Lisa Vanderpump Addresses Criticism Over Tom Sandoval, Rumor

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Lisa Vanderpump and Vanderpump Rules executive producer Alex Baskin attended the For Your Consideration Emmy event in Hollywood on Tuesday night. There, Lisa skirted around the interviewer's questions regarding how much she knew of Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ sordid affair before it went public and exploded the collective minds of Bravo fans.

"I mean, I never kind of give the game away," she told Page Six when asked how far her knowledge of the dalliance extended.

Alex interjected that a huge "twist" is coming at the conclusion of the three-part Pump Rules season 10 reunion, which is currently playing out on Bravo.

"I’m not saying what it is," Lisa good-humoredly said. "OK, I’ll tell you — it's me shagging Andy [Cohen]!"

Lisa has been on the receiving end of a lot of negative criticism regarding her treatment of Sandoval. She's been accused of coddling him and supporting him while his ex-partner, Ariana Madix, tries to piece her life back together after discovering the months-long affair between her former best friend and boyfriend.

"A lot of people criticized me and said, ‘Why didn't I jump on him and chastise him and berate him?’ But everybody had done that already," she told the outlet, but she made sure to clarify that she "absolutely [condemns]" his actions.

"But I think when you have a child or a teenager or a young adult … when they’ve done wrong and everybody's told them, what's the point in me reiterating it?" Lisa continued. "He knew that, OK? So yeah, I was trying to say, ‘Calm down, let's try and look forward.’"

As many fans are aware, Lisa sees herself as a mother figure to the Pump Rules cast, and she often refers to them as her kids.

"They’re like my children," she shared with E! News at the event. "They’re the same age as my children. I mean Sandoval has worked for me since probably four years before we started the show, so that's like 15 years. He's grown up with me, or maybe not grown up with me, as the case may be. And I do care very much about them, each individually."

During part one of the season 10 reunion, Lala Kent vehemently labeled Sandoval as a "dangerous person" who people need to be "warned about." This is a sentiment Lisa did not and does not agree with.

"You can condemn somebody's actions, I understand that," she asserted. "But you cannot condemn them as people. You just can't because people screw up. That's life."

As for how Ariana is handling the "diabolical" scandal, Lisa says she couldn't be prouder of the reality star, who has been on a whirlwind press tour and secured a plethora of new endorsement deals.

"You know what, I love seeing somebody come back from something and not be — even though she was a victim — victimized and act like that," she expressed proudly. "I think that she's living her best life. And I always say don't get mad, get even, and live your best life."

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum continued, "That's why we went to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner together in our gowns and everything. I was like, ‘Come on, let's go! Let's show the world that you’re still kicking butt.’"

Presently, Pump Rules producers are trying to figure out how to proceed with the show moving forward as Ariana has made it abundantly clear on multiple occasions that she will no longer film with Sandoval or Raquel.

Lisa concluded that she remains hopeful that she can bring her "children" back together.

"That's gonna be my kind of, not responsibility, but maybe I’ll put some energy in trying to find some cohesiveness again," she said. "But you know, this group has a lot of history between them, and they’ve come back from a lot in the past. So, I’m hopeful."

Part two of the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion airs Wednesday, May 31, at 9 p.m. EST on Bravo.