James Kennedy has been on another apology tour this season on Vanderpump Rules. This is his storyline pretty much every season, but this time there’s a major difference. James’ last main supporter, his girlfriend Raquel Leviss, has finally had enough. She put her foot down and gave him an ultimatum. Either he stops drinking completely and goes to AA meetings, or she is out.
It seems like Raquel threatening to leave finally got through to James. His whole demeanor seems different, and his energy is much calmer. He has been going to meetings, staying sober, and appears to be working a recovery program. Part of working the program is making amends to those whom you have wronged, and James had big amends to make with Katie Maloney. On last week’s episode, he finally bit the bullet and offered Katie a surprisingly humble and convincing apology at the SUR-Tom Tom softball game. Even more surprising was Katie’s acceptance of his apology and agreement to dead their issues once and for all. So what made this apology different from all of the others that James has offered up in the past?
James talked about the big moment recently on the Vanderpump Rules Aftershow. “I wanted to talk to Katie and get some things across, but I just never knew the right time. It’s just, you know, when is a good time?” James explained. “I was always, like, so scared to approach her because I never knew if she was gonna be like, Nah! But she really wasn’t and it surprised me and it was a beautiful thing, you know.”
I’m sure it was not easy to approach Katie to apologize to her again. The fact that Katie was even open to it seems to show that there was an authenticity to it this time that had been missing in the past. James continued, “It really was nice making up with Katie because I’ve always liked Katie as a person and I always felt like she’s just such a cool girl in general.”
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That might be a bit of a stretch. Of all the vile things James has said, he is always particularly harsh to Katie. They don’t really seem to have anything in common and I cannot recall ever seeing them be friendly towards one another. I think maybe what James meant to say is that he has always liked Katie’s husband, Tom Schwartz, and she must be a cool girl since she is married to him. I think James wants to be able to hang with the Toms more and he knows he has to get along with Katie in order to do that. The apology may be valid, but this statement just seems to be James laying it on a bit thick.
James concluded, “I got caught up in a really bad place and said some really dumb shit, and I regret that day. But here I am in the future trying to make it better and this was a good opportunity. And she really did listen to me and hear it and it was really great. I was pleasantly surprised that day and I left the softball field with a smile on my face.”
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It does sound like James is attempting to take personal responsibility here. That is something his apologies were missing in the past. Although he apologizes to Lisa Vanderpump every season, he was only doing it because he wanted his job back. When he has apologized to other cast members, it was usually because that was the only way he would be invited somewhere. It has always been about James apologizing to get something he wants, not because he feels remorse for his actions. That is why his behavior never changes permanently. This might be the first time he is really seeing his behavior for what it is and might be genuinely sorry. Then again, it might just be another temporary way of placating people so he can squirm back in with the group.
Katie, for one, feels like this was definitely a more authentic apology than she has received from him previously.
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“There was something different about it,” Katie shared. “For whatever reason, something spoke to me and I was just like, I just want to take him for his word. I think that this time he might actually genuinely mean it. I’m happy that I did listen to him and I didn’t just shut him off or anything like that.”
Schwartz thinks it was a really significant moment as well.”That was like 5 years in the making,” Schwartz maintained. “You know, I think we’ve all wanted to kill James at some point. I know I have. But he’s come a long way. He’s put a lot of effort into his sobriety, just being a better person. He’s putting in work, you know, he’s making an effort, and I can appreciate it. I’m very empathetic.”
Schwartz is always empathetic to other people, just not always to his wife. He is obviously excited to see Katie make up with anyone.
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“[James] is getting wiser,” Schwartz remarked, “It was just cool, I mean, just thinking about all the shit that we’ve been through, Katie and him in particular. To see them hug it out was like, nice.”
At least now they can all move forward. James can be around Katie and Schwartz without it always being a problem. “Now when we see each other it is getting to the point where we go, like, what’s up dude?” Schwartz revealed, “It’s cordial. It’s beyond cordial, its like upbeat. It’s friendly. I think [Katie] even likes his pictures on Instagram sometimes. I think she commented on one of the pictures. A positive comment. It’s a big deal.”
There is no telling how long the peace will last, but it seems that Katie and James have forgiven each other for now. Only time will tell. I wish James the best with his recovery. It is not easy, especially with so many people watching his every move. But Katie has forgiven James, the rest of the cast members will likely follow her lead. We may finally get to see a sober DJ James Kennedy this season.
RELATED: Kristen Doute & Katie Maloney Argue About Wine Line On Twitter
TELL US-DO YOU THINK JAMES’ APOLOGY TO KATIE WAS SINCERE? DO YOU BELIEVE HE HAS REALLY CHANGED THIS TIME? DO YOU THINK KATIE SHOULD FORGIVE HIM? SHOULD THE GROUP LET HIM BACK INTO THEIR CIRCLE? DO YOU THINK LISA WILL GIVE HIM A JOB AT SUR OR TOM TOM NOW THAT HE IS SOBER?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
