Photo: Instagram
Because it's not about the pasta.
By Rebecca Jane Stokes — Written on Apr 13, 2019
Fans of Vanderpump Rules, the hit show on Bravo TV chronicling the lives and misadventures of the servers at various restaurants owned by Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd, used to turn into the show weekly for one big reason. They were desperate to see what hijinks lantern-jawed villain Jax Taylor was up to! But that's all changing.
You see, there's a new(ish) bad boy in town, and his name is James Kennedy. He's the underdog, the numbskull, the outsider, and the guy continually in the corner putting his foot in his mouth. He's desperate to be liked, but at the same time, he's not above drinking more than his fair share and telling you, in no uncertain terms, exactly what he thinks. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to James Kennedy.
1. The Vanderpump Connection
When James Kennedy first appeared on the hit Bravo TV show, he was working as a barback at Lisa Vanderpump's flagship restaurant, SUR (Sexy Unique Restaurant, it's important we all remember that's what it's actually called). James didn't get this gig because of his skills behind the bar or as a generals dogsbody. He got the gig because his father, Andros Georgiou, and his mother, Jacqueline Georgiou, have a passing friendship with Vanderpump herself from back during Lisa's London days.
James' godfather is actually the singer George Michael, who grew up with Andros. James used these connections to get his SUR gig, though Lisa to this day claims that her relationship with the Georgiou family isn't as close as James made it out to be. Whether or not that's the case, Lisa has a soft spot for the aspiring DJ, and while she frequently fires him from working at SUR due to his drunken outbursts, she almost always hires him back. Perhaps she does this because her own late brother was also a troubled DJ. That's just my speculation.
2. The Women Of Sur
Initially, it seemed like James would be a breath of fresh air on the show, but that wound up being absolutely not the case. Bullied as a child, James had a tendency on the show to clash with everyone and anyone he could. He briefly dated Kristen Doute, during an argument he called her all manner of insults and spat on her door as he stormed out of her apartment.
Even his once firm friendship with cast member Lala Kent is now DOA. The duo briefly hooked up but realized that they were better off as just friends. Unfortunately, James couldn't help but lash out at Lala for being in a relationship with an older, Hollywood producer. He accused her of being a sugar baby, among other things. The common denominator here? Booze. James gets drunk, James gets in trouble, James gets fired.
3. The Final Straw
James' luck may have finally, however, run out. Although he's got the love of the Raquel Leviss, he still wants in with the proverbial cool kids, but that probably won't happen because he made one critical mistake: he went after Katie Maloney. While Katie may not be the biggest personality on the show, she's quietly the most dangerous person on the show. Wrong her and she will see that you are cut off, and that's exactly what happened to James.
Years ago, James fat-shamed Katie when she and the others were alienating Lala Kent from the group. He did it again this season, fat-shaming Katie for the shorts she was wearing. He didn't do himself any favors by taking things a step further and saying that "I'm all for feminism but that woman is a f*cking c*nt." Katie doesn't want to be around him, which means now inviting him to participate at any event is almost impossible even for those willing to put the past behind them.
4. Trying To Make Good
James was last fired from SUR as a DJ when Katie gave Lisa Vanderpump an ultimatum. It was her or it was James, and Lisa, god help us all, picked Katie. James utterly melted down, and swore up and down to reform and frankly....if you've watched any of the show this season, he kinda has! He's working hard on his drinking, he has not gotten in screaming matches at SUR, only at TomTom (lol) and he's trying to make amends with the cast members.
Strangely enough, the folks just aren't buying what he is selling. On the one hand, it's painfully unfair. This is, lest we forget, the group of friends who forgave Jax Taylor (JAX TAYLOR) for sleeping with their girlfriends, lying about, stealing, getting arrested, and any other vast array of sins. On the other hand, even sober James is still a raging, screaming, crying infant, desperate to be liked and maybe there's only room for one Jax in any given friend group.
5. Another #Puppygate
The shitty thing about all the noise that is currently going down with James is how it's all affecting his girlfriend Raquel. She's taking a lot of heat for James's bad behavior. She's relatively new to town and was hoping to connect with his friend group. She had no way of knowing that he was gonna alienate every single member of said group!
She recently tried to extend an olive branch to his peers by inviting everyone open for a "puppy shower," a lame excuse for a house party and guys, not one single person agreed to go. This combined with all of the yelling Raquel has suffered at the hands of Lala alone is enough for any woman to walk away. If she's with James now, he needs to step up and be the man she deserves.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. Her work focuses on relationships, pop culture and news. For more of her work, check out her Tumblr.