Lisa Vanderpump is not choosing sides amid Scandoval — no matter what!

For those who missed it, this week’s big finale of Vanderpump Rules showed the explosive aftermath of Tom Sandoval’s months-long affair with Raquel Leviss. At one point in the finale, viewers saw the 40-year-old swing by Lisa’s home to talk about the cheating scandal. While the 62-year-old reality star made it clear she thought the whole situation was terrible, she did try to support and comfort Sandoval when he began to have a full-blown meltdown. Lisa even told him while he broke down in tears:

“You’re not a bad person, Tom. You just did a bad thing.”

Rather than cutting ties with Sandoval moving forward, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum expressed in her confessional that she wouldn’t abandon him amid the public backlash:

“Look, I’m not going to turn my back on Sandoval. I will never, ever do anything but condemn what he did, but they’ve all been guilty of things – maybe not quite to this level. But at some point, maybe the pain will ease.”

Of course, fans do not have that much sympathy for Sandoval – especially after witnessing an entire season of his lies and manipulation while hiding his relationship with Raquel from then-girlfriend Ariana Madix. So when viewers witnessed this scene between him and LVP play out, well, they were none too happy about the SUR owner’s support. Even Ariana called out Lisa for being “a little nice to him on the episode” during her appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen this week.

Related: Sandoval Spotted At Bar With Mystery Woman Amid Raquel Leviss Breakup!

Obvi, Lisa could have gone in on Sandoval more. Her reaction was relatively tame, given what he had done to Ariana! However, it’s important to note that she still worked with the Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras frontman during the cheating scandal, so she could have been trying to keep the peace and not ruin that relationship. But everyone also can agree that we would have loved to have seen Lisa go OFF on him. We mean, how about some tough love? That’s not turning your back.

While fans are frustrated with how Lisa handled the situation, she apparently doesn’t care what anyone thinks! She defended supporting Sandoval in an interview with E! News at the Vanderpump Dogs Gala on Thursday, saying she didn’t want to “pile on” the criticism and attack him at the time:

“I didn’t take sides with Tom, I definitely condemned what he did. You know, I can’t write him off as a person because he had an affair. The way he handled it, yes, of course.”

Oh really? What about if the person having the affair was your significant other of nearly nine years? Just curious.

Ultimately, Lisa told the outlet she “can’t keep everybody happy all the time.” She then said of her support of Sandoval during the finale:

“That’s not what I’m not trying to do. I’m trying to tell the truth. Also, I feel like a mother to some of these children. So, when he’s been lambasted by the whole world, what am I going to do, pile on? No, I’m going to try and have a modicum of – not empathy, I don’t have empathy – but a modicum of hope. Maybe for the future.”

In terms of the show, hope for the future is a tad unclear right now. While VPR has been renewed for season 11, it’s unknown which cast members plan on returning to the show. At this time, Ariana has said she will most likely be back if she receives a contract — but she refuses to film with either Sandoval or Raquel. Other cast members have also stated they don’t want to film with the pair moving forward. But Lisa is remaining hopeful that they’ll make it work for the next season:

“It’s going to be complicated, but Vanderpump Rules has never been a fairy tale. Let’s be honest.”

Well, maybe not a “fairy tale” — but we do have some pretty cartoonish villains now. Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Do you think Lisa should not have supported Sandoval as much as she did on the VPR episode? Sound OFF in the comments below.

[Image via Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen/YouTube, Bravo/YouTube]

The post Lisa Vanderpump Defends Supporting Tom Sandoval On <i>VPR</i> Finale: 'I Didn't Take Sides' appeared first on Perez Hilton.