“He doesn’t want redemption — he wants applause. And glitter.”
Lala Kent has never been one to bite her tongue, and this time, she’s setting her sights squarely on Tom Sandoval’s now-infamous America’s Got Talent performance — a spectacle that fans have already dubbed “emo cosplay of a midlife crisis.” But it was Lala’s withering review, delivered with her trademark venom and precision, that has everyone talking.
In a scathing rant on her Give Them Lala podcast just 48 hours after the episode aired, the Vanderpump Rules star spared no mercy for her former castmate, calling Sandoval’s musical display a “shameless cry for sympathy dressed in Hot Topic clearance.” And that was just her warm-up.
“He’s not trying to heal. He’s not trying to own anything. He’s just trying to perform pain in a way that makes him the victim,” Lala said, her tone thick with disbelief. “Like, bro, you cheated on your long-term girlfriend in a shared house — then vanished into a fog machine with eyeliner and a microphone? It’s embarrassing cosplay for narcissists.”
The performance in question — Sandoval’s theatrical rendition of Take On Me by A-ha — featured the disgraced Bravo star in black mesh, heavy eyeliner, dramatic lighting, and an overabundance of hair gel. While Sandoval clearly intended the performance to be a “vulnerable artistic moment,” many viewers, including Lala, weren’t buying it.
“This is what happens when someone skips therapy and chooses eyeliner,” she quipped.
Lala, who has long called out what she sees as toxic male behavior within the Vanderpump orbit, didn’t stop there. She criticized Sandoval for continuing to avoid responsibility, even while pretending to bare his soul on national television.
“You can’t bypass accountability by crying on stage. That’s not growth, that’s ego in a costume,” she said. “You don’t get to traumatize a woman, then jump-cut to your sad-boy tour and expect us to clap.”
According to sources close to the Vanderpump cast, Lala’s reaction mirrors that of many within the group chat, which reportedly “lit up in horror and memes” the night Sandoval’s AGT episode aired. “She said what most of them were thinking — just louder and funnier,” one insider said. “Even Ariana didn’t have to say a word. Lala did it for everyone.”
Critics, too, have echoed Lala’s sentiments, slamming Sandoval for “weaponizing aesthetics” and trying to rebrand himself without ever publicly acknowledging the emotional wreckage left behind after the scandal with Raquel Leviss.
“What bothers me most isn’t even the eyeliner,” Lala added. “It’s the delusion. The belief that if he looks broken enough, we’ll forget who broke it all in the first place.”
While Sandoval has yet to respond to Lala’s takedown, he did post a cryptic Instagram story thanking fans for “embracing his journey,” followed by a black-and-white selfie captioned, “Art hurts.” Within minutes, Lala reposted the image with a sticker that read, “So does your ego, apparently.”
As for whether she believes Sandoval can actually change?
“Change requires reflection. Not just ring lights and reverb,” she said. “He’s still all ego, no growth. And no amount of eyeliner is gonna cover that up.”
In the world of Bravo, redemption requires more than rhinestones and rehearsals. And if Lala Kent has anything to say about it — Sandoval’s glitter-drenched second act may already be closing before it ever really began.
