Jax Taylor is out of rehab and back in his spot as the number one terrorizer of Brittany Cartwright, his estranged ex, on The Valley. As a bonus (for him alone), right after he returned, he got rewarded with a flight to NYC to star on Watch What Happens Live. Trash behaviors make ratings soar. I understand this, yet I can no longer cosign his antics on Bravo.
In 2013, we met Jason Michael Cauchi, otherwise known as Jax, on Vanderpump Rules. He was loud and messy. In Season 1 alone, Jax engaged in a parking lot shirtless fight before admitting to cheating on his then-girlfriend with a woman in Vegas, all while dumping another gal right after one of her AA meetings. At the reunion, Jax reassured us all by letting us know that he was a work in progress and that he would do better.
This mantra continued for 8 seasons on VPR. Now, Jax is starring in The Valley, and his behaviors have reached shockingly scary new heights. Thankfully, production and his cast stepped in, forcing Jax into a rehab-like facility during the production of Season 2. But even in treatment, his poor behaviors (allegedly) persisted.
Even still, Jax benefited from the machine by regaining his spot on Bravo alongside an additional reward via WWHL. Ratings are one thing. The actual lives of the stars involved, however, are another matter. Therefore, it is time for Jax to either get TF off our screens or to finally be the change that he has long wished to see (in my opinion).
Jax Taylor went to rehab but continued to manipulate
Brittany has been through it. NO ONE deserves to feel unsafe, especially when they are within the confines of their own home.
Yet, unsafe is exactly how Jax made Brittany feel. Thankfully, production stepped in. Jax needed to complete a stint in a therapy or rehab-based facility, they stressed. So, off Jax went, shockingly still hellbent on his innocence.
Even in rehab, surrounded by professionals, Jax allegedly continued to manipulate the system. On The Valley, Brittany revealed that the facility called her. They alleged that Jax had briefed their front desk staff on how to answer their phones, informing anyone who called about his presence there that he had gotten heartbreakingly rushed to the ER for a suspected heart attack. The sympathy route was his next gameplay (apparently).
However, on The Valley: After Show, Jax called this storyline a lie. But, using the camera systems in his house, Jax did rage-text and stalk Britt from therapy. His mind games have failed to cease, cueing mixed feelings over his presence on Bravo.
Viewers protested Jax’s invite to Watch What Happens Live, which Andy Cohen noted
Episode 10 of The Valley Season 2 showed Jax exiting rehab. Then he complained that Brittany never visited him, her bar party pissed him off, and oh yeah, he purposely stopped paying the bills on the house, all because, after their split, Brittany entertained a tryst with someone he knew.
Meanwhile, Jax cheated on Brittany for years while their union was still intact. Wising up, Brittany smartly had Jax served with divorce papers at the end of this episode. Brittany did the right thing. Yet Jax won the seat that should have been reserved for her that same night on WWHL.
Thankfully, Andy Cohen started his appearance with an acknowledgment that no one asked for this. “We got a lot of Tweets from people that are mad that you are here,” Andy quipped. As an aside, many of these people even vowed to turn their screens off for this episode as a form of protest.
In response, Jax revealed that he is watching this season, which is a first for him. Then, Jax turned on his performative side, announcing that he felt “utterly embarrassed” by his actions. Jax is also “sorry that people had to see all that,” he said. Nevertheless, the viewers have spoken, and this tired version of Jax is no longer someone that they care to see.
Jax Taylor is getting rewarded for his terrible behavior on and off The Valley
There needs to be a line drawn forever in the sands of this genre of television. If one series can fire its star for a revenge-porn storyline that was not even as it appeared, then all other series must follow suit. Regardless of their popularity levels, violence, both explicit and implicit, should never be tolerated.
I (for one) am tired of turning on my television only to see problematic humans receiving extra airtime. Listen. I want Jax to be well. Until he is in a truly better headspace, however, I would love to see Bravo granting this man zero other platforms to express his semi-never-wrong views on.
The Valley is available to stream on Peacock and Hayu in the UK and Ireland.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK JAX SHOULD GO ON PAUSE?
