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Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel has set her sights on Vanderpump Rules star James Kennedy amid her ongoing Reality Reckoning.
The Skinnygirl mogul is drawing attention to the alleged abuse that has allegedly occurred at the hands of James Kennedy over the years.
If you remember during Bethenny Frankel’s now infamous podcast with Raquel Leviss in the summer of 2023 she not only said that James Kennedy was abusive towards her during their six-year relationship but also towards his ex-girlfriend Kristen Doute.
James Kennedy and Raquel dated from 2016 to 2021 while Kristen and James were an on-again, off-again couple from 2014-2016.
Raquel also alleged that just as Kristen was ready to come forward and be open about the abuse she allegedly endured during her relationship with James, Bravo offered her a spot in the upcoming Vanderpump Rules spinoff in order to silence her from coming forward.
“Kristen was just starting to talk about her tumultuous relationship with James [Kennedy] and what happened behind closed doors. Then all of a sudden she’s presented with this spinoff,” Raquel claimed during part 2 of her iHeartRadio podcast interview with Bethenny Frankel. “I believe [it] is a way to silence her — to keep that under wraps — so that the longevity of Vanderpump Rules can continue.”
“I’ve seen him be a violent person so I have no doubt that what she’s saying is true. I hope that one day it will come to light and there will be justice,” Raquel added. “It is interesting because the cast members that were fired and canceled at that time, now have this big comeback because this scandal is so salacious that we are the ultimate villains — Tom [Sandoval] and I — and now they have a platform to redeem themselves.”
Bravo has denied Raquel’s claims
However, the abuse rumors about James Kennedy continue to circulate online, which is why Bethenny Frankel decided to tackle the allegations on her Just B podcast.
“This guy, James, there are so many rumblings about him, uh, alleged abuse by so many different people and there are now blogs about it and articles about it and podcasts about it and specific examples cited,” Bethenny explains. “And I hesitated to air part of the Rachel interview about this, and other people have reached out to me. So I’m trying to tread lightly because I can’t think of a worse thing that could be said about someone. The thing about selective cancellation is that it doesn’t make a lot of sense, and it doesn’t have a consistency to it.”
“What’s interesting is that reality television is such a low down dirty dump that it really doesn’t matter if there are accusations against you for physical abuse. And then there’s a guy who’s very popular and good looking and charming on Vanderpump Rules, who is, you know, a favorite of not only, like, the people in charge there, but also many of the fans,” she continued.
Bethenny Frankel went on to note that from the outside looking in, it seems that Bravo is doing everything they can to protect James for the sake of Vanderpump Rules. She notes that others have been fired for simply being accused of abuse however somehow James isn’t feeling any of that heat.
She explains:
“So many people have accused him of abuse – that’s just the truth. If any of this is true, it’s ever this is a person who’s protected because he’s working on a show that is now part of the realm that is profitable, um, that had ever its stratospheric rise, which also was the exponential demise of Rachel, and Tom [Sandoval] is still there. Ever and it’s just interesting that if someone’s making it rain, they are protected.
So I just think it’s interesting that, um, in some cases, just the accusation would be grounds for firing or investigation, and this guy has a lot going on that people are talking about. I’m just hearing it in the periphery, just, like, ever seen it on blogs and comments and, like, people’s podcasts. And I’m thinking to myself, don’t other people, like, get in major trouble for just, like, that association being there, but, no, not this not in this case.
You know, protect the realm. Protect the good looking, charming, ever, you know, one with a British accent, for sure. I really don’t know enough about the show, which I was criticized about, which is hilarious because I certainly am not looking to, like, get myself more dirty by watching dirty television. But, um, my understanding is that he’s, like, a favorite. You know, he’s charming and charismatic, and he’s a good looking guy. “
In conclusion, Bethenny says that multiple people within the Vanderpump Rules sphere have told her about James’ alleged abuse and how discussions about the topic have been cut out of the reunions in order to protect him and the show.
“Bad guys, you know, do good things. I don’t know James. I’ve never met him. He seems entertaining and charismatic and charming. I’m just noticing that so many different people are talking about him, and one person who’s very connected to the cast called me during the reality reckoning,” she said. “Two other people directly told me and then ever it was allegedly cut out of a reunion, this whole discussion about this because that’s not good for Bravo and it’s not good for business and it’s just fucking crazy. “
Vanderpump Rules airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
