Vanderpump Rules Cast: Urging James Kennedy to Come Out of the Closet?

On last night’s episode of Vanderpump Rules, James Kennedy drunkenly confessed to being in love with his gay best friend, Logan, whom he then kissed.

It came in at about 47,000 on the list of most eyebrow-raising behaviors James has engaged in this season, but for some reason, that’s the move his cast mates are fixated upon.

The previews for next week’s episode showed Kristen Doute–James’ only real competition for the title of most sociopathic Vanderpump cast member–insisting that Kennedy come out of the closet, because … well, we’re sure she’ll eventually come up with some reason why his sexuality is any of her business.

Just give her some time.

Kristen wasn’t alone in being far more concerned with the possibility that James is bisexual than with the fact that he’s likely a bipolar alcoholic with abusive tendencies.

“Watching James and Logan interact for like two seconds, I don’t know what’s going on,” Jax Taylor remarked during Monday’s episode.

“I just don’t know who’s the top and who’s the bottom.”

And apparently, James’ castmates aren’t just playing it up for the cameras.

In fact, it seems the only one who isn’t concerned is Kennedy’s girlfriend, Raquel Leviss.

One insider tells Radar Online that James’ “friends” have been relentlessly pressuring him to come out:

“They told him that he really needs to start living as his true self,” said the source.

“They think James needs to come out.”

The situation is interesting, but not for the reason the Kristen and company think:

1. The questioning of James’ sexuality and the campaign to forcibly draw him out of the closet comes on the heels of an episode in which the cast repeatedly boasted about their concern for social justice and their cred within the LGBT community. 

Side-eyeing your straight friend’s friendship with his gay roommate isn’t exactly the height of wokeness.

2. In that same episode, James got daytime sh-tfaced and heaped verbal abuse on a woman in a public setting.

No one seemed to have a problem with that, but kissing his male friend on the cheek?! Mon dieu!

Look, horrendous behavior from the Vanderpump cast is nothing new, but coming on the heels of their annual pride parade episode, this buffoonery is especially nauseating.

Watch Vanderpump Rules online to remind yourself of the extent to which these people need to grow up.

View Slideshow: 37 Classic Vanderpump Rules Moments in GIFs

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Teen Accused of Urging Boyfriend to Commit Suicide in "Sick Game"

Death-by-text sounds like the plot of a mediocre police procedural episode, but there’s a real criminal trial on the subject right now.

Both the victim and the defendant were teens when this took place … this is pretty rough.

Michelle Carter stands accused of sending Conrad Roy III, who was her boyfriend at the time and who had just recently graduated from high school, a series of text messages in which she encouraged him to follow suicidal impulses and end his life.

The criminal charge is involuntary manslaughter, which might sound pretty steep for a series of verbal messages sent by a teenage girl.

But Conrad’s death was very real.

And anyone feeling sorry for her might change their minds by the end of this post.

She’s being tried in juvenile court, even though she is now 20.

Michelle has waived her rights to a jury trial, and honestly, we’re no legal experts, but that sounds like the best decision that she’s made in a very long time.

Juries are made up of everyday strangers who are usually no more qualified to render a verdict than, say, a reality star is to become President of the United States.

Sometimes, they’re still your best bet, especially if the judges where you live are elected officials or if you want to appeal to a jury’s sympathies.

But in this case … it sounds like Michelle’s best bet is the letter of the law protecting her.

Some of the texts in which Michelle allegedly encourages Conrad to commit suicide are especially damning.

Here’s one:

“You’re so hesitant because you keeping over thinking it and keep pushing it off. You just need to do it, Conrad. The more you push it off, the more it will eat at you.”

As horrible as that is, that particular message doesn’t end there.

“You’re ready and prepared. All you have to do is turn the generator on and you will be free and happy. No more pushing it off. No more waiting.”

Like … it’s so hard to read that.

It’s even harder to imagine someone sending that to a loved one.

The conversation in which it appears that Michelle is actively pushing the already suicidal Conrad to act on his self-destructive impulses and end his life took place across multiple days.

And you can bet that the prosecutor is not going to let the judge or anyone else forget any provable detail of the case.

In their opening statements on Tuesday, prosecutors argued that Michelle craved attention from her peers, and that appearing to be grief-stricken after her boyfriend’s tragic suicide would satisfy that need.

