Jax Taylor said his friend Tom Sandoval is “not the same guy” after the backlash of ‘Scandoval’ — the fallout of his affair with castmate Rachel Leviss while he was in a relationship with Ariana Madix. Jax claimed Tom has “serious trauma” and “PTSD” from fan hate, and his priorities are “effed up.” Meanwhile, Johnny Bananas said Tom declined to come on his podcast because he was “getting a chemical peel.”
Though Jax and Tom were once co-stars on Vanderpump Rules, Tom has recently made headlines amid his stint on the new season of the competition show The Traitors. At one point in the season, fans roasted Tom for having pit stains on camera.
On his When Reality Hits podcast, Jax and The Traitors alum Johnny Bananas addressed the animosity toward Tom.
“Anything that happens to him that could in any way, shape, or form be made fun of or poked fun at, now he’s just like a walking punchline,” said Johnny, via @vanderpodrecaps on Instagram. “And I think that at some point, it’s like, yo, I get it, like he did what he did, but I feel like he’s done his time.”
Jax agreed, saying, “I’ve said this to everybody. What he did was wrong, I get it, but he’s done his time.”
“The punishment at this point doesn’t fit the crime,” Johnny added.
Jax shared his belief that the backlash of Scandoval “hurt [Tom] so bad,” and he’s “not the same guy anymore.”
“And I think it’s gonna take a lot for him to realize, like for instance, I think right now he should be rebuilding his brand,” he went on.
Johnny pointed out that Tom declined to be on his podcast because he was “getting a chemical peel.”
“Okay, so his priorities are so effed up,” Jax responded. “He doesn’t say, hey listen, I need a plan, I have structure, this is what I wanna do. He’s just living by the seat of his pants, and it’s not his fault. I really think that he had some serious trauma. He’s got PTSD.”
Later on, Johnny recalled the height of Scandoval.
“The amount of … negativity and public scrutiny that this guy was under … I remember [when] it happened, all this s**t got out right before I went away for one of my [seasons on The Challenge],” he said. “I got back 10 weeks later, and it was still f**king like rabid dogs.”