Reality vs. Reality TV: the Blurred Lines of Vanderpump Rules
What are we watching when we tune into reality TV? Is it reality itself, or is it a curated version of that? Is it any version of it? Who do we believe?
I don’t follow many franchises, but I’m thrilled by one particular show, Vanderpump Rules. I’ve been following since the early days of what V ogue has called ‘America’s perfect reality show’.
The show started following the lives of Lisa Vanderpump’s staff in her West Hollywood restaurant, SUR. They were all aspiring actors and models. They were young, they looked hot, and they acted stupid. Perfect reality show material.
On their early seasons, Vanderpump Rules achieved a certain ‘rawness’, unusual in most hyper-produced reality shows. We lived through Jax and Stassi’s breakup drama as they were living through it. Stassi had a full meltdown on camera. We also saw the demise of Tom Sandoval’s and Kristen relationship. Scheana surprised her husband with the divorce papers during filming. These people had no filter. They did the craziest stuff and unveiled the most flabbergasting information when the cameras were rolling.
But somewhere along the way, that radically changed.
As the OG cast grew older, they understood how they are perceived outside of the show. It’s not an aspirational TV show. We don’t watch because we want their lives, we watch because we don’t. We marvel at people capable of such spectacularly bad decisions. So they decided to steer the wheel and try to salvage their image. They started dating off-camera, breaking up off-camera, and mainly leaving their messes for the off season.
All except for the youngest cast member, James Kennedy, who keeps spiraling out of control for entertainment value. However, surrounding James, the lines of reality and reality TV get blurrier.
Are We Supporting an Abuser?
A couple of seasons ago, James Kennedy and Lala Kent were brought into the main cast as a breath of fresh air. The OGs instantly hated them. They were younger, hotter, crazier. They committed the utmost sin: they were liked by the audience.
After a few seasons of struggle, Lala was finally accepted by the main cast, but James remained in the outs. The reason they give for his exclusion is that he has done ‘something’ so heinous he deserves to be fired not only from SUR, but from Vanderpump Rules itself. They insinuate it’s related to the #metoo movement, but no one has come forward to actually accuse him.
Whatever it was, it has not been part of the ‘reality’ pictured on Vanderpump Rules. The audience is kept in the dark.
Since there is no actual information, viewers tend to assume the cast want to ice James out, in order to remain the main characters of the show. They do so by forbidding him to attend events, and thus, preventing him from getting screen time. This has had a contrary effect, because a great number of the viewers now support James (as shown by the show’s very active Reddit thread).
I’m conflicted. I know the show now is far from the batshit crazy, unscripted reality of seasons 1–3. It’s manufactured enough to have Jax Taylor’s wedding coming in season 8. But, is it scripted enough to leave out serious concerns about an abuser? Are they trying to protect the show? Or are all the claims from the main cast just made up, as a ploy to ice out James Kennedy?
Watching the show, it looks like a bunch of adults harping on a clearly alcoholic young man for making the same mistakes they were making when they were actually his age (or even older, *cough* Kristen *cough*).
What makes me feel crazy as a viewer is that I know the producers want me to hate James. I just can’t figure out why, because they won’t tell me.
It’s harder to believe it has to do with the #metoo movement, because all of the cast seems to support feminism in a merely performative, ill-informed way. It feels quite the coincidence that they flash such empowering support when it comes to the only cast member they see as a threat. These are the same people who have always tolerated Jax’s sociopathic behavior.
If I trust the ‘reality’ I watch, I can’t help but root for the underdog, therefore, I want James to triumph over the Witches of WeHo. However, I can’t help but wonder if Bravo is hiding something. If there is another dark ‘reality’, where do I stand? What should I focus on?
Should I focus on the studied ‘reality’ the producers have chosen to present to us? Or should I dig deeper for the ‘actual reality’?
I’ve been following since the beginning, seven years ago. I’m close in age to the cast, so in many ways, I have watched them grow –or not– as I did so myself.
As a feminist, I don’t want to watch something starred by an abuser. I have ditched many shows because of that, and there are many great films I will not watch. I’d rather devote that time to art made by women.
If I started season 1 of Vanderpump Rules today, I’d probably wouldn’t watch anymore because of Jax’s blatant misogyny. However, after seven years of putting that aside, I’m left wondering if I need to stop watching the show for something that happened off camera.
Something that might not have happened at all. Something we don’t know.
Do we trust the OG cast, who have made a reality TV career out of the fact that they are crazy liars? Do we trust rumors online or play detective by trolling boards and listening to podcasts?
Do we write our own scrip of what might have happened?
If I need to stop supporting an abuser, doesn’t that mean I need to stop watching Jax Taylor?
What is the actual reality inside of the reality TV show?