“The defendant needed something to get their attention. She used Conrad as a pawn in her sick game of life and death.”

We don’t know if we’d characterize it as a game, but we’re certainly sickened.

There are a number of issues at play in this case.

First of all, Michelle did not magically make Conrad suicidal.

The best analogy for messages or imagery that seem to encourage suicide — remember when 13 Reasons Why was accused of glorifying suicide and being dangerous for teens? — is an allergy.

It’s the same thing as with triggers and PTSD, actually.

Basically, certain people, for mental health reasons, are specifically “allergic” to certain things.

So we could see someone arguing that a person egging on a someone who’s suicidal is killing them just as surely as someone who slips peanut oil into the food of someone with a deadly allergy.

They’re not the same, but either the allergy sufferer or the suicidal teenager decided to be that way or can somehow choose to stop being vulnerable.

The lack of any physical presence by Michelle during these conversations could make her look less culpable.

After trans teenager Leelah Alcorn’s tragic death, many people wanted her parents brought up on charges.

They argued passionately that her parents had created a miserable environment for her that caused her death.

If Michelle Carter is guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter for sending text messages, then one might argue that parents — with far more impact — would also be culpable.

It’s important to remember that many facts of Michelle’s case are still in dispute, with her attorney arguing that she had previously attempted to discourage him from taking his life during previous attempts to take his own life.

Suicidal depression is complicated as hell.

We won’t know everything until the trial concludes — if then.

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Joy-Anna Duggar: Courting, Getting Married ASAP at Parents" Urging?!

Joy Anna Duggar only just turned 19, but with Jinger married, she may be the next Duggar family member to be navigating the ol’ courtship rules.

Fans feel that since Jim Bob and Michelle are putting her in more pics than ever on the family’s Instagram, Joy-Anna is next in line to court.

With a girl as pretty, smart, fun and sweet as Joy Anna is, who can blame them? Except for people who wish they’d chill on the courting?

The most recent picture of Joy-Anna features her with her nephew Israel, who as you know if you watch Counting On online, is Jill’s son.

Obviously, like all the Duggar girls, maternal instincts and love for babies are in her DNA … but will she soon be having some of her own?

Her daily life is airing right now on TLC, and especially after Jinger’s wedding episode, it might be Joy-Anna’s turn to step into the spotlight.

After all, she’s one of the eligible girls in the family to start courting, and given the family business, the pressure to get engaged is strong.

Before any suitors come barging into her life, though, she has her brothers, who have promised they will seriously vet any real candidates.

“For me, he would almost have to be a perfect guy,” Jedidiah said to People of that possibility. “And he would go through a lot of testing!”

Josiah added, “If guys come around, they’re going to have to get through a few guys. [I’m] talking about me and [my brother] Joseph.”

“If a guy shows up to court Joy, there will definitely be a lot of us standing back a little bit, kind of checking him out,” Joseph then interjected.

Despite the humor of a pair of young virgins threatening an outsider (like Jeremy Vuolo in Jinger’s case), the sentiment is quite sweet.

It’s clear that the birthday girl (she turned 19 just a few weeks ago) is loved by all the members of her family, especially by her brothers.

Those who are closer in age to her, including the now-married Jinger, have long been Joy-Anna’s biggest fans and most vocal champions.

“I think it’s really neat to see throughout the years [how] she’s really changed and grown up a lot,” Jinger said, according to the magazine.

“Years ago, she would have been the tomboy out in the trees and climbing all over the place, never wanting to fix her hair.”

Not any longer.

Joy has said:

“I think being the only girl in the middle of eight brothers, I was definitely a tomboy back in the day, I was always hanging out with my brothers.”

“But now I’m kind of getting out of that stage,” she says, as she closes in on her third decade on Earth, “and trying to grow out of that.”

Despite being close to Jinger, Joy-Anna was not chosen as her maid of honor at her wedding; Jessa Duggar got the nod in that department.

It was not immediately clear why Jinger made that selection, or why no one ever seems to talk about Jana Duggar courting at age 26.

Still, there’s little doubt that if, and when, Joy-Anna is thinking about courting and getting engaged, there will be no shortage of suitors.

View Slideshow: Joy-Anna Duggar Photos: The New Face of a Famous Family!

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