James Kennedy has found himself in hot water with Vanderpump Rules fans once again. In December 2024, he was arrested for a domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend, Ally Lewber, but he hasn't let that slow down his DJ career.
Only a few days after his arrest, he was already back on the DJ stage and now, three months after the news broke. he's in trouble again -- this time for posing for a picture with controversial podcaster and public figure Andrew Tate and his brother.
Vanderpump Rules fans react to James Kennedy's photo with the Tate brothers
On March 7, James Kennedy was DJing at LIV in Las Vegas and he shared a number of photos and videos of his set as well as one of himself posing for a selfie with controversial podcast host and public figure Andre Tate as well as Andrew Tate's brother, Tristan Tate.
The photo, which was originally shared to James Kennedy's Instagram story, was posted to Reddit on March 8. Fans were almost universally upset about the photo and reacted as such across X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit.
Some fans questioned what Lisa Vanderpump would say while others rightfully pointed out that since Lisa Vanderpump had previously defended James Kennedy after his arrest, saying that the former VPR star "didn't hurt" his ex-girlfriend and that "they were both drinking," it's unlikely that LVP will choose this to be her line in the sand for James Kennedy's bad behavior.
Meanwhile, other fans pointed out that the women in the VPR cast are often met with much more backlash than the men when, especially in the case of James Kennedy, the men of the cast are guilty of worse offenses than the women. One fan wrote on Reddit, "I'm not saying Scheana is the most perfect angel but she's always tried to move forward with the group and she is relatively harmless."
On March 8, the photo was removed from James Kennedy's story and he issued an apology on his Instagram story, claiming to be unfamiliar with Andrew and Tristan Tate's content and the allegations that have come out against the pair of infamous, controversial public figures.
In the story, James Kennedy claims to "regret" taking the selfie with the pair and says that he has since learned about the pair and that he doesn't agree with the beliefs that the two of them share. Unfortunately for James Kennedy, it seems like it's too little, too late because many of the responses to his apology were hesitant to believe him.
While some fans believe that he was doing damage control and just trying to get the heat off himself, other fans had some poignant responses referencing James Kennedy's bad behavior with one fan saying, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them."
Who is Andrew Tate?
There's a good reason that James Kennedy got so much backlash for taking a selfie with Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan. The pair have become infamous figures on the internet in the past few years and they don't exactly have a good reputation -- as shown by the response to James Kennedy posting up for a photo with them.
He first rose to mainstream fame as a cast member on Big Brother UK in 2016, but he was removed only a few days into the season after a video of him allegedly physically abusing a woman with a belt resurfaced. Although Andrew Tate claimed that the video was a consensual roleplay session, he was still removed from the BB house -- and that was just the start of his bad reputation.
Since then, the former kickboxer turned podcaster and entrepreneur has gained a name for himself online for his controversial comments and his online "Hustler's University" program that many have alleged is a scam akin to a pyramid scheme.
Along with a long history of misogynistic comments and the promotion of toxic masculinity, Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, were arrested in Romania on allegations of human trafficking and organized crime, though the pair deny that they took part in any of the allegations lodged against them.
All in all, they're not great people for James Kennedy, who was already on thin ice with the Vanderpump Rules fans that were ready to forgive him after his December 2024 arrest, to be taking a picture with. It's difficult for many of them to believe that James Kennedy could really not know who Andrew and Tristan Tate are considering they've been such a hot topic for the past several years, but it's possible that he meant it when he said he had no idea.
