Mention It All - Rachel’s Parking Lot Press Conference Ft. Taylor Jackson (VPR)

Episode Date: March 23, 2023

Vanderpump Rules is still on a hot streak, and Taylor Jackson returns to the podcast to break down the latest developments with Dylan. They get into what we know about the imminent reunion, and pick apart Raquel’s bizarre paparazzi interview. Then, they recap this week’s VPR episode, where we get some more clues about the infamous affair. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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See Home Depot.com slash price match for details. Betches Media presents. Ha ha, laugh, funny. Mention It All, a Bravo by Betches podcast. We don't say that, but now we said it. With me, Dylan Hafer. We'll go check me, boo. Hey, everyone.

Welcome back to the Mention It All podcast. Oh, boy, did we have a fun day lined up? It is Vanderpump Rules Day, of course. And I am so happy to have with me back on the podcast for, I think, the first time in a wee little while, my friend, co-worker and fellow bravo-holic, Taylor Jackson. Hi, Taylor. Hello, Dylan. And you could not have asked me to come on at a better time. Let me tell you that much. We do have much to discuss in Vanderpump land. So much so that today is also the premier day of Ultimate Girls Trip, Thailand. And we are not even going to get to that until Monday.

So Taylor, it's a full Vanderpump mania. Today is the reunion day. And normally reunion day, the day that they're filming is not that exciting for us because we don't actually get to see anything until weeks later. But there has been so much speculation and so much drama about this reunion. And yesterday, Raquel confirmed that she will be attending in person. There had been questions, of course, because she has currently a restraining order against Sheen. And then Sheena has not technically announced that she will be attending the reunion, but yesterday on her Instagram story, she and Lala and Ariana were doing like Girls Day prep for reunion. She was doing her M-sculpt. She was, you know, getting her tan on lock, a facial. Like, Sheena is in reunion prep mode. So all sources lead us to believe that both of them will in some way attend reunion. Right. Maybe there's, maybe there will be a wall between them. Maybe they will, you know, not be able to physically look at each other. We don't know, but they will both be there. To my knowledge. Maybe they, are they doing the reunion at like a football stadium?

Or like a jail cell. They're all in different cells. Rick Hell and Sheena can be in opposite end zones and then the chairs will be arranged in like a semicircle at the middle of. of the field and you'll just talk real loud. Real loud, Sheena. No problem with that. She'll only be like, Requel, when we were doing,

watch what happens live. And Raquel will be like this, Lala. You're just a bimbo. You're just a mistress bimbo. I don't need this energy in my life. I've learned my lesson with James

and I finally learned my lesson with you. La La La. Where do we? begin? Well, where we begin is the little interview, I use that word lightly, I guess, that Raquel conducted with TMZ yesterday in the parking lot of a strip mall nail salon. This video, I'm going to assume most people that are listening to this have seen the video or at least, you know, caught a glimpse. But Raquel sitting in this lonely plastic chair outside of what looks like one of the dingier nail salons I've seen.

And she's just sitting there looking forlorn as this man with a camera approaches her. And it is, it really is wild because it's a fairly long exchange that these two have. And the thing about it is like, there's always this question of, oh, did this person call the paparazzi on themselves? Sometimes I think that people are a little quick to say, you know, oh, she called the cameras, whatever. It's like, no, that paparazzi is real. That happens. But this video, it's like, Raquel is being so open with this man.

And it's like, oh, you fully arranged this in advance. Dylan, when I watched this video, I nearly lost my goddamn shit because it was so planned, number one, as a girl who gets her nails done every day. two weeks. There is no way you're waiting outside the nail salon physically outside. You're inside. They have seats inside, even if it's a 10 minute week. Also, there's one chair. Like, did she bring her own fold-up chair? Did she? And also, how is she going to hear if they call her name that she's next? Like, number one, babe, like that didn't work. You should have been at the grocery store. You should have been walking out of a Ralph's with your cart and then make it look a little bit more realistic. The guy also,

