James Kennedy Is a Total Softie When It Comes to His "Supportive" Mom and "Dope" Little Brothers
The #PumpRules DJ takes us inside his family one member at a time.
We usually only get to see James Kennedy in more heated moments, like when he's bumping heads with the crew of Vanderpump Rules or other times when he's pursuing his life as a DJ every Monday night. But there is another side of the DJ — that of a big brother and son. His mama, Jacqueline, has appeared on the series and James has been quite open about having to watch his parents go through a divorce in front of the cameras. It's a softer side of the former SUR employee, for sure. And he admits that allowing people into that side of his life hasn't always been met with the warmest of receptions.
"You know it's a weird question because the television part is the least of what I'm really worried about," he said when asked about his parents' divorce. "It's like, what's it really like going through it? And then I guess people know about it, but they don't until six months later when it airs. And at the time when the cameras are around, I just kind of forget they're there ... it's a lot to handle and then you watch it back and you're like, 'F*** that was a heavy one.' Sometimes I get a little emotional watching it back. You always get emotional, but it's life. Life goes on. Even with that I offended people. People were like, 'You're not really going through s*** because everyone goes through divorce' ... [But it's] this just happened now and you guys got to see it first hand, and I don't know how to deal with things like a f***ing genius."
But it's clear that his mom has his back through the good and the bad. "We're basically like really good friends almost," he explained, noting that his mom is also very supportive of his relationship with Raquel Leviss, whereas she expressed less friendly feelings for his ex, Kristen Doute, on the show. And, yes, her opinion of his romantic pursuits matters. "As much as it to any son for their mother to approve," he said. "What son doesn't really care what their mother thinks? That's not a good son."
Speaking of the divorce, James noted the hardest part of his parents' separation was watching his younger brothers, Harry and Dylan, have to go through it. "It was harder for me because I was basically worried about my little brothers the entire time," he said. "One of them's still living with my mom and the other's off to college, so it was just like, 'Are my brothers going to be OK?' They are younger than me. I just didn't want them to go through anything, but through that worrying it obviously made me lose focus a couple of times."
So, what are Harry and Dylan up to? Well, Dylan attends his big bro's alma mater, Beverly Hills High, while Harry goes to college in San Diego. "They're my best mates. We still hang out all the time," he said. "Harry is more the studious, smart kid. And Dylan's a bit of both. He plays soccer, a very good skateboarder. And I'm like the music kid. So we're all pretty creative and get along great. [They're] two pretty dope kids."
Actually Dylan and James do share some more common traits. "My little brother Dylan looks so much like me that he gets stopped on Third Street Promenade all the time," James said. "He's like a little celebrity himself now."
And then there's his dad, Andros Georgiou, who knew from an early start that James would eventually pursue a career in music. It was probably an easy call for him to make since he worked for quite a long time in the music industry. "My dad's always been supportive of whatever I wanted to do in life as long as it makes me happy; same with my mom," James recalled. "[My dad] was always like, 'Watch you'll be into music one day. I promise you.' And I'm like, 'Nah, I'm gonna be a soccer player.' And then I became 12 and I got my first CD player — and it was history from there."
Check out photos of James, below.
