Stassi Schroeder’s net worth shrinking: All her racist comments

In recent years, reality stars have been held more accountable for their actions. It may be because of the rise of social media, therefore allowing these outrageous people more room to speak their mind – and therefore more chances to slip up. Maybe it’s just changing cultural tides. Regardless, reality stars can’t get away with the kinds of statements they might have ten years ago. 

Stassi Schroeder, one of the stars of Vanderpump Rules to recently lose her job, learned this the hard way. Schroeder has a history of making offensive statements, but recently she was one of many reality show personalities purged from the industry in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, due to said statements resurfacing.

Here’s a list of Schroeder’s insensitive and sometimes downright hateful comments regarding race in America (among other things). 

Nazi chic

In 2018, Schroeder posted a photo with her Vanderpump costars Kristen Doute & Rachael O’Brien in various outfits. Schroeder dubbed each of the group with a moniker based on their outfit: Doute was “Tupac chic,” and O’Brien was “criminal chic”. Schroeder decided “Nazi chic” was a good way to describe herself and her outfit.

O’Brien recently claimed she had begged Schroeder not to post that caption on the photo, and Schroeder subsequently took it down after much backlash. O’Brien and Schroeder aren’t pals anymore, so perhaps O’Brien had the foresight to say sayonara before Schroeder inevitibly posted something even dumber than “Nazi chic”. 

#OscarsSoWhite

If you’ve forgotten about 2016’s controversial Oscars ceremony, there was a hashtag – #OscarsSoWhite – circulating on social media in response to the lack of black nominees in any major categories. A year later, the 2017 ceremony faced similar criticism. Schroeder decided to put her foot directly in her mouth again, this time on her podcast Straight Up with Stassi.

Schroeder stated: “I’m like, really sick of everyone making everything about race. I’m kind of over it.” Schroeder’s comments only got more inflammatory as she criticized nominees for using their platforms to discuss issues of race in America: “But like, everyone giving their impassioned speeches about race and all of that stuff. I’m like, ‘Why is it always just about African-Americans?’”

Schroeder tried some clarification (i.e. damage control) on her comments, asking why Latinos, Asian-Americans, and Native Americans don’t ask for representation. But Schroeder couldn’t help but continue her bitter rant.

Speaking further on black actors and actresses demanding representation, Schroeder blurted: “And then they get upset, everybody has to go above and beyond to make them happy. And I hate saying the word ‘them’ because I’m not . . . not everybody’s the same. I mean the ones that are out there bitching about things.”

Schroeder’s idea that black Americans who speak their mind should just stay quiet and stop “bitching” is pretty revolting in its own right. Perhaps what’s even more repulsive is that, despite losing some podcast sponsorships, the controversy blew over and Schroeder continued having a successful career in media.

#MeToo

While not one of Schroeder’s racist comments, this is another example of her consistent insensitivity towards others. On another episode of Schroeder’s podcast Straight Up with Stassi released in late 2017, Schroeder managed to lose even more advertisers and fans. The now-deleted episode “Are we on a male witch hunt?” featured Schroeder reportedly belittling & criticizing the #MeToo movement.

On Twitter, fans quoted Schroeder from the episode. User @singthewaltz cited this reported quote from Schroeder: “I’m sorry, no one could make me suck a dick. I’m sorry it sounds like he thought you liked it because you were making out with him. And now that’s a trend and it’s #metoo you’re going to come out and accuse him because you regret it.”

Schroeder deleted the episode and Tweeted an apology, claiming “It’s never my intention to go and do a podcast that offends anyone or really hurts them . . . . So all I can do is apologize and just try to be more mindful and be better moving forward.”

For someone who claims to hate hurting others’ feelings or being insensitive, Schroeder sure does a lot of both. And, if her recent controversies are anything to go by, she didn’t wind up becoming more mindful.

Faith Stowers

The straw that broke the camel’s back for the producers of Vanderpump Rules in regards to Schroeder came when she recounted a story about costar Faith Stowers in a recent Instagram Live story.

Schroeder recounted that she and costar Kristen Doute recognized their former colleague Faith Stowers from a Daily Mail photograph of an alleged robber. Schroeder and Doute called the police with their claim, and as it turns out, Stowers was nt the robbery suspect. 

Surprising, right? Not really. This was especially unsurprising since Stowers and the suspect had nothing common in appearance at all. The only thing Stowers and this suspect had in common was that they were both black women. 

Schroeder & Doute had told this story during a guest spot on another podcast two years ago, and it didn’t cause them much trouble back then, though many on Twitter vocalized their distaste at the duo’s racism.

Doute even tweeted a separate news source’s article on the same robbery suspect, saying: “hey tweeties, doesn’t this ex #pumprules thief look familiar?… I didn’t wanna go there but I’m going there.”

Where are Doute & Schroeder going, you may ask? Not back to Bravo, that’s for sure. After years of tone-deaf, offensive, and outright hateful statements, Schroeder (and Doute) are finally being ousted from their time in the spotlight.

What’s the takeaway?

For anyone who feels bad for Schroeder losing her platform and job: don’t. Reality stars understand the rules of the media game. If you’re a public figure, everything you say publicly comes under close scrutiny. If you abuse your platform consistently and it no longer becomes viable for a network to support you, they’re not going to.

The sad fact is that Schroeder and Doute probably weren’t fired because Bravo cares about racism. Bravo is a business, and Schroeder & Doute’s comments are simply bad for optics, causing sponsors to get cold feet. The network surely cut ties with these two out of pure business savvy, not concern for the impact of their comments.

There will also, sadly, always be a platform or outlet willing to take people like Schroeder under its wing. Schroeder’s story will no doubt lead to complaints about political correctness in the media – despite her comments being awful & racist – and she’ll be scooped up by a platform in no time, milking that narrative for all its worth. 

Schroeder may take a financial hit from this firing, but without a doubt this won’t be the last we see of her. For now, all we can do is breathe a sigh of relief that we’re free of Schroeder’s annoying and repugnant commentary for at least a little while.