Natalie Maguire understands why Lisa Vanderpump suspended her from SUR after she got into a heated altercation at the West Hollywood hotspot.
“It doesn’t feel amazing, I won’t lie,” Maguire, 27, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the Tuesday, December 2, Vanderpump Rules season 12 premiere. “I did know that I deserved it. I knew it was coming.”
SUR’s outspoken lead bartender explained, “That had been a long, long week. I had also been scolded by Nathalie Zapata [the restaurant’s co-owner], so I was just kind of ready to take it. But I did want her [Vanderpump] to know that I felt like I had a little bit of a reason.”
Maguire went on to admit the suspension was “so fair,” while also confessing she was “obviously nervous to sit down” with Vanderpump and own up to her transgression.
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“I totally understood why she was upset,” she added. “I’m working on filtering myself.”
Episode one of the Vanderpump Rules reboot opened with SUR security footage showing Maguire nearly attacking her ex-boyfriend, also a SUR employee, and getting into a verbal fight with the restaurant’s manager, Demy Selem.
Viewers watched as Vanderpump sat down with Maguire for a one-on-one following her return to work — and she’s not the only SUR employee that Lisa scolded.
Resident pot-stirrer Marcus Johnson and loveable Venus Binkley also got a tongue-lashing for drinking on the job. Their behavior caused Vanderpump to call an emergency meeting with staff, where she laid down the law.
“When she called me out, I instantly started tearing up, and I had a heart attack,” Binkley, 27, revealed to Us when asked about his reaction to the situation. “I couldn’t process anything at that point. I blacked out. It was so embarrassing.”
He shared, “The worst feeling in the world is when your mom’s mad at you, but it’s even worse when Lisa Vanderpump is mad at you.”
Johnson, 35, however, didn’t feel the same.
He told Us that while he “respected everyone’s disappointment in me,” he’s “not going to let it change how I behave at work.”
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“I was just someone who got caught in the moment. This is a party all the time. I was just not slick enough that day to get my partying off,” Johnson added.
Selem also shared her thoughts on the footage showing Johnson drinking at work.
“I was furious,” the SUR manager said about the situation. “I’m not stupid. I know people are sneaking drinks. I’m not an idiot.”
She admitted it’s “hard being a boss to your friends.”
“That was definitely my biggest challenge,” Selem told Us. “There’s cameras everywhere filming, but I’m still focused on making sure the restaurant is running and making sure tables are happy.”
New episodes of Vanderpump Rules season 12 air on Tuesdays at 9 pm ET/PT on Bravo and stream the next day on Peacock.