I noted, because I've really investigated the four-minute fucking interview. You can see his reflection, the TMZ interviewer, through the glass. His camcorder Dylan is literally like one of those small little camcorders that I had in like the fifth grade when I would make movies

with my friends. And this man probably didn't even know who Raquel was. He was probably sent by the TMZ team and was like, okay, here's a list of questions you've got to ask, please go. And it is all also very telling that in the background you see people just like, no one really knows who Raquel is. I mean, the internet does now because her face is blasted everywhere. People are just going about

their day, you know? I, it is funny. The tone, I watch these videos sometimes where it'll be like, they catch Addison Ray leaving Craigs or like, you know, it's this very like, these people that like attention enough that whether or not they're calling the paparazzi themselves, they are always down to chat with them. And I always love the tone that these guys behind the camera take because they're like acting very invested in what they're saying. They're like, oh, yeah, yeah. So, uh, so then, uh, you know, did you, did you talk to Ari?

Like, what was she saying about it? And it's like no one, I have never heard anyone call Ariana Ari. Nope. And he's like, he's like, yeah. So like, uh, so did, did you got a chance to talk with Ari yet or no? Like, like, where's that at? And Raquel's like, well, you know, we, we talk, like, I tried to apologize in the phone. And, like, she didn't receive it very well.

And he's like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. And then, like, with, with, like, with Tom, people are saying, like, that, with the, with the Tom Schwartz that the, the makeup was to cover up with the other Tom. So, like, you know, was that, like, what was happening? And she's like, like, you know, he was. really interested in Tom Schwartz. So there was no cover up. All of the question. Everything was so, so, so planted. Like, not even the inner, like, obviously the interaction. He probably was like this, right before he pressed play. Go. And Raquel's like, okay. Head down. He's like, he walks. He's like, so, uh, I noticed your eye looks like

it's a, it's a healing up. And she's like, yeah, it's doing better. But, you know, I do have a permanent scar. And only Sheena knows what really happened on that night. And so she'll have to live with that. It's like, freak out, please. Enough. The fact that they did this and dropped this the day before the reunion filming, when everybody knows that they're filming the reunion, the timing of it is

really interesting because there are a couple questions where she's like, oh, you know, I don't want to talk about that or like, we'll get into that at the reunion. And it's like, yeah, we're going to get into all of it at the reunion. So why are you choosing this moment right before the reunion to do your little

you know, dog and pony nail salon parking lot press tour in like West Hollywood in a fucking strip mall but no but my thing is like we all know and Raquel knows as well she is going to get eaten alive at this reunion so why

would she put this video out or allow the apparent PR team that she's hired who in my opinion is doing an awful job at whatever they're trying to do put this video out the day the record like this is giving Lala this is giving Katie, this is giving everybody more ammo to use against her.

Yeah, it's, it's tough because to be 100, like, Raquel is in a shitty position right now. Like, there's nothing that she can, there's nothing that she can do or say that is going to be received well by the general public who think that she is like a manipulative asshole. but this seems like a big kind of choice to make that is specifically going to be really easy to pick apart. Because the way that it feels so orchestrated and the way that she's kind of alluding to some of these situations and like, oh, well, Sheena knows what happened and blah, blah, blah, blah. Like, this isn't going to make anybody feel like softer toward her, let alone make people like on her side. So I kind of don't understand what is in it for her of not just keeping her mouth shut.

Yeah, until the reunion. Like my thing is like in this situation, like you just said, like, there is no, there is no her being like I like denying anything. Like we all know it happened, right? And like right now she, she is the villain, right? Keep quiet. Silence is a lot louder. Because when you open your mouth, Rakel, we all know. We have seen it for the past, I don't know, six years.

it doesn't it doesn't come across right especially in this situation so keep your mouth shut until the reunion like obviously if you didn't show up to the reunion then you like cowardly but don't say a fucking word stay off social media don't do that stupid like instagram notes appellate like bullshit apology show up to the reunion get your ass handed to you and that's going to be that and then and then you're out of the limelight for a bit stay whatever you and sanofal can have whatever it is you're having but stop trying to be relevant and like make make a name for yourself again or make yourself look like some sort of victim. Yeah, I think that's going to be the interesting thing to see at the reunion, whether it feels

like her and or Tom, whether or not they have kind of like a unified front, we'll see. But if they kind of try to spin it in a different direction and make themselves look better or whether they really have an attitude of just like, we're going to sit here and take whatever you throw at us and then, you know, go lick our wounds for a few months. And if we start filming in June, we'll see where the chips fall. Because I think people are going to be, people aren't going to be happy with them regardless. But I think people are going to be more upset if it feels like they're coming in trying to, trying to do like a PR spin. Right. And defend whatever it is they were doing. Like just at this rate, just bow your fucking

heads and take the fucking heat. You're going to get hate because you did something fucked up. Yeah. So good. So good. Everything you want for summer is at Nordstrom rack stores now and up to 60% off. Stock up and save on the brands you love like Vince, Sam Edelman, frame and free people. Join the Nordi Club to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more.

