“Bravo has advised Scheana not to address this topic, but she has seen a lot of the online support — even from some of her harshest critics — and it means a great deal to her,” a source told Page Six. “She’s received several messages and calls from cast members, many of whom are working behind the scenes to ensure that Bravo and production don’t just sweep this under the rug.”
On Twitter, fans of the show expressed support for Shay with the hashtag “#JusticeForScheana.”
The source was not aware if Shay has heard from Lisa Vanderpump about the revelations yet. The SUR boss has remained noticeably silent on the issue via social media as well.
Meanwhile, a separate source noted that Shay and the rest of the cast are contemplating a return for a ninth season if the show is renewed.
“This situation has forced many of the cast members to reassess what their futures on ‘Vanderpump Rules’ might look like,” they said. “Bri made it clear that Bravo is only interested in the Stassi and Beau show, which is fine, but that’s not the same show that Tom, Jax, Katie, Kristen and Scheana signed up for. They’re all hoping to get some guidance from Bravo sooner than later and simply firing the editor who blew the whistle on these issues will not suffice.”
Earlier this week, Stassi Schroder shared her thoughts on the controversial topic during a recent interview with Mikalah Gordon on her Channel Q show. “It all hit us at the same time. We were seeing everything the way everybody else was. I feel like I shouldn’t even comment on it, because I feel like I’ll get in trouble, but it was wild,” Stassi said on The Morning Beat. “There were a lot of group chats between the cast going on about that.”
Dellinger appeared on two now-deleted episodes of the “Twisted Plot Podcast” with Evelyn Marley where she revealed that she likes to manipulate scenes to embarrass Scheana Shay. “If Scheana knew what was good for her, she’d befriend me because my favorite game is finding all of the embarrassing things that Scheana does and putting them all in. … [The editors] joke that Scheana’s memoir will be Death By a Million Embarrassments.”
She then admitted that she manipulated a scene between Shay and Schroeder’s teenage brother Nikolai at Schroeder’s engagement party.
“It was so funny,” she said. “We were watching the scene and were like, ‘Okay, this is over the top, I realize that, but how can we resist?’ … Yes, I set it to funny music and I added a funny [sound] bite, but she did that.”
Dellinger continued, “We asked her in the interview, ‘How young would you go?’ and we didn’t tell her it was for the Nikolai scene, of course.”
An insider revealed to Page Six that after the episodes were mysteriously removed from Apple Podcasts that Shay has been upset by the way Season 8 has played out.
“Scheana’s definitely frustrated with how she’s been portrayed,” the insider said. “She’s not the type to pop off when she feels slighted by an unflattering edit. She signed on to be a part of a reality show, which requires her to share her life highs and lows; she just wishes audiences got to see a bit of a more balanced view of her life, not just the most cringe-worthy moments.”
“She’s been assured by the network and production that she’s part of the charade,” the insider added. “She’s going to be absolutely crushed by hearing that she’s actually the butt of the joke.”
Shay seemingly responded to the podcast later on Monday. In a since-deleted tweet to Bravo executive Andy Cohen, she wrote, “Hey @Andy I have some tea for you … check your DMs!”
Photo Credit: Bravo