What happened to James Kennedy? Vanderpump Rules star reportedly arrested on domestic violence charges

Vanderpump Rules star James Kennedy, whose real name is James Kennedy Georgiou, was arrested on the evening of Tuesday, December 10, but is currently out on bail. Kennedy is a DJ and reality TV star who became a series regular in Vanderpump Rules when he joined the hit Bravo series in its third season after appearing on the show once in season 2.

According to the Burbank Police Department via CNN, Kennedy was taken into police custody on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence on Tuesday.

The Public Information Officer of Burbank Police, Sgt. Stephen Turner, confirmed the news of Kennedy's arrest with details about the events leading up to his arrest.

Turner said that cops responded to a call about "an argument between a man and a woman" at a Burbank residence at around 11:30 pm. After the cops found out that it was a "domestic incident," they arrested Kennedy. However, he didn't stay long in jail, with the spokesperson for Burbank police saying via Variety:

"Mr. Georgiou was booked for misdemeanor domestic violence and later posted bail. Formal charges are pending review by the Burbank City Attorney's office."

James Kennedy is currently free and out of jail after he posted a $20,000 bond on Wednesday, which the online records of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirm.

The woman involved in the argument that led to Kennedy's arrest wasn't named. However, he and his live-in girlfriend, Ally Lewber, were at the party that Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kathy Hilton hosted in her home the night of the arrest.

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James Kennedy has a history of "erratic, violent behavior"

Before James Kennedy and his current girlfriend got together, he was briefly engaged to Rachel Leviss in 2021. However, they broke up in December 2021 after season 9 of Vanderpump Rules.

Leviss would later become the other woman embroiled in a cheating scandal between fellow castmates Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix.

Leviss is currently suing Sandoval and Madix for revenge p*rn, and in line with her ex's recent arrest, Leviss' lawyers, Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman, made a statement on Thursday, December 12.

The statement referenced Leviss' lawsuit that details James Kennedy's past behaviors, saying:

"We are aware of James Kennedy's recent arrest for domestic violence. This news is, unfortunately, not surprising. Rachel's lawsuit describes, in significant detail, Mr. Kennedy's long history of erratic, violent behavior and substance abuse."

In their statement, Geragos and Freedman blamed Bravo, NBC, and Evolution, the production company behind Vanderpump Rules. Their statement further read:

"Just as troubling, however, is that NBC and Evolution (the Vanderpump Rules production company), who have known about Mr. Kennedy's troubling behavior all along, have been engaged in a multi-year cover-up on his behalf. They, too, bear responsibility."

Other Bravo stars had also previously aired their comments about Kennedy allegedly being physically abusive.

The Real Housewives of Orange County star Tamra Judge and RHOBH star Teddi Mellencamp previously talked about an incident between Kennedy Lewber in a February 2024 episode of their Two T's in a Pod podcast.

They claimed that Kennedy and Lewber fought in front of them in a limousine and that it got physical. It allegedly happened after the MTV Movies Awards in 2022, although they didn't share more details about the alleged incident.

That said, Lewber said that "there was no psychical altercation" that happened during her appearance in Vanderpump Rules' Scheana Shay's podcast, Sheananigans, on February 10.

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James Kennedy is not part of Vanderpump Rules anymore, along with other cast members, as the Bravo hit series decided to scrap its entire cast members for a new set for season 12.