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And we are suddenly back in the heat of last summer, you know, when Sheena's wedding is two weeks away. And the ladies are finishing up their trip to Havasu. And it's Guys Night at the Mondrian, which of course means that Sheena, Charlie, and Raquel are all there. What was that? It was telling to me how James, the second Charlie and Raquel show up at Guys Night unannounced, James is like, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, what do I do? I didn't know they were going to be here. This was supposed to be Guy's Night.

Ali's going to be pissed. I don't want to be here. And he really, he did what he needed to do and got himself out of that situation. He texted Ali, Raquel and Charlie just showed up. I don't like, what do I do? And she was like, okay, then leave. And he left. As much as I think James Kennedy is sort of a toxic person who has made a lot of poor

decisions in the past, this was one of those times where I'm like, yeah, you don't need to be there anymore. Leave. Leaving was the right choice. Watching this and I was going to, I was thinking the same exact thing. Like, I am a James Stan right now in this moment. I'm not, no one hold that against me until like whatever happened. Right, you're like, as of March 23rd, 23 at 1118 a.m. as we're recording this, Taylor likes James, but that has no impact on the past or the future. Exactly. Not a minute before, not a minute after, okay? Just prefacing there. But he really is showing some sort of maturity and growth. And honestly, in these episodes, like, and this is the thing. Like, they didn't go back and edit these episodes, as everybody knows. Like, but now you can see everything unfolding. Like, he played his card.

in all the right ways. And it's making him look great. And he's kind of cracking me up. He's almost like the comic relief. Like it's always like James is in the background and then Raquel shows up and they zoom in on James and he's like, oh, fuck. Like, not me again.

Or like get my name out of your mouth. Like, I don't know. He's like an important player, but he's not, but he's in the background, if that makes sense. He's not being the main character that he always used to try to be. But he's being a great supporting one. And like, and he looks good. He's looking good.

I don't know that I'm all the way there with what you're saying, but I agree that James is making some better decisions than it seems like he has in the past. And whether or not I think that his relationship with Ali is going to be the love of his life and go the distance the way he says it is. Who knows? I don't have a crystal ball. But it does seem like at least in this moment, that relationship is very important to him. and he is, he's invested in making choices that will protect that. And I think with Raquel and when he was with Kristen Doty way back in the day, he wasn't really necessarily thinking those things through in terms of prioritizing his

relationships, even if he said they were important to him. So I think that itself is a sign of growth. And I, you know, I don't have any type of strong feelings about Ali because she seems about as interesting as the paint on the wall that I'm looking at right now. But I'm glad that if they're in this committed relationship together, that it doesn't seem like James is fucking around on her. That makes me happy because nobody really deserves to be in that position. I did think it was very funny to see them at the tarot card reading.

I was just going to say, Dylan, I couldn't stop. I was getting the ick watching him keep kissing her. He was like, oh, my moon's in Saturn. your moon's venous it's funny I feel like on Summerhouse this season Lindsay and Carl are getting so much shit for like calling each other babe

and being in their honeymoon phase and it's like James and Allie are just as nauseating if not more Well yes but on Summerhouse this season that's the most interesting thing That they can talk about on Vanderpump This is the least of our worries You know what I'm saying

That's fair It's not a central story line in the same way that Lindsay and Carl is where like because like I said, I don't really care about Allie. I don't think anybody else that I've talked to really has strong feelings about Allie one way or the other. So their relationship isn't central to the show in the way that, you know, Raquel and Tom and Schwartz and Katie and, you know, there's just more.

