Signing Back On

Published Oct 23, 2024, 7:09 AM

Rachel has signed off, but her publicist Juliette is just getting started by introducing "Going Rogue," a guest hosting series about all things pop culture.

She's kicking things off with the real inside scoop on how Rachel is doing since leaving Hollywood, sharing some interesting thoughts on recent VPR news and digging into headlines involving Ellen DeGeneres and Diddy.

I am excited to welcome you back, but this time with a fresh twist. If you don't know me, I'm Juliette Harris. I've been an entertainment publicist for twenty four years and I've worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, from Lady Gaga to Sharon Stone to many many more. In my twenty four years, I've also been a part of some of the biggest entertainment scandals, including things with Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Nick Carter, Harris Hilton, and of course Scandaval. I'm thrilled to be guest hosting this brand new series, Going Rogue. Today, We're going to kick off Going Rogue with some of the most recent headlines from the Bravosphere, and I think today we'll put some of the PR in the VPR. So let's get into it all right. Let's kick it off with the first one that Tom Sandoval and Victoria Lee Robinson are moving in together. Bravo posts to this and basically it says that Tom Sandoval from fan of Punt Rules and his girlfriend Victoria Lee Robinson are moving in together after dating for almost a year. The couple expressed how serious their relationship has to become. During a red carpet interview with Santoval praising Robinson for inspiring him, I'm just going to start right out by saying, to quote a colleague of mind, Molly McPherson, who always talks about framing. When a couple or a talent comes out and tells you what it is that they are or how they are, that's sort of framing for something, albeit an image change or what's coming next. But I think most celebrities, especially today, are trying to keep those things more private. So them coming right out and saying, you know, we're serious, We've moved into the next level. I think there's a reason for that because for most of us, actions speak louder than words. And also, especially if you take somebody like Tom Holland and Zendeia, they try to keep everything private. They've just now recently been out holding hands more So I think this is a lot of framing for what's to come. And I think that's also because it was posted by Bravo that they're kind of pring it a little bit and let's kind of talk about just Tom and Victoria, because I think Tom is a little tricky. I think he loves. I think he loves to love. We know he loves bombs, you know, as a human. I think he just is in love with the idea of being in love and not necessarily anything substantial behind it. It doesn't always come across as very healthy the way that he loves, because it seems that it's codependant. And then the videos that you see the two of them together, they look very you know, a lot of this is I don't mean this derogatory, but like adrenaline junkies. They both look like they're, you know, addicted to each other, addicted to the excitement and the passion, and you know, that's great and long may it last for them, if it's at all sincere. Tom is also a very smart reality star, and he really understands the game. He understands He in my conversations with him, referred to his relationship with Arianna as building their brand. My conversations with him and Rachel, he was excited about building a new brand with Rachel. So it's very much a part of him. And you know, at this point he's been on television so much and in a reality bubble. I don't know that he necessarily can differentiate. What I do also find interesting is that you know, Tom was so all over the press in a reckless way, right he just didn't matter. All press is good press, as they say, and we saw him really just spiraling in to kind of a you know, crazy space in the headlines. And of late, they've been a lot more demure, shall we say, they've been a lot more quiet, And now here we are walking the red carpets and talking about the status of the relationship. I definitely think that's some framing. I think that's trying to set us up for what is possibly next. I'm sure a lot of people are talking about if it'll last or not. You know, it depends. Look at the end of the day. What I know of Tom Sandoval is that the way he looks at relationships, in my opinion, are not the healthiest. And some of the videos that we've seen the two of them, it's been, you know, quite manic. So let's hope for both of their sakes that either they really are happy together or even from a business standpoint, they are brand partners and they are building their brand out and that they may have a reality television forum to put it out to us. I think only time will tell, which actually sort of leads us into the next headline, which is with the Valley viewers except Tom Sandoval or should he stay away? So in the Bravo sphere, as you all know, there is just NonStop speculation. There's things that get put out, there's people taking pictures. The Bravo fans are super sleuths. They go back. You know. There's a funny thing in pr I always say the audience has a short memory, and for the most part, they will forget. They like to forgive, and they will forget. Bravo fans completely different kettle of fish. They never forget, and if they even have a hint of a memory, they also can find it. They will pull up a video, a quote, a headline from ten years ago. They are amazing that way. So I'm not sure that the Bravo fans love Tom right now. I think it's probably split between them being sick of scandabal and sick of his game playing. However, they are also quite forgiving of the men in the bravosphere. So I think if Tom were to go to the Valley, it's kind of a weird fit because what it was originally set up to be it was more the family oriented series, so you had the singles in the bar and the dating