Weeks after Jax Taylor was reportedly forced to cancel his multi-city podcast tour amid an onslaught of backlash for his on-screen behavior, fans of The Valley are calling for the former bartender to be axed from Bravo, as well.
Earlier this month, an individual launched a Change.org petition calling out the former Vanderpump Rules star’s history of “deeply concerning and offensive” behavior and demanding that “networks and producers take responsibility by disengaging from promoting such behavior.”
The petition, which has currently racked up nearly 13,000 signatures, also notes that Jax has been accused of making racist and homophobic remarks over the years and argues that the once-fired Bravo star has exhibited “problematic drug and alcohol abuse,” as well as a “lack of respect for women.”
“This kind of conduct sets a poor example for viewers and embodies values that are inconsistent with those of an inclusive and diverse media landscape,” the petition states. “ … Allowing [Jax] to continue enjoying the platform he currently has sends a message that offensive behavior can be tolerated if you’re in the limelight.
“This undermines the hardwork many have done to promote respect and equality on and off the screen,” it continues. “We call upon television networks to take a strong stand against this by firing Jax Taylor and ensuring future programming aligns with values of respect and integrity.”
The petition for the network to axe Jax comes as fans have been watching the 45-year-old spiral on Season 2 of ‘The Valley.’ As viewers know, the new season kicked off with Jax’s (soon-to-be) ex-wife Brittany Cartwright revealing that Jax had gotten angry amid one of their arguments and thrown a piece of furniture which allegedly hit her in the knee and left a bruise. She also shared that Jax had punched holes in the walls of their Valley Village home during his moment of aggression, as well as screamed at her while their four-year-old son Cruz was in the next room.
The current season has also shown Jax– who went public about his decades-long cocaine addiction prior to the premiere– seeking treatment at an inpatient rehab facility, only to continue rage-texting Brittany from inside of the facility and admit to spying on her through cameras placed throughout their once-shared home.
In a recent interview with Variety, Alex Baskin, executive producer of ‘The Valley,’ defended Jax’s role’s on the Bravo series, insisting that allowing Jax to be on TV doesn’t mean that either the show or the network are giving an abuser a platform.
“Our job is to tell the full story,” Alex stated. “If we don’t tell the story in its completeness, then we would be covering up something that really happened and denying Brittany the chance to share what she had been through … I don’t think that’s really ‘platforming an abuser’ as much as that is platforming the story– which includes Brittany’s experience as well as Jax’s.”
While a number of fans– nearly 13,000 of them, according to the petition– are hoping that Jax’s actions will ultimately earn him the boot from Bravo (again), a recently created fan account on X, @_justice4jax, has been acting as the controversial reality star’s online hype person, arguing that Jax is being mistreated by his cast mates as well as the general public.
In addition to firing off tons of tweets commending Jax for taking accountability for his actions, the account has been cranking out hilarious AI-generated images depicting Jax as a victim in various settings.
The sudden emergence of the pro-Jax account has some fans speculating that Jax may be the one churning out the cringey content– à la another Frank Dremon burner account– though not everyone is convinced of this theory.
“What the actual F balls 😂😂😂 this has to be a satire account because this is LAUGHABLE,” Zack Wickham of ‘The Valley’ commented on one of the AI generated photos shared by the account this week. “Also, I don’t think it’s a Jax burner account because too many words are spelled correctly.”
New episodes of ‘The Valley’ air Tuesdays on Bravo.
RELATED STORY: Stassi Schroeder Says She Stopped Watching ‘The Valley’ Because It’s So “Dark”: “It’s Making Me Feel Icky”
(Photos: Bravo; Change.org; Instagram; X)
7 Responses
Nobody wants to see Jax. He’s old news, an old dude whose behavior won’t change. His ego has him believing whatever show he’s on is HIS show. Oh please! He’s always been a douchebag but now he’s crossed a line. Verbal, emotional abuse and rage is triggering to survivors. Spying on his wife from rehab and rage texting her proves he wasn’t in a serious “rehab”. Bravo should get him some real help before he hurts someone.
I’m generally not a fan of this kind of stuff, however it does make me sick that he’s a total piece of shit that’s currently making big money by pretending he’s trying to change, which couldn’t be more of a joke!
The only way to tank Jax is to stop watching the show. If the rating bottom out, it’s gone and he’s gone. Until people decide they dislike HIM more than they like OTHER cast members, he’s going to be there. I had to just stop watching. Nearly everyone on this cast is grossly performative and noxious. blech
Can we leave trash reality tv alone? There is a reason no one watches teen mom anymore because it is boring. These problematic reality stars is what keeps it interesting
While he absolutely deserved to be fired and arrested for some of his shit, I have to ask something. Are these people really so delusional they think people on reality trash tv are somehow the pillars of morality and ethical behavior? It’s trash reality tv, which means you will see trash people and trash behavior, and not a damn one of them is innocent of it. Trash tv sells, it’s why this kind of “reality” tv (and I use quotes because as we all know most reality tv is actually scripted “reality”, lol) is so popular. We all watch it, or read about it, for the train wrecks it provides. It’s why websites like this exist, lol. The drama, the “trauma” (again, not always actually a thing, just a great buzzword for tv), the fights, the shitty, catty, painful, hurtful, sometimes downright illegal behavior….that’s why people watch trash tv. They don’t watch it for educational purposes or because they’re looking for a role model in life, lol.
I’m not sure this person who created the petition, or anyone who signed it, really has a leg to stand on by saying his behavior is less than desirable (on any level, from the most innocuous but annoying, to the downright heinous acts and commentary). I don’t know what media landscape these people are talking about, but if they want trash tv universe to be diverse and inclusive, it also means people who behave….like he does. Because those folks exist in the real world too, unfortunately. Do those folks deserve a spot in the media landscape? Nope. But they’ll always have one in trash reality tv land. Why? Because trash sells and the rest doesn’t….in the actual media landscape which includes reality tv, anyway.
Agreed. But.. he threw a table at her! While their child was there!
We risk normalizing DA by keeping this dude in the limelight. It sends the mesage: You can physically assault a woman and nothing bad will come of it – no consequences for these men. And don’t forget some politicians got their start on reality TV. Maybe if they’d been fired for bad behavior, the world would be a better place.
Sadly I doubt that the petition will do much good. It seems in the world of reality TV offensive behavior puts money in the pockets of the people running the show faster than a reality show based on a real life Brady Bunch.
I agree with everything they are saying though. He has always been an asshole and a liar. We all knew he did drugs for years based on his behavior and pupil size when he was on VPR. He has always been misogynistic from day 1. This season though should get him arrested. The fact that he was spying on Brittany on multiple cameras from rehab is downright scary. He was rage texting her constantly from rehab. His behavior hasn’t improved since he left the resort. (Cough…cough I mean rehab). I have no clue why she hasn’t pursued a restraining order. At the very least he would be taking a trip to jail (albeit a short one) for the threatening texts and creepy camera spying.
It doesn’t sit well with me that in the first season Jax was making $30,000 per episode. Apparently he got a significant bump in pay to the tune of $360,000 on season 2. He is basically being paid to be an abusive asshole.