There's more interesting things going on. Exactly. So nobody's really paying attention. But like just watching them interact. when the reader Okay, first of all, Ali says that her life goal

is to be a full-time astrologist. I lost my fucking mind because all I think about is the TikTok early is when it was like, this message is for you, no hashtags? To me,

like, that is a little bit red flag city, but I also respect the hustle, I guess. I don't know. Like,

astrology is one of those things where it's never going to be my thing. It's never, going to be something that I care about or really know about or I'm invested in. So I mean, I guess that's a good goal for her. But like the way when the reader says that they have like a twin flame union energy, the way her eyes light the hell up. And she's like, oh my God, that's like the thing that machine gun Kelly and Megan Fox. Who are getting divorced or not married. And so now it's a

big thing. And literally I told you because we were in the office together yesterday. there had just been like the people confirmation that MGK and Megan are on a break or something. And I was watching the screener of this episode. And I'm like, Taylor, please. Come here. Oh, my God. She did not. She did not.

And she did. It's like the timing there wasn't great. But I mean, maybe her tarot reader will evaluate that situation as well. Actually, though, I feel like for James and Allie, I could see them going down the MGK and Megan route of like, Yeah, we like, we like touch each other's tongues in public and we're like wearing a vial of each other's blood and we're like our love is hardcore. Yeah, but like in a much like cringe, that's cringy, but even in a cringier way, if that's possible. Well, in like a, in like a more low budget kind of way. I was just going to say very low budget.

I'm trying to think of like what that would look like. And it's just not clicking with me right now. Well, I mean, my favorite, one of my favorite stories to tell is the time that I saw James and Allie in the parking lot at the Grove in L.A. So I feel like they have like, it's like they're doing the, the Grove version of being hardcore. The Grove version of MG K and Megan Fox. Just some tarot cards in astrology. Exactly. Just keeping it cute. Would you ever think that if we had an Abby Lee Miller dance mom's pyramid that James right now, out of James and the two tombs, he's at the top of the fucking pyramid this week.

You can't disagree. You can't disagree. I guess. And then we have Jacks Taylor who was on Watch What Happens Live last night with Brittany. He's angling back in. I can't. A fun little piece of context for why I now believe that Jacks and Brittany have been so excited to sink their teeth into Scandavall is that it was announced yesterday that

they have a new podcast coming out. Yep. I saw that on Watch What Happens Live. I said, oh, here. This is why they're sitting in these chairs, huh? First of all, it's called When Reality Hits with Jacks and Brittany. The cover of the podcast is the two of them and their son in the middle. They're wearing like formal attire, including Cruz is wearing a suit.

And there's like spaghetti all over them. And Jacks is wiping like Britney's face with a towel. And then there's cameras in the back flashing like paparazzi. It's a little upsetting. I don't, I don't think, I don't love the baby being on the cover of the podcast. But then I'm just going to read the paragraph. Please. I'm going to read the paragraph caption on Instagram because they think it's funny.

Podcast 1. Coming March 28th, what happened when the camera stopped rolling for Jacks Taylor and Brittany Cartwright on Vanderpump Rules? True reality hit. Jacks and Brittany take you inside their crazy lives as they explore parenthood, marriage, family, friendship, and reality TV. Nothing is off limits. Their crazy lives? I think I don't believe for one second. that Jackson, Brittany's lives are crazy or particularly interesting or particularly unique.

That is exactly what I was going to say. What the fuck are they going to talk about? Also, I'm going to preemptively apologize for that voice that I just did reading that caption. You were giving South Jersey, me type of vibe. It was giving a little bit of like MTV promo. Yeah. I don't feel great about it. It feels a little skeezy.

Okay. You can take it back. He takes it back. But the thing is they think Skiy is the right energy for Jacks Taylor's podcast. Right. It's going to be 30 minutes of him being like, babe, babe, babe, babe, babe. I saw the UPS guy dropped our package on the ground. And I was like, what the fuck?

And then he kind of kicked it a little. And she's like, I'm not going to. Jack's just. It's funny. Like, it was fine. It was just like baby formula. And he's going to be like, no. Like, it was the beer cheese.

He's like, people are lazy. Nobody wants to. work these days. There's something like, something crazy. Jax, you're so crazy. Seriously, Jax.

