Ready to roll. Jax Taylor has no plans of sitting out the upcoming season of Vanderpump Rules amid calls for his firing for his past racist actions, a source exclusively tells Us Weekly.
“Jax definitely plans to return to Vanderpump Rules once filming starts back up again,” the insider explains.
Former costars Faith Stowers and Billie Lee called for Taylor to be fired from the series following Bravo’s decision to cut ties with Kristen Doute, Stassi Schroeder, Brett Caprioni and Max Boyens in June for resurfaced racist remarks.
“I got DMs from other shows, from other females on other shows saying that Mr. Taylor had said some crazy things to them that were racial,” Stowers, 31, told Us exclusively on June 10, noting that Taylor had falsely claimed that she was wanted by the police while they were working together. “So I think he gets a pat on the back a lot. But I think that if you’re going to do it for two people, they should do it for some other people as well.”
Lee, 36, who was on Pump Rules for two seasons, claimed that Taylor “refused to film with me because I was trans.” 90 Day Fiancé star Ashley Martson also came forward calling for the Michigan native’s dismissal from the show, recounting a time he made racist comments about her husband, Jay Smith.
Taylor’s friend and Just Add X partner, Lance Bass said he’d cut ties with the reality star after his past racist and homophobic comments resurfaced. “Lance is disappointed because he does have love for Jax and wanted him to do well,” a source told Us exclusively on June 16. “But Lance was under the impression (like everyone else) that Jax was evolving and wasn’t going to go back to his old behaviors, especially after getting married to Brittany [Cartwright].”
The SUR bartender, 41, has yet to comment publicly on his remarks about Stowers and Lee. His future on the Bravo show, however, isn’t the only thing up in the air. The coronavirus pandemic has halted shooting and it’s unclear when it will resume.
“Cast members still have not heard anything from Bravo regarding picking back up filming VPR again,” the source told Us in July. “They would have been filming this summer.”
The show’s setting, SUR, which is owned by Lisa Vanderpump and her husband, Ken Todd, briefly reopened in July before closing its doors because of a surge in coronavirus cases locally.
“SUR began reopening two weeks ago but ended up locking everything down again after Governor Gavin Newsom announced reclosures in L.A. including indoor restaurants,” the insider added. “Staff have not heard from Lisa or Ken.”
As the show’s cast and the restaurant workers wait to see what’s next, Taylor has been spending time with Cartwright, 31, and his in-laws in Kentucky.
The reality star joined his wife in her home state after Cartwright’s mother, Sherri Cartwright, was admitted to the ICU last month following complications from her bladder surgery.
Former Vanderpump Rules costar, Doute, 37, and her boyfriend, Alex Menache, joined the pair in Kentucky on Wednesday, July 15, for a getaway following Doute’s firing a month prior.
