There's no question that the infidelity scandal that rocked the cast of the Bravo series Vanderpump Rules earlier this year had a clear winner: Ariana Madix, who was cheated on by long-time partner Tom Sandoval with seemingly close friend Rachel Leviss. The betrayal and her grace in handling it made Madix America's Sweetheart of reality TV and scored her new opportunities, including her current stint on Dancing With the Stars. But not everyone is Team Ariana. Former The View co-host Meghan McCain trashed the TV personality on her most recent podcast episode, explaining what she sees as a feud between them and calling Madix a "mean girl."
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If you're wondering how McCain and Madix would have even run into each other, that's understandable. But, as McCain recounted on the Monday episode of Meghan McCain Has Entered the Chat, Madix attended this year's White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD) in April along with castmates Lala Kent and Lisa Vanderpump. McCain claimed that she was prompted to meet the Bravo stars by her boss at the Daily Mail—the Vanderpump cast were guests of the publication and McCain used to write a column for them—and so she introduced herself.
After they met, a photo was taken of a group that included McCain, Kent, Madix, and actors Jerry O'Connell and Rebecca Romijn. McCain went on to say that she shared the photo on her Instagram, but when Madix shared it, she reposted from O'Connell's account and cropped it to cut McCain and her "friends" out.
\u00a9 Ariana Madix/Instagram
The View alum said that she learned of the apparent slight when Page Six asked her to comment and that she subsequently called the boss who wanted them to meet. "I was like, ‘FYI, this is causing unnecessary drama. Also, like, I didn’t even talk to her. What’s happening?'" McCain said.
To Page Six, Madix's manager said, "I can tell you without a doubt that there is no agenda with this post whether political or otherwise. It's just how the post came out.” McCain declared on her podcast that she still doesn't believe an explanation Madix posted on Instagram, which is that the aspect ratio of the photo changed when it was posted to an Instagram Story, which is vertical.
However, the podcast host added that the back-and-forth over the cropped photo wasn't the end of it. "Cut to: she now blocks me on Instagram. I found out on accident," McCain explained. "I would respect you if you just said, 'I don't [expletive] with Republicans ... I don't like Meghan McCain.' Just say that. Don't come up with this weird story and then block me afterwards."
Not long after the WHCD, McCain wrote a column for the Daily Mail throwing her support behind Leviss, for whom she said she felt more compassion than she did Madix after the Vanderpump Rules three-part reunion. "Yes, she and Tom had behaved terribly," she wrote. "But she took responsibility for what she did, and she was clearly suffering ... The scene on the Bravo stage was nothing short of a bloodbath. If wine was served, it would have been thrown." McCain also said that she thought Madix was too vitriolic in her condemnation of Leviss.
And it seems that she's not likely to be changing allegiances anytime soon. On her podcast, McCain characterized Madix cropping her out of the photo as being "mean for no reason."
"It would be like me going with you to an L.A., Hollywood, reality TV party and then like, pulling rank and being mean," she said to guest Carlos King. "I was like, I haven't experienced mean girl stuff like this in a really long time, and I still don't like it."
Best Life has reached out to a representative for Madix regarding McCain's new comments.
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