Oh my God. Oh my God. Can y'all believe him? Can you seriously believe him? You better not be messing around. That's what she was saying last night. But listen, thinking of them having a podcast and watching them on Watch What Happens Live last night,

he would not stop. And he's been doing this for as long as I've been watching Vanderpump, interrupting Brittany. And it's like that is not going to make a podcast. It's going to make it. it's going to make it terrible and extremely annoying, especially his voice interrupting every five seconds. Yeah, I probably, likely, definitely won't be listening.

But, you know, that was a fun little detour from the episode that we have. All new drinks are now at McDonald's, with refreshers like the strawberry watermelon refresher and the mango pineapple refresher with popping boba To crafted sodas like the Sprite Berry Blast With berry flavors and cold foam Who knew ice cold drinks could be so fire? Try them all now at McDonald's.

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ticking off the red flags one by one. it's kind of nice. I don't, the thing is like, I'm happy. Sheena's happy. I don't mind Brock being around in a general sense as Sheena's partner. But I'm so glad we're not trying to make him happen as a character on the show this year. Agreed. He's a very supporting background character right now and that's all he needs to be.

It just makes sense that way. Definitely. But so their wedding is two weeks away. And the big dilemma that has come up is that one of Sheena's bridesmaids, Jamie is trying to book her room and the resort is saying that they are fully sold out. And so the one thing that could be the solution to this resort with hundreds of maybe thousands of rooms being sold out is that Katie Maloney, that bitch Katie Maloney, who's no longer invited to Shina's wedding, could give up her room, sacrifice her Mexico trip for Jamie.

And of course, Sheena comes up with this and she says, like, it's the perfect solution. It's amazing. That'll be great. This also just doesn't align. This doesn't make sense to me from like a hospitality, like, level. Well, the thing is, okay, I think there are a few things at play. And this comes up later at the pool party, which we'll just talk about the whole resort situation now. So basically at the, at the party, Katie is presented with this idea from Sheena. And sheena's like, Katie's like immediately no. And then Ariana tries to talk her into it. She's like, no, I'm going on my vacation.

I already called the hotel and asked if I could add Christina Kelly to my room. They said no problem. So I don't know what's going on with Jamie. I will be there. I will be enjoying my vacation, as is my right, because I have paid for the room. And there's no amount of money you can Venmo me that will get me to cancel this trip. And okay, there. So logistically, I just want to talk through.

First of all, yes, this is Sheena's wedding. I don't know if there was a room block or something, a group discount that she got at the hotel. But that in my mind is most likely separate from production, likely booking a certain number of rooms for the cast of Vanderpump rules to stay at the hotel that they are staying at on the group trip. And I don't know exactly where the line is between those two things because, they obviously don't break the fourth wall in this episode about it. But I'm assuming that Katie's room was booked either directly by production or at least, you know, part of some production thing. So like the fact that now it's two weeks until the wedding and Jamie, the bridesmaid,

is just now being like, wait, where am I going to stay? What did you think was going to happen? That's what I'm saying. Or Cabo, where I think it's Cancun. I think it's Cancun. Like, first, like the two weeks before the wedding doesn't make sense. And then it's frustrating to me, knowing that all these people have been on reality TV for a decade, that Katie deciding not to come would not just be a decision of Katie not taking a vacation to Mexico. This is a cast trip that she is going on for the show that she gets paid.

to film. Also, Christina Kelly is on the cast this season. So she's there as a part of the cast. And people were pointing out, I tweeted about this and some people were pointing out like, well, Jacks and Brittany and Kristen stayed at a different hotel. So Katie could have just stayed with them. And it's like, Jacks and Brittany and Kristen are not cast members on the show. Exactly. Exactly. And also, it's like, Jamie, you are a bridesmaid. You knew that there was block there was a block of rooms to book, and as a bridesmaid, as soon as Sheena sends you the information, you book the hotel room. Also, Jamie, since you're so last minute, why don't you bunk up on someone's couch? Because that's a possibility. Well, so that is, I believe that's what was coming