and vander Pump rules, and then the Valley was more what happens in the next stage of your life, how do you navigate family, career, friendships, children, you know, living from the hustle and bustle of West Hollywood or North Hollywood, and then going into the Valley. I'm not sure that Tom fits into that scope, but if they are, you know, we don't know at this point if they're truly rebranding VPR. The most accurate rumors that I've heard is they are doing still a short series of VPR, so Tom and Victoria fit better into that then moving into the Valley unless they get married and start planning a wedding of kids or whatever else, you know. And then Tom's relationship with Jack's is always so weird. As a matter of fact, the first thing Tom ever said to me was, you don't know who Jax Taylor is? And I'm like, no, I don't, because remember I didn't watch the show all those years, And he thought I couldn't do PR because I didn't know who Jax Taylor was, which I thought was pretty funny, but I think they have this deep seated friendship, but then there's the kind of intense Hatred's too strong of a word, but the disagreements have put a wedge between the two of them, and so again that is a layer of a story. And the more layers there are, the more that production, the more that television has to build stories around them. So really, if they did go there, if they did go to the valley, it's not a matter if they would fit in or not, And it doesn't quite matter if people would welcome them or not. It's more about does it make good tv the end of the day, are the fans loving to hate him? Are they going to give him a true redemption arc? We would have to see. But you know, at the end of the day, the more stories there are to make, especially in reality television, the more layers there are for the fans to get involved with. And remember, with the Internet, there's such forums and places that you can put out your opinion and really get invested in these characters and invested in these actors and these storylines, and they love it. They love the drama. You all love the drama. You love to choose the ones you root for and fight the ones you don't. And so in my opinion, the more that they have to give you, the more people will will get involved and will even if they just disagree that he should be there, They're going to voice their opinion and that still clicks and views and people will still tune in to watch. And you know, look, I'm still sort of dumbfounded by the amount of lack of forgiveness or hate for Tom and Rachel, and I just still don't get it because all the people in that show cheated on each other, they all made a mistake, They've all moved past it. Some people don't want to let them move past it. And and Tom, I think the challenge for Tom is that he didn't come out straightforward and say he was really, truly sorry at the end of it, he was sorry about his restaurant getting bad reviews other than creating the mess he did. And then he defended you know where his relationship with was with with Ariana, when really, and this is to all men, I wish they would just stay so that I don't want to be in this relationship anymore. I don't want to be here. So rather than cheat, rather than create the scandal, however, you all know my personal opinion on this too. I feel that the biggest winner in this entire show and the entire scandabal was Ariana and Bravo. So I still, you know, look at the way that it was all laid out and put out and feel that that was intentional. So you know, that's my opinion. But I do think people should be ready to forgive him. I think people are bored of Scandabal and ready to move on. So if you're bored of that, then you have to be able to give him a clean slate. I'm not sure how the fans feel about Victoria. They don't seem to love her. I don't think they seem to trust that they're actually seriously committed, and hence why there needed to be an explanation on a red carpet, Yes we're really serious again, framing for the audience to, you know, asking for them to believe that they are. Next headline, Vanderpunt Rules. Katie Maloney announces she's in love with new boyfriend on ex husband Tom Schwartz's birthday. This was actually People magazine, and you know, she said that she was in love with this new person and expressed her happiness in the relationship. I'm going to give you guys something to think about. Whoever controls the media controls the mind. And this is actually relevant to everything that we're talking about today and a lot of the things that I do talk about. If you can dominate the media, people are thinking about you, they're talking about you. Those are clicks that turns into viewership. So if everything that was reported was as simple as Katie is in love with a new person, that's just not enough of a story. That she announces it on her ex's birthday brings the drama, and that's what the magazine's like, that's what the reader's like. So I feel, you know, her saying these things is really to get the layers and attention, and she's had less storyline or less exciting storyline, So you know this is this looks like they're breathing life into it. And remember right now, this is all the lead up to what's coming. So all these conversations, all these headlines, all these actions, that is what will give this new season life. Everybody's on the internet is swarming about the TikTok. So after this headline posted and then Tom Schwartz actually posted Kristin Dowdy doing the suck a D word, and everybody's trying to wonder why was it as simple as you know, kind of quoting that using that quote, or was it more about the fact that they are together and have a friendship outside or are they filming or what does this actually mean? I don't actually know, but I do think that once again, everybody's swarming around and questioning it. So the pr winner in all of it is is the you know, the the talent themselves and the show because it all serves like a tune in. It all serves as