Jax Taylor recently criticized Tom Sandoval’s podcast announcement, alleging it tried to overshadow Ariana Madix’s Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) debut.
It all started when Sandoval, best known for his appearance on Vanderpump Rules, wanted to try his hand at podcasting. He debuted his new podcast, Everybody Loves Tom, with a video , per Page Six . Sandoval walked nonchalantly and approached a wooden desk in the video before suddenly pulling off his shirt and announcing, “All right, let’s do this.”
What really got people talking was the timing of Sandoval’s podcast announcement. Sandoval launched his latest business venture less than 12 hours after Ariana Madix’s highly anticipated DWTS debut. This choice irked his former co-star and friend, Jax Taylor.
Taylor expressed his displeasure with the timing in an exclusive interview with Page Six, calling it “bad PR.” Despite their rough history, Taylor expressed his joy for Sandoval but questioned the logic of launching the podcast on the day after Madix’s big Dancing With the Stars performance.
“I’m happy for him, but I don’t think he should have launched it the day after Ariana’s Dancing With the Stars ,” Taylor informed the outlet during the grand opening of the Newsroom in Long Island City, N.Y. “I think that was bad PR, and the fact that he is trying to redeem himself and make himself a better person — whoever told him to announce this the day after … not a good move,” he added. “I don’t understand why he couldn’t have announced it maybe a week later.”
Anytime, day or night, Ariana Madix & @pashapashkov86 are rulin’ this Tango 😍 #DWTS pic.twitter.com/EAeiGmrwod
— Dancing with the Stars #DWTS (@officialdwts) September 27, 2023
Taylor’s criticism was not only about the time but also about Sandoval’s reputation. He recognized Sandoval’s efforts to redeem himself and become a better person. Taylor admitted that he had lately provided Sandoval words of encouragement, realizing that he couldn’t completely judge him given his own prior transgressions. Taylor revealed, “I said, ‘Hey listen, I don’t agree with what you did to Tom Schwartz. I don’t agree with how you handled your bar situation,’ but other than that as far as the cheating thing goes, I’ve done that. So I don’t really have a leg to stand on.”
“But I said, ‘Listen, I don’t know what you’re going through mentally. I can only imagine the whole world hating you.’ So I just gave him a hug and said, ‘If you need me I’m down the street.'” Taylor revealed the aftermath of Sandoval’s affair with Raquel Leviss. While Taylor supported Sandoval’s podcast effort as an outlet, he felt that launching it the day following Madix’s DWTS debut was a bad idea.
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Sandoval’s podcast , Everybody Loves Tom , goes into intimate themes such as his decision to embrace sobriety and his struggles with mental health. Sandoval freely addressed occasions when he felt “very, very close” to suicide in his first episode, offering light on the difficulties he endured during a trying time.