up when I think Sheena was saying that the resort wouldn't let her, them add Jamie to somebody else's room because it's something to do with the all-inclusive package. But then Katie is saying that she was able to add Christina Kelly to her room, no problem. And again, that could be a production logistics thing that we're not being told that maybe Bravo was able to say to the hotel, like, yes, we will be bringing one more person. We're spending lots of money with you. It's not an issue. I don't know where, you know, I almost wish they would have broken the fourth wall in this

moment. I know. Just so Katie could say like, look, Sheena, I know, I know you don't really want me there, but we're on, we're OGs on the same show for 10 seasons. And I have been invited by production to stay at this hotel. And if you don't want me to come to your wedding ceremony, that's fine. I won't go. But you don't get the final say on whether I'm allowed to be at this giant resort in Mexico

the same weekend as you. Right. And it feels like, like in what, in last night's episode, but it feels like that's like what she wanted to say. But again, breaking the fourth wall, like I feel like maybe she was advised not to say that. So like it came across as her just being stubborn. Like Tom Schwartz is like,

she's so stubborn. That's why I hate about her. I'm like, no. Number one, just like you said, she has every right to go on this trip. And it does probably have something to do with production. But she's not going to just be like, it sucks because she probably wants to be like,

listen, I'm paid to go on this trip. So I'm going on this trip. Like, this is my livelihood. But now she just has to look like the person kind of in the wrong. Because if you don't know all this information and you're just watching it, you people are like,

Katie, just like give it up. Do you know what I mean? Like there are, I see that side of it. But then it's like, I didn't love the way that it turned into kind of like a group effort. Like Sheena,

Ariana and Schwartz all kind of like piling on Katie for not just accepting this for it. It's like to me, this is not the hill to die on. Like, I don't know. Jamie can figure something else out. But like,

wait, let's just like, who the fuck is. Jamie. Come on. Where's Jamie? Jamie, stand up. Jamie is catching a lot of strays in this conversation, and I'm sure she's a nice person, but she should have booked the room a little sooner. She's not organized, Jane. Okay, get your shit together, Jane.

I didn't love this week that we had to watch scenes of Lisa coaching both the Tom's and the sandwich shop girlies about their business strategy. To me, like, this is getting old. I feel like every episode we have to have a Schwartz and Sandy's come to Jesus check-in moment. And it's like it's either going to open or it's not. And I don't actually need the weekly update on how stressed you are about your financial situation. Right. Exactly. And Lisa, this is just her trying to be involved at this point, I believe.

And we all kind of know that. But speaking of Schwartz and Sandy, did you know it's literally in a strip mall? I saw something on Instagram. And it's literally in a, it's probably the same strip. ball and fucking Raquel was getting her nails done at. Right from the corner. Recall's like, well, I'm getting, I'm getting my French tips re-touched up. And then I'm going over to Schwartz and Sandys to be with my man, Tom Sandoval.

My man. She loves, she loves saying his full name. Have you noticed that? Yes. I was talking to Tom, Sandeball. Well, in this, so in this, in this moment with James at Sir, uh, Raquel goes up to him and she's like, hi, James. I just wanted to check in with you because I noticed that you left the guys night

right after I showed up and like obviously like we're supposed to be cool and like I don't want you to feel like we can't be in the same place without Alley because that's probably going to happen some more like for example I don't know if Allie's coming to this pool party this weekend at Tom Sandoval's house

and he's like oh I didn't know that was happening she's like well you're invited Tom Sandoval told me yeah like you're not making it baby Like you're making it obvious looking back at it now. Like look, that's the thing. Hindsight obviously is so 2020. But even in the moment, James is like, oh, that's weird that you already spoke to Tom. And he told you that I'm invited to a party at his house.

Even though like I have been friends longer and I'm theoretically better friends with him than you are. Also, Raquel is closer with Ariana. At least we thought. And so it's like, why would you say? at Tom Sandoval's house. It's like Tom and Ariana's house, you mean? Exactly. Exactly.

And like, Dylan, like watching these episodes, and I'm sure everyone feels this way, I feel like a goddamn Nancy Drew because I'm like, right there, right there. But also it breaks my heart. Like this pool party, it's speaking of the pool party. Like when Ariana, when Raquel shows up, like, obviously they were in full on a fair mode at this point. Am I right? I believe so. I mean, I don't know the exact dates of when everything was filmed.