setting us up to thinking what's to come. Even if it goes in a different way, it doesn't matter. It's all conversation starters. That's what all of these things are, and they're fascinating, right So, you know, I think it's a little played out that people keep doing it on their ex's birthday and they drag their exes in. However, again, the media likes to have those headlines and have a little bit more meat on the bones, so to speak. The other thing I will say is sharing that you have a new relationship and that you're in love again. I'll keep going back to Tom Hollin and Sindeya. They don't declare their love for each other right because it's nobody else's business. And I will say in Hollywood, those that keep their relationships the most private tend to have longer relationships. And those that need to instagram verify or TikTok verify or go to a red carpet and tell us where they stand. I tend to think that's more about publicity than the actual reality of the relationship, because the people that cherish their relationships keep them a little bit more sacred and a little bit more private. So I think that's you know, a challenge. But here in this world MVPR and reality television, the more layers, the more publicity you take, the more market share of people's minds you take, and the more people will tune in to find out or get on the blogs and talk about it. So, you know, kudos to them for putting it out there if it is really you know, either way, if it's for publicity or for themselves, they still win. So Katie not saying that this is a funny thing too, Katie saying she's in a relationship and she's in love and setting it up, but then not saying the name is also a little bit of clickbait because she knows you fans are gonna go out there. You guys are so good at it, you're gonna find out who it is. And people found out that it's supposedly Nick Martin, right, and so that is also a little bit of a mind game. I'm not going to tell you who it is. I'm going to tell you in a great relationship, but I'm not going to tell you who it is. And you guys all found it, so that shows that you're still vested in this. Okay. The next headline, a little closer near dear to my heart, would be Rachel Levis is leaving Hollywood nineteen months after scandbal and she's dating a rocket scientist. I actually love this headline. So Rachel did her last podcast and signed off by talking a little bit about her relationship, which the one thing I would say, it's going to sound like a double standard. It's a little different. I think she is sort of more so updating her fans on her progress and where she's come along, and the purpose of her podcast was to let people go on her journey while she healed. Talked about healing learned from her mistakes, learned about her mistakes, and moved on and the growth. And I think one of the key misconceptions about her was, you know, everybody wanted to argue about the friends and who was her best friends and who was good friends. And I remind you that she pretty much lived well she did. She lived out her twenties on reality television, and those people were not her friends. And what she is realizing and what she's had the good fortune of having and finding are both of her old and new friends rekindling those relationships. Because I'll tell you, she lost a lot of her original friends, not because of what she did or her part in the scandal, but because the press everybody talking about her friendships. So she had to take a pause for a moment. Now she's had this year and a half and she has been not only working on herself, working on her friendships. She has a whole new slew of great new friends. And somebody knew that she is dating. And I think for her goes back to what we were talking about. She's going to go and live her life privately so that she can nourish those friendships and relationships and have that kind of quality life that most of us do have. So when it comes to the vand Front Rules cast, you know they all, you know, a lot of them do hang out, but not all of them with each other. Okay, so and are they friends? They've worked together for ten years? Do they hang out with each other outside of I think a few do and a few don't. But they are not the kind of quality of friends that you have had since your childhood, or your family friends, or people that you created an organic friendship with. These are people that were put in a situation and became friends. So you know, those that tried to judge her on her friendships or her relationships that you don't know. And so she has now forged some amazing relationships that she wants to foster and that is why she is stepping away. You know. I think the biggest decision for her was I think she I know how much she loved doing the podcast, but I think for her it's kind of an all or nothing right now that she needs to take a moment to live her life like a real normal person and not have the pulls of Hollywood and the ties to Vanderpunt Rules and have to mention it even once a week. She gets to move away from that now. So I definitely think it was the right time for her. She's on an up, she did so many episodes, she did a lot of great things for her fans and for listeners, kind of taking all of them through the journey. So I think it's a really great decision for her. I think it's a healthy decision for her. And you know, I think, look, I think I must have a crush on Tom Holland I'm gonna mention him again. That last movie that he did, he discussed how intense it was and how he needed to step away and heal. And I believe there are a lot of people in Hollywood that you get so wrapped up. I mean, just imagine, look at Taylor and Kelsey right now. Everywhere they go. There's cameras everywhere they everything they do is made into ten different versions of what actually happened. There are people that are mentally strong enough to do that, and there are people that aren't. But I think for everybody, when you are under such intense scrutiny, there