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Will James' Latest Drunken Behavior On 'Pump Rules' Finally Be The Last Straw For Lala?
Every cast member of Vanderpump Rules has gotten out of control from time to time, but the only one who consistently exhibits bad drunken behavior and doesn't learn that he should probably corral is impulses is James Kennedy. The former SUR busboy and current DJ has had problems with alcohol before, but now, it seems that James Kennedy's drinking on Vanderpump Rules is driving away all his friends.
James came onto the SUR scene basically because his parents know Lisa Vanderpump and she did them a favor by hiring their son. This is a man who bussed tables by day (which is perfectly respectable work) and calls himself the "white Kanye West" by night (which is not respectable), so Lisa must have known what she was getting into. Things were fine with James for a bit — he was dating Kristen and hating Jax, and that was the crux of his storyline — but as James' tenure on Vanderpump Rules grew, so did his problems with alcohol. When James drinks, as he's shown time and time again, he turns into a different person. He's angry. He's aggressive. He's arrogant. And he ruins the good times for everyone else. James' own drinking at work was what got him canned from his bussing job at SUR in the first place.
James insists on belittling those closest to him — he constantly talks smack about Lala's older, unnamed boyfriend to her face. James will have a cocktail and suddenly, Lala's man is fat. Lala's man is only with her because she's the flavor of the month. Lala is only with her boyfriend because he pays her rent and has a private plane. Lala is clearly hurt by these words, and she tells James as much. She and James are really close, and they can say a lot to teach other. But James insists on pushing her buttons as much as possible, alienating Lala in the process. On a trip to Big Bear on the Feb. 19 episode, Lala tried to tell James that he was hurting her feelings by saying the things he said. Lala even told Raquel, James' girlfriend, that James needed to cool it. But James brushed off Lala's concerns as just telling her he was worried about her and he doesn't think her man is good enough. Is James in love with Lala? That's his own issue. But his drinking exacerbates the feelings he may have, and it makes everything way worse.
There was a point in the same episode of Vanderpump Rules where Jax and Tom Sandoval were looking at each other, saying, "We weren't this bad when we were young, were we?" Well, they probably were. But the rest of the Vanderpump Rules cast always seemed to know, as Jax said, when to quit. Even Tequila Katie! In the six seasons that Vanderpump Rules has been on the air, viewers have seen the cast do a lot of growing up. Katie, Kristen, and Stassi have a newer, more adult friendship. Tom Schwartz and Katie are a married couple. Ariana and Tom are mostly settled and working — like adults — through their intimacy issues. Jax still can't keep it in his pants, but he's finally working on himself, going to therapy and a reiki healer to try to get to the bottom of his baggage. Whether it's James' age (he's much younger than most of the cast, save for Lala and Brittany) or his hubris, James is the one cast member that's not slowing down and not recognizing that his drinking and partying is damaging to those around him. It's making his friends not want to be his friends, and when you hit that level, well, it's a problem.
James has gotten in trouble because of his drinking before. It got him fired. It got him banned from Watch What Happens Live, because he and Lala drunkenly cursed up a storm while on the live show. And now, it may cause him to lose his best friend. If James isn't careful, Lala won't be standing next to James the next time he goes off.