But yeah, I think at the very least something was going. going on. Right. Ariana looked at her. She's like, oh my God, you're so hot, yada, yada, yada. And then she was like, and then watching Tom trying to defend Ariana, she's like, Lala, I need you to stop bullying her. I'm like, but like if this affair news didn't come out, like would we even take note of it? Probably not, which is like so, it's so fucked up. It's just so fucked up the entire thing. But looking at it now, it's so obvious. But my heart breaks for Ariana watching these things. Like, She is literally oblivious to it.

Yeah. I thought about that about how we would be watching it if the Scandival hadn't happened or we didn't know about it. I like what you were saying earlier about James about how much you're loving James this right now in this exact moment. At 1118, it's 1138. It does not stand still. I do think if if the news hadn't come out, I think we would be watching this season a lot more sympathetic. to Raquel. And so I'm not sure that James is,

I think a lot more of what James is doing would kind of rub us the wrong way. Because I remember, I mean, I'm big enough to admit that even just a month ago when I was watching the first few episodes of this season, I was very pro Raquel and her finding herself and her being on this journey. And yeah, I think some of the things she did in Vegas

and some of the ways she's handled certain situations would be like, girl, get your shit together, but the fact that we're watching it viewing her as like a total home wrecker really, I think makes everybody else, it gives a little more of a free pass to a lot of people in the cast to kind of handle situations with her, however they see fit. And I think James is benefiting from that. I think Lala is definitely benefiting from that because let's be honest, the girls in, the girls in Vegas were not very nice to Raquel. Like maybe she deserved some some harsh words or some, you know, to be kind of called out for her behavior, making out with

Oliver or Schwartz or whatever. But like, they were being kind of mean girls to her. And I think Ariana is like fair to point that out or to suspect that. And I think because knowing what we know now, it's easy to watch the season and just be like, oh, whoa, fuck Raquel. She sucks. Exactly. Exactly.

And like I was just going to say like, as awful as it is what has. happened. Like, it honestly worked in every other cast member's favor for this season of a likability stance besides Raquel and Sanemal, obviously. But like... And maybe Schwartz. I don't know Schwartz is really getting any points here. I just can't with him. I'm just like, he's getting zero points. And how about Jacks and watch what happens live? He's like, I swear on, what do he say, his grandmother's life or something? I swear on my grandmother's grave or something that I, Tom Schwartz, knew the entire time. I'm like, oh, Jacks, just shut it. Say it for the pod. Jack's being like, I've never in my life been wrong about anything. It's like, go away. Nobody cares. Doesn't he

have you blocked? Still blocked? Yeah. I'm, uh, my personal Instagram and Bravo by Betches, both blocked by Jacks. Can you get a t-shirt that says blocked by Jack's Taylor? There used to be, I don't know if it's still around. There was like an account that made merch that said blocked by Jacks because so many people were. Love that. Sorry. I met them. I did railed us.

No, but it's like, I do think we are viewing this season through a lens that is, you can't actually go back in time and be like, well, I, you know, we'll never, we'll never be so, so naive again. And that's just not true. But yeah, seeing the way Sandoval was like full fired up defending Raquel against Lala. Now, I know Sandoval just doesn't like Lala very much to begin with, but the way he's like going after her over how she speaks to Raquel, it's like, sir, sit down, take a chill pill. Right. You know, like get a grip.

Yeah. If you guys are trying to be very low key about it, you're not doing a great job. Like, you're not helping yourselves at all. Yeah. And I mean, to swing the pendulum back in James's favor a little bit, I understand. I fully get why he is annoyed that Raquel keeps invoking his name in her kind of like journey toward healing. That she's like, I figured out, I figured out how to handle you, Lala, and I figured out how to handle James. And James is like, you literally just came up to me at Sir two days ago.

And we're like, I just want to make sure we're good because we're going to be together. So I wouldn't want it to be awkward. and then the next time Raquel sees him, she's like, do you know how much you hurt me? And it's like, yes, I think he does, but you're the one saying that you want things to be normal and good and, you know, fine when you see each other. So you kind of can't have it both ways.

