Max Boyens had a memorable experience filming Vanderpump Rules — but he has no plans to return to reality TV.
During the Tuesday, August 29, episode of the “Up and Adam!” podcast, Max, 31, recalled the biggest challenges of joining the Bravo series.
“They paid me little to nothing. As a new cast member, you don’t make episodic pay. You don’t get paid per episode, it is just a flat rate. It is not a lot at all, it just gets you by,” he claimed. “It was $4,000 [or] something. It was around $4,000 and they also pay it to you in increments.”
According to the former TomTom manager, he received his paychecks at different points throughout filming. “They give you half the check to make sure you stick around and film and then they give you the final check toward the end. It is not all up front,” Max shared. “It is basically your rent and some groceries and then another check for rent and groceries.”
Max praised his former costars for being “understanding” about how his level of success compared to their own.
“It was tough because I was spending a lot of money. I had to buy a lot of clothes because I don’t want to be wearing the same f—king clothes every episode,” he continued. “I am blowing all this money on new clothes, I have to fly to places with [the cast] and I am spending money when it is my turn to buy drinks for everybody.”
Max concluded: “It wasn’t a problem to have [a check] covered [by someone else] sometimes. Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval were always really cool about that. Scheana Shay especially, too.”
Bravo viewers met Max when he joined Vanderpump Rules as a new cast member during season 8. However, his time on the show was short-lived after his past racist tweets resurfaced in January 2020.
Max issued an apology at the time for his offensive social media content, which he posted eight years prior to joining Vanderpump Rules. “It was wrong on every level. It is not a representation of who I am. I am shocked I ever tweeted that — and I am disgusted and embarrassed. I am truly sorry,” he said in a statement to Us Weekly.
Max was ultimately fired from the series alongside Brett Caprioni, who had problematic tweets of his own. Bravo also cut ties with OG cast members Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute in June 2020 due to their behavior toward former costar Faith Stowers.
Lisa Vanderpump addressed the firings that same month, writing via Instagram, “My family, my businesses and I condemn all forms of cruelty, racism, homophobia, bigotry and unequal treatment. We’ve never tolerated it in the workplace or our lives. Most of our employees have worked for us for over a decade, and we have become a family; one that embraces and celebrates each other’s differences. I am proud of the inclusive company that we’ve created. We will continue to embrace diversity as one of our greatest strengths, and I’m excited to give you deeper look into the multi-faceted fabric of our company in the future.”
Max, who officially resigned from TomTom in May 2021, has remained on good terms with his former Vanderpump Rules costars. During the podcast appearance, Max revealed that he filmed scenes for Jax Taylor, Kristen Doute and Brittany Cartwright‘s upcoming spinoff series.
“Jax has asked me to be on the show and film with him. But the last thing I went to [where there were cameras], I didn’t identify with it, it wasn’t for me. I went to a boys’ night and they are older and they are all married with kids,” Max said on Tuesday. “I actually took off my mic and I left.”
