Lisa Vanderpump has hit back at Jax Taylor’s claim that Vanderpump Rules is scripted.
The TV personality, 63 — who is the owner of Vanderpump restaurant at the center of the reality show — called Jax’s, 44, claim ‘ridiculous.’
‘I think it’s absolutely ridiculous to say “scripted,”‘ Lisa told Entertainment Tonight in a new interview. ‘Nobody can write a script like Vanderpump Rules.’
She went on to humorously suggest that perhaps Jax — who recently made a cameo on the show, after being fired in 2020 — writes his own scripts for the show.
‘Maybe what Jax says is scripted. Maybe he sits at home, in his little bedroom and writes his own scripts. Well, what do I know? Anyway, for the most part, anything Jax says doesn’t make any sense to me.’
Lisa Vanderpump, 63, has hit back at Jax Taylor’s, 44, ‘ridiculous’ claim that Vanderpump Rules is scripted; (L) Lisa seen in 2023, (R) Jax seen in 2024
Her comments are in response to a video of Jax at a recent viewing party for the series and its new spinoff, The Valley — both of which Lisa executive produces — at Jax’s bar in Studio City, California.
He was seen providing commentary on an episode of VPR and repeated multiple times that the show is ‘scripted.’
‘They don’t even hang out with each other,’ he was seen telling the crowd in a clip captured by TikTok user Kate Riccio. ‘Show me a scripted show and I’ll show you f*****g Vanderpump Rules. Scripted! Scripted!’
‘I’ve been on this show for nine f*****g years, this is scripted.’
‘l’ll be on next week, and I’ll tell you what: it was scripted!’ he added.
He went on, ‘This is disastrous. Don’t get me wrong, when we started, it was awesome. About seasons 1 through 6, it was organic, it was real.’
‘Now everybody starts to have money, now it becomes fake. Everything after six seasons is a wash, it’s a f*****g wash.’
Then, when The Valley came on, he said, ‘Now you have a real show! Back to where we started. It’s organic, it’s real.’
After the video went viral, Jax shared he was ’embarrassed’ by what he said during an episode of his podcast with estranged wife Brittany Cartwright, When Reality Hits.
‘I have a big mouth, and it gets me in trouble from time to time. I regretfully went on a rant about how Vanderpump Rules is scripted. I’m incredibly embarrassed by that,’ he said.
‘I think it’s absolutely ridiculous to say “scripted,”‘ Lisa told Entertainment Tonight in a new interview. ‘Nobody can write a script like Vanderpump Rules’; seen in 2023
‘Maybe what Jax says is scripted. Maybe he sits at home, in his little bedroom and writes his own scripts,’ she suggested, before adding, ‘anything Jax says doesn’t make any sense to me’
Her comments are in response to a video of Jax — who was fired from Vanderpump Rules in 2020 — at a recent viewing party for the series where he repeated multiple times that the show is ‘scripted’
‘l’ll be on next week, and I’ll tell you what: it was scripted!’ he added
Then, when The Valley came on, he said, ‘Now you have a real show! Back to where we started. It’s organic, it’s real’
He went on to say the show was one of the ‘most authentic’ reality series out there.
It comes after things got off to a tense start on the latest episode of Vanderpump Rules when Jax made a brief return to the series.
On Tuesday’s episode — which aired the same night as Jax’s spinoff series The Valley — he ran afoul of series namesake Lisa after he and his former costar James Kennedy organized a brunch to be held at her restaurant SUR.
Lisa — who last month attributed Jax’s separation from his wife Brittany to his ‘bad behavior’ — was particularly outraged by his gall, as he had said she was merely a ‘prop’ on these series in recent seasons during an interview on The Toast podcast in 2023.
Jax indicated he wasn’t afraid of his former boss’ outrage while puffing himself up in front of James.
‘I’m not gonna bow down to her, because you own a few restaurants in Hollywood, come on?’ he said, via TooFab.
‘Why are we having a brunch hosted by Jax Taylor? Jax Taylor has been so disrespectful to me publicly. Like, how did this slip through?’ a steely Lisa inquired of her restaurant manager on the day of the brunch.
She went on to vent about Jax — who was fired from Vanderpump Rules in 2020 with his estranged wife — during a confessional interview.
‘Jax has been pretty detrimental about me in the past and God knows I’ve given that man many chances,’ she said. ‘But if you’re going to negate me publicly, why come have an event at my restaurant?’
On Tuesday, Taylor’s Vanderpump Rules reunion got off to a bumpy start with an argument featuring Lisa, when she blasted him as a ‘f***ing hypocrite’
Lisa was particularly upset that Jax would show up at her business after he called her nothing more than a ‘prop’ on recent VR seasons during a 2023 appearance on The Toast
Despite James’ collaboration with Jax, Lisa didn’t seem to be as cold toward him, and she took a seat next to him once he had arrived at SUR for the brunch.
But the prodigal son got a much cooler reception from her when he returned to the telegenic restaurant and asked if he could take a seat near the owner.
‘If you have to,’ Lisa replied, dismissively, to which he added, ‘If you don’t mind.’
But she ‘kinda’ did mind, and she admitted that she didn’t ‘even really want you to be here, to be honest.’
‘The way you come here expecting everything to be so cool and cozy and here you are on a podcast saying, “Lisa’s a prop, she’s not needed, she’s superfluous,”‘ she unloaded.
Jax had an air-headed moment when he admitted he didn’t know what ‘superfluous’ meant, which was just her summation of his comments on The Toast, though it seemed to be accurate.
During that earlier podcast appearance, he claimed that she had become ‘a prop at this point’ on her own show.
‘I don’t mean that in a negative way, but let’s be honest … She’s not bringing anything to the show anymore,’ he said, seemingly in a negative way.
However, Lisa struck back by taunting him that his own superfluity on Vanderpump Rules.
‘I could have hit back and said in the press, the only person that wasn’t needed in the show was you,’ she said.
That led Jax to explain that his comments were partially because he was ‘perturbed’ that Lisa had allegedly never ‘checked in’ on him and Brittany after they were fired from the series.
Lisa attributed Jax’s split from wife Brittany Cartwright (R) to his ‘bad behavior’ last month; pictured in June 2023
‘You wrote me off,’ he added accusingly.
‘You’re such a f***ing hypocrite,’ a now-furious Lisa replied, before Jax gave a half-hearted quasi-apology for if he ever ‘said something wrong in the heat of the moment.’
Lisa went on to claim that she had no desire to publicize ‘all the s*** you talk about me,’ but she felt the need to do so as he was associating his name with her ‘business’ again.
That moment of openness seemed to help the two bury the hatchet — at least temporarily — and they reached an armistice with a hug.
Jax even went so far as to say that he ‘love[d]’ his former boss, although Lisa wouldn’t let the segment end on that saccharine note.
‘I kind of love you too, even though you’re really f***ing annoying,’ she joked.
