Kristen Doute Kneels at Black Lives Matter Protest After ‘Pump Rules’ Firing
Showing support. Kristen Doute and her boyfriend, Alex Menache, attended a Black Lives Matter protest following her firing from Vanderpump Rules last month for past racist actions.
Stars Protest George Floyd's Death
“Thank you @iketweezy and @ronnyrock you are doing amazing things,” Menache wrote via his Instagram Stories on a video he took on Saturday, July 26.
Menache, who has been linked to Doute, 37, since March, shared a clip of the peaceful protest in Los Angeles, where all attendees were kneeling. Doute, for her part, wore a black face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic and a denim shirt as she took part in the event.
“Thank you for making his [sic] amazing community for 60 days,” he added. “It’s so powerful and important. #kneelforjustice.”
Saturday marked the 60th day of nightly kneeling that was started by a friend of Menache and Doute’s in Venice, California, after George Floyd’s death in police custody in May. The protest takes place every night in the L.A. city, as individuals come together and kneel for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — the length of time a police officer held his knee against Floyd’s neck as the man cried out for help and said he couldn’t breathe.
The couple took part in the demonstration after returning from Kentucky where they were visiting Doute’s former Vanderpump Rules costars Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright.
The pair’s getaway came days after the He’s Making You Crazy author spoke out for the first time since being fired in June from the Bravo series for her racist remarks toward former costar Faith Stowers in 2018.
Bravo Stars React to ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Firings
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned is that I have so much to learn,” the Michigan native said during the July 15 episode of the “Hollywood Raw” podcast with Dax Holt and Adam Glyn. “I know that’s super cliché and a lot of people say that but it’s absolutely true because I think that I thought that I understood racism but now I’m really learning about unconscious bias.”
She added: “Learning about anti-racism. Learning about how we can do things locally to really truly make changes and putting work into your community locally to make those changes I think [are] so important.”
Us Weekly confirmed on June 9 that the T-shirt designer was one of four stars on the reality series that would not be returning for its 9th season. Doute and Stassi Schroeder were let go after Stowers, 31, recalled a time the two wrongfully called the police on her years prior.
Newbies Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni were also cut from the show after their past racist remarks resurfaced.
Doute publicly apologized for her actions, as did Schroeder, 32, but a source told Us on June 8 that the ladies “didn’t reach out to Faith directly.”
Stassi and Kristen’s Ups and Downs Over the Years
After losing her job and having her Witches of WeHo wines pulled from shelves, Doute has since reconnected with Schroeder.
“Stassi and Kristen are friends at this point,” a source told Us exclusively on July 10, following the two’s past fallout. “The two of them are going through this together and the experience has brought them closer together again.”
The pair were spotted at lunch together, along with their wine company cofounder Katie Maloney in early July, weeks after the Next Level Basic author confirmed she is expecting her first child with fiancé Beau Clark.
For more information, visit Blacklivesmatter.com.