needs to be some time and separation for yourself. If you look to some of the legends, if you look at like a Michael accent. And what happens is they get isolated, they can't trust people, they lose the sense of what's up or down and what is reality. So taking time for yourself being around the people that are grounded, I think is really really important for anybody that's involved in Hollywood. And if you stay in that bubble, I think it's hard because it drowns out reality. And for reality where a reality stars, what I find even more intricate and more intense I think is that they don't even I think they lose themselves into what's real and what they are claiming is reality and what they're portraying and how they portray it. And they, you know, if they set up one storyline, they have to live that and I think for people mentally, for mental health, I think that's really challenging. When we spoke to Heidi, I think she had such a great Heidi Montague. I think she had such a great take on it all because she knew what she wanted and her and Spencer had such a great relationship that that was going to be, and all of us made fun of it. We all said he was a loser and she could do better, and we were really mean to pour Spidey and Spencer, right, But I look back to this interview we had with her not that long ago, and she knew what she was doing and he knew what he was doing, and they had such a strong bond in communication. I give them kudos for pioneering what they did and then stepping away and having a normal life and raising kids, and then you know, I think they would love an opportunity to do it again. So that is all to say. I think Rachel is deserving of her privacy and to live a normal life. Where all the rest of us got to live out our twenties in private and make crazy mistakes. She didn't have that luxury, so I think she's really ready for it. So I know we all wish her well, or at least most of us. Doo. Okay, Brittany krt Right, you know, I actually like this whole Britney thing. So. Britney Cartwright speaks out on recent reunion with acts. Britney Cartwright addressed recent photos with her estranged husband Jax Taylor from a school field trip. She clarified that they are co parenting their son Cruise, and that attending such events together as part of that effort, she emphasized that despite Jack's posting photos of her, the relationship isn't fully reconciled and she didn't intend to mislead anyone into thinking that everything is okay. This is a little tricky for me because I feel that, especially when it comes to a kid, that certain things are sacred and should remain private. And again, speaking to reality television and reality stars, I think it's complicated because they are supposed to put it all out there, but they need to learn when to keep things sacred in private. And I think that this was a very tumultuous relationship that in my opinion, it looks as though Jacks did not treat Britney very well throughout for a very long period of time. And she stayed, and she stayed when they had to do what was right for the kid. And then she got her breath of fresh air and said, I'm not going to do this, I'm going to do this. I'm done right. And then you, for the sake of the child, are trying to co parent, and so you're going to do things together. You're going to have to be together. You know, you role model the relationships that your kids are going to have so he or she is trying to do that, and then this looks like Jack's posted something to grab a headline, to make a discussion, to draw fans in, to make people wonder what statuses of their relationship were they together? Are they and I you know, the way it reads or the way it was reported. She was unaware of that. So that's where I think things get kind of naughty, because at the end of the day, they're fighting or their disagreements are still going to impact the kid, and I think that's not healthy and I don't think that's fair to do that. On the other side, they both win in the reality world because we're talking about them. So there you have it. I know sometimes when I speak, it sounds very circular, and the reason is because I know I look at things from many different angles. They could have both been on it, and they could in on it, and they could have decided to do something. It doesn't appear that way. But you know, back to rappers, they will sometimes start a beef because it brings attention. You know, it's difficult with rappers because they're not part of an ensemble cast. They go out, they do their music and if there's not a beef or an argument or something negative happening. It's really hard for them to grab those those headlines because they don't get all booed up and have babies, and I mean they have them, but they don't show that family life like let's say an actor or a country star might, So they would tend to have beefs to talk about, you know, to create the controversy and to grab the headlines. So I just caution everybody as the viewer to enjoy your television and your music and your press for the fun of it, but don't get so wrapped up in it that your opinions become angry, because that's where it becomes not healthy. That's where people go into you know, kind of attacking different people and making up stories, and that can really hurt the talent themselves. So I think that at a certain point this is all very fresh. It was also reported that there are you know, allegedly addiction issues and a lot of other things that were going on in that relationship. So Brittany, being the primary parent and mother, is going to have to make the very best decisions for herself and for the child and protect that child, and so you know, Jax, in my opinion, is going to need to work really hard to prove that he is healthy and able to co parent and have healthy and able to have a healthy relationship with them separately, right because I don't. My guess is that there's not a reconciler in the cards. Maybe PR wants us to think that, but