Tom Schwartz and Lala Kent’s Explosive Fight and All the Beach Day Drama, Explained
Find out what led to the showdowns between not just Schwartz and Lala, but also Schwartz and James Kennedy, as well as Katie Maloney and Tom Sandoval.
James Kennedy successfully rounded up the Vanderpump Rules crew for what he thought would be a relaxing beach day on the show's April 26 episode; however, the outing turned out to be anything but.
Arguments erupted almost immediately, and when the group consisting of James, Katie Maloney, Lala Kent, Raquel Leviss, Scheana Shay, Tom Sandoval, Tom Schwartz, Ally Lewber, and Kristina Kelly eventually gave up on the idea of a chill seaside hang, they relocated to a bar, only for the drama to continue there.
In trying to summarize everything that went down, perhaps Lala put it best when she said, "What the f--k is in the air today? This is chaotic."
Get all the details on each and every tiff below.
James Kennedy vs. Tom Schwartz
An excited James was talking about a huge DJ gig he had recently landed when Schwartz decided it would be a good time to crack a joke about James' "Rachella"-themed proposal to Raquel (who, notably, Schwartz had just recently made out with). "This is a big deal," Schwartz said of the gig news. "Bigger than Rachella?"
James initially tried to dismiss the comment as a bad "joke," but once Schwartz started to backpedal by saying he was actually "so hype" for James, he snapped back, "You're not hype for me. You make these stupid jokes on the side but take a look at your own f--king life. But I don't make jokes about it."
Then, James threw a drink in Schwartz's face. Luckily it didn't take long for them to make up.
Tom Schwartz vs. Lala Kent
Though all was well between Schwartz and James when they left the beach, the subject of Tom's "joke" later came up at the bar. And this time, Lala stepped in.
More specifically, she got involved once Schwartz said he and James were "even."
Taking into consideration Schwartz and Raquel's recent makeout, Lala said, "You are so far from even. You need a f--king fist in your face, bro." (She elaborated on her anger toward him in a confessional, citing his disregard for Katie's feelings and her own personal issues that date back to the beginning of the season.)
Schwartz's response? "Lala, you are the personification of a sponsored post. You are the corniest human being in this whole entire place."
He made several other disparaging remarks, but Lala only took issue with the one making fun of her beauty brand. "You wanna call me all these names? The s--t that I've been through in one year, bro, it would put you in your f--king grave. Don't you f--king dare come for my business," she told Schwartz, who immediately backed down. "That s--t pays for my daughter every single f--king day. How dare you."
Katie Maloney vs. Tom Sandoval: Round 1
Though there's always tension between these two, Sandoval became particularly angry at Katie once he learned that she had been talking about his relationship with Ariana Madix and the fact that he and Raquel were recently spotted hanging out together at The Abbey. The implication was, of course, that the latter pair was romantically involved.
Sandoval, however, denied this. "It's annoying that Katie would say something like that. It's insulting to not just me, but Ariana as well," he said in a confessional interview. "Raquel and I were not dancing all close in the dark corner of a speakeasy. A bunch of us just went to the Abbey. Two of those people just happened to be Raquel and I."
After confronting Katie and telling her, "Ariana's not very happy with you right now," he issued a similar defense in front of the entire group by sarcastically joking about his and Raquel's "secret rendezvous" at the Abbey.
Katie denied the notion that she had implied anything about Sandoval and Ariana's relationship, and from there, the argument took on another shape.
Katie Maloney vs. Tom Sandoval: Round 2
In accusing Katie of not taking "accountability," Sandoval then brought up her and Schwartz's divorce. "When you and Schwartz broke up, Schwartz would talk about your guys' breakup as, 'It happened, I'm sad, I f--ked up here...' [but] when you talk about it, you're like, 'I was left with no choice,'" Sandoval yelled. "It's f--king heartbreaking to me."
Katie, meanwhile, said that he was just deflecting from the Raquel conversation. As she put it in a confessional, "Whenever Sandoval has any heat or pressure applied to him, this is his go-to: to just turn around and deflect and start saying, 'Oh, what about