Exactly. And meanwhile, behind the scenes, she's she's the villain amongst them all. You know what I mean? And I think this is a way, like, I'm no, like, therapist or anything for God, not at all. But this is definitely a mechanism, like, watching it now of her trying to, like, bury, like, her own guilty feelings and thoughts about what she's actually doing. So she's like, no, like, I'm, like, validating herself, where she's like, well, James made me feel

this way. And Lala's been so mean to me. She slept with James. when we were dating six years ago. So like she's trying to make herself feel better. And the only thing that's going to help you make you feel better is accepting that you were a shitty person, taking time to reflect on that, you know, and moving on and not bringing so much attention to yourself because it's going to backfire as we've seen. Right. Right.

Like even trying to watch this scene with blinders on, I already was like. a little put off by what she was saying and how she kept bringing up James's name. And then when you also add into the equation that this is around the time she started having an affair with Tom Sandoval, it's like you have just like zero leg to stand on. Right. Just none. Just none. And I think I think that's something that I hope is sort of dug into at the reunion because obviously there's kind of a top level like what you did was shitty. how, you know, how could you do this?

Ariana has every right to be mad. But also there are some specific moments from this season where it's like you were so on a high horse about this Lala and James situation and, you know, really holding it over everyone and saying that, you know, you want to be cool with people, but you've just learned this information and how are you supposed to move on? Meanwhile, all the time, you were going behind everyone's back and doing something. that to me, like, people could disagree, but to me, what Raquel did to Ariana is worse than what La Laa did to Raquel sleeping with James. Because as far as we know, she slept with James maybe a few times toward the beginning of their relationship. Raquel and Tom Sandoval fully had an affair and ended Tom's, you know, basically long-term. partnership, they weren't going to get married, but equivalent to a marriage. Right.

Within the same walls as Ariana, you know what I mean? Like, there's, okay, cheating is cheating and I will say that, but there are levels to it. Do you know what I mean? And like, I'm not, yeah, I'm not condoning any sort of cheating, but this is like an entirely new level. This is like an emotional, like. Yeah.

And I think the way that Raquel has spoken about James and Lala on this season is aging really, really terribly knowing that she kind of did even a worse level of, of, of infidelity. Yeah. It's, it's, it's mind-boggling to me. But you know what? And I was thinking this last night, like, and I was, I said this on my Instagram story. Like, I'm in bed by 8.30 because I'm a grandmother. But on Wednesdays, the past fucking few weeks, I am up, I am up till 10 watching this shit.

because TV has not been this good in a very long time. And we do have like the social media and the hype like to thank for that. But I'm telling you like this is what TV needs to be. Like you look at Summer House. I'm like boring, turn it off. When's the last time like a show has been this entertaining? Like I like I'm loving it. It's been a while.

And I think with the way that streaming is and the way that we just consume TV now, there aren't very many things where it's like, oh, Wednesday at 9, I need to be available so I can watch this show when it's on because I don't want to be a minute late to the conversation. Right. And Vanderpump rules, I think, is the first Bravo show in a while that feels like it's kind of must see in the moment. In the moment.

Yeah, like, for me, it's like, oh, I didn't catch Jersey this week. I'll watch it tomorrow. I'm like, Bravo. Right. Right, right. And, I mean, props to them. But the thing is like even without the Scandival, I think this season is really, really solid. And I obviously the circumstances around it, erring have heightened it even further.

But I mean, props to this crew on just blowing it out of the water. Blowing each other and blowing it out of the water. Don't, don't keep your, feel free to never keep your dick in your pants. Vanderpumpurals cast. We love you for it. absolutely adore you for it what's next uh and taylor i adore you for for chatting with me today thank you i adore you dylan i'm i was so happy when you asked because right now van der pump is a passion i would i would say for everybody it's a passion project uh well thank you so much taylor and

thank you everyone for listening don't forget to rate review and follow the show wherever you listen you can follow us on instagram at bravo by betches you can follow me at dylan hafer and until next time be cool don't be all like uncool Mention It All is produced by Dylan Hafer, Sean Kilby, Jorge Morales Pico, and Rebecca Sousmakat. Editing by Jorge Morales Pico, Social Media by Dylan Hafer, guest booking by Dylan Hafer, and Ali Friedlander. Be sure to follow at Bravo by Betches on Instagram and Twitter. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th,

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