I wouldn't see that. I think Brittany is shining on her own and she's found her voice, and I don't think she's going to want to go back. So again, I like Britney's story. I like where she's at, and she's got all of the PR cards in front of her to play anyway she wants. Jax doesn't. Jax is coming from the defense position, and he's got to react or he's got to really reboot his whole life and more. That the men in the Bravosphere hold on to the past, the harder it is for them to get to reconciliation and redemption arcs. So although the Bravosphere or Bravo itself is very forgiving to the men, I don't know why that is. It's a double standard A lot when you look at people tend to always jump on the women when there's a cheat and scandal more than the men, it's it's odd and victim blame and she must have done something and she didn't give him what she needed, and so he laughed like I don't even understand that statement, you know, But yeah, I think. I think that Brittany is doing what Brittany needs to do for Brittany and the child. And more power to her, and hopefully Jax catches up and hopefully he doesn't do things that jeopardize their friendship and the relationship to coparent that the child. There's one more VPR headline, and it was Lala, who Again I don't know why. I just like Laala too. I like her ballsiness and her forthrightness, even though I'm not sure I like her as a friend or a person. But she put out there that Brittany was sleeping with a basketball player turned actor, Julian Sensley. Look, I'm gonna sound like a broken record, but at the end of the day, Laala knows the game, and she inserts herself places she has no business being, and she's you know, we're talking about going rogue. She's rogue all the time, right, So she goes into the headline she inserts herself, and you know, do we need to dredge up something that happened in the past. I don't know, But I like Laala from a talent perspective that she knows how to grab headlines. She knows how to turn things upside down. And I'm not sure that Brittany appreciates that, nor Jax, because I believe that Julian was a friend of Jack's. But at the end of the day, making a headline good for Lalla, she grabs one. We're talking about Lalla. So I'm going to take a minute to step outside of vander Punt rules kind of to just go over a couple other headlines that we're seeing. I really don't want to comment on the whole Diddy stuff much, but I'm going to relate it, unfortunately to Rachel and other cases that are happening. Is that we as the public, because information is that our fingertips, and the Internet is going crazy all the time. It never sleeps, and it's providing some things that are factual, some things that are rumors, and some things that are outright lies. And the challenge is that we sometimes are demanding of an answer as opposed to letting the legal system play out and do its thing. So we want proof, we want apologies, we deserve something as the viewer. And at the end of the day, the lawyers have a strategy on how to get to the truth and they present evidence and it isn't their job to present it to us as much as we feel entitled to receive it, So we need to You want to have opinions, you want to talk about it, great, But I think we need to give things time to play out court, let the lawyers do their jobs, let the evidence get presented, because I know I want to know what's truthful. I am also a person that believes where there's smoke, there's fire, and I don't believe that, you know, the federal government would accuse somebody of anybody of something without having something. So but I think that I also see so many people jumping into to forecast and start rumors in regards to Rachel's lawsuit, in regards to any reality TV lawsuits, in regards to Diddy. I just caution people wait until we see the evidence and allow the process to play itself out so proper justice is served. Another interesting headline to me was Ellen DeGeneres, who I feel is really struggling. You know, she was the she went through struggles that started her career, and then she became the queen and she was funny, and then came her scandals, which I actually lived through. Also, I've seen how she was with the talent that I would bring to the show and how she would treat all of us, and it wasn't very nice. And so, you know, does she deserve to be condemned for the rest of her life. I don't think so. But I think that she came back, and I know she came back and did this special, and the special was sort of pandering. I think she called it for your approval, but it didn't really seem like she really wanted anybody's approval. I don't think there was much of a sincere apology or people weren't ready to receive her still being snarky. So I think that I think that now she then since announced since I think it wasn't successful. She then announced that she's retiring, stepping away, and she's aging and she has some health issues, and I don't know if that was a little play for sympathy, but I feel like for Ellen, if she did really want to make a comeback. The way to it was not to kind of attack the fans. It would have been to be more self deprecating and apologetic and then go on with the humor. So I feel unfortunately there, I don't think the fans are ready to have her back, and therefore she's now decided she's not coming back, she's walking away. I think overall, guys, we're mean. We're mean the public we can be mean, right there's a real, you know, screen that we hide behind to make our comments, which makes us emboldened and meaner, and so you know, it's it's tough to be in the public eye. It's hard. So anyways, I think those are the really the big headlines for right now, those that are VPR and those that are not. So I enjoy talking about them. I love looking at the pr of it all. I love you know, It's why I do what I do, because it's like a chess game. So I hope that it's interesting to you and we'll see what happens on the next episode of Going Road.