‘Vanderpump Rules’: Should Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright Have Fired Their Controversial Pastor Before LVP Intervened?
Vanderpump Rules stars Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright are in the hot seat over a wedding controversy. The drama heated up after Lisa Vanderpump discovered that the pastor who was set to officiate their wedding had posted homophobic messages on Twitter. Taylor and Cartwright fired the pastor after a talk with Vanderpump, but, as Tom Sandoval pointed out, they knew about his views towards the LGBTQ community the entire time they were planning the ceremony.
Taylor and Cartwright hit a major snag
The news about Taylor and Cartwright’s pastor leaked two weeks before they tied the knot in Kentucky. Vanderpump caught wind of the news and immediately called the couple to have a chat about what their pastor had written on social media.
After the discussion, Taylor and Cartwright agreed that the pastor had to go. In his place, the pair convinced Lance Bass to officiate the wedding, which was a pretty big improvement.
During a recent episode of Vanderpump Rules, Cartwright talked about the decision to fire the pastor in light of his views. Although the man was a good friend of Cartwright’s family, she admitted that people in Kentucky feel a little different about things than the citizens of Los Angeles.
“In L.A., we kind of live in like this bubble, so whenever I go back home, there are people who believe all kinds of different things,” Cartwright shared. “Some people believe in way different politics than we do. There’s just so much you don’t really talk about, so whenever something like this gets brought up, it makes it very difficult, because I don’t want to disappoint anybody in my life.”
Although Taylor and Cartwright did the right thing letting the pastor go, their Vanderpump Rules co-star, Tom Sandoval, had a different take on the situation.
Sandoval and Taylor butt heads on ‘Vanderpump Rules’
Once the news about the pastor made headlines, Sandoval and Ariana Madix immediately questioned the decision to hire him in the first place. According to People, the Vanderpump Rules star believed that Cartwright and Taylor knew about the homophobic tweets several months ahead of time – yet they still decided to have him officiate their ceremony.
Madix, whose bisexuality was revealed last season, was especially irritated with the couple. Not only did she feel “triggered” by the whole situation, but she also believes that nobody said anything to Taylor or Cartwright because they didn’t want to rock the boat.
“Nobody has said anything about it to either Jax or Brittany because I think everybody is just afraid of upsetting them,” she stated.
During a birthday party on Vanderpump Rules, Sandoval confronted Taylor about what happened. But before he could get a clear answer out of Taylor, his co-star refused to talk about what happened. Before the end of the night, things got pretty emotional between Sandoval and the couple, and even Stassi Schroeder blasted him for “trying to make them look bad.”
Cartwright’s pastor opens up
Taylor and Cartwright took a lot of heat for their decision to hire the pastor. Although the couple made it sound like they didn’t know about his tweets, it is clear that they were aware of his homophobic viewpoints.
Taylor and Cartwright, of course, denied knowing that the pastor, a man named Ryan Dotson, felt so strongly about the LGBTQ community. In fact, Cartwright later revealed on Vanderpump Rules that she always thought Dotson was a good family man and that it was very difficult reading what he wrote.
For his part, Dotson has no bad feelings about getting fired from Taylor and Cartwright’s wedding. He also revealed that the two still invited him to attend the wedding, but he declined the invitation because he did not want to give them any more trouble.
“I want [Brittany] to have the very best day she possibly can,” Dotson shared. “They asked me to be a guest, but I probably won’t. I’m too much of a distraction.”
Dotson added that he is not homophobic or transphobic, despite what he posted on Twitter. Instead, he is just following what his religion teaches.
Taylor dishes on the scandal
In the weeks following the scandal, Taylor and Cartwright assured their fans that they are both huge supporters of the LGBTQ community. Cartwright even explained how they talked to Dotson ahead of time about his views and were convinced that he would never do anything to make people feel uncomfortable.
Although some of their Vanderpump Rules co-stars were clearly offended by what happened, Taylor later told fans that they should take what they see on the show with a grain of salt.
Taylor and Cartwright officially tied the knot on June 29. There is no telling what will happen next, but it is safe to say that the drama with Dotson is far from over.
Fans can watch Taylor and Cartwright in action when new episodes of Vanderpump Rules air Tuesday nights on Bravo.
