinna for allegedly paying for fake Twitter followers. It looks like LVP is getting the last laugh on this one.
Some Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fans think Lisa Vanderpump has been unfairly bullied by her castmates this season. Erika Girardi was recently called out for mocking Vanderpump and her husband Ken Todd by participating in the #GoodbyeKyle challenge, an online challenge that was spawned after Ken Todd screamed at Kyle Richards during the RHOBH stars’ blowout argument that ultimately ended their friendship.
According to OK magazine, Erika Girardi was called a “mean girl” and accused of “adult bullying” after she posted a video of herself and some pals screaming “Goodbye Kyle!” while riding in a car.
Richards, Lisa Rinna, and Teddi Mellencamp have all gotten in on the #GoodbyeKyle trend as well.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo.
