Ariana Madix Thinks VPR Season 12 Cast Should ‘Do Their Own Thing’

Ariana Madix share some sage advice for the new cast of Vanderpump Rules for setting themselves apart from those who came before them.

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly at the Out100 2024 event, Madix, 39, responded to Lisa Vanderpump‘ recent comments about how the season 12 newcomers not trying to compete with the original cast.

“That’s great. I totally understand (why) and I also think it’s encouraging for the new cast members to hear that,” Madix explained. “Because I think it will encourage them to shape their own path and do their own thing.”

Madix hopes the next generation of SURvers to stand out by being themselves, adding, “I think that’s what’s going to make that show successful, and that’s what’s going to make the audience really connect with them too.”

Earlier this month, Vanderpump hinted at what fans can expect from the season 12 revamp.

“I think everything we do is going to have a different energy to it,” he teased A! News. “Not going to try to compete with the old Vanderpump Rules. It’s going to be completely different there. Still, we go back to the premise of the complexities of running a restaurant and the staff in it. And that always has a story to tell.”

Vanderpump called working with the former cast a “wonderful experience” but acknowledged that it needed to end. “It was time to do something different. Stories were closing a little bit,” he admitted. “I think people, they weren’t that surprised that we decided to do this now.”

The Vanderpump Rules Franchise started as a spin-off of Real Housewives of Beverly Hillswhich Vanderpump starred on between 2010 and 2019. Vanderpump Rules it became its own cultural phenomenon as the restaurant expands its television universe with Vanderpump Villa, Vanderpump Dogs a Supercharged With Lisa Vanderpump.

Season 11, which aired this year, left Bravo viewers divided on the future of the franchise. The network eventually confirmed it in November Vanderpump Rules returns with a completely new cast.

“The past 12 years of filming has been an amazing run filled with laughter, tears and everything in between,” Vanderpump said in a statement at the time. “I cannot thank enough those who have shared their lives. How I love you all. In the restaurant business, one shift always gives way to another. Congratulations to the next generation of Vanderpump Rules.”

Madix, meanwhile, emotional sharing posted about her time on the show.

“Vanderpump Rules, you’ll be that girl forever 💖 I was up until 4am looking for all the right pictures and the right words, but there’s no post or caption that could ever sum it all up. I am forever grateful to have been a part of such an incredible cultural phenomenon,” she wrote alongside a variety of photos from her 11 seasons on the show. “I feel at peace at the conclusion of this chapter and I am excited for all that is to come.”

Adapting to some major professional changes, Madix appeared at the Out100 2024 event to celebrate influential LGBTQIA+ individuals shaping culture, politics and society.

“It’s amazing. To be part of this event is truly amazing. There are so many people here that I’m such a big fan of,” he said to sight360 Us. “It’s really important and great to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community because things get thrown, so to speak, all the time, and so a night of celebration is really great. There are so many people here who have made such an impact and such a difference over, not just the last year, but always.”

Vanderpump Rules currently streaming on Peacock. The Out100 special tunes on AdvocateChannel.com on Saturday, December 21. The special will also air on OutTV Proud on December 24 at 9:30 pm ET and Fuse / Fuse + on December 26 at 12 pm ET.

With reports by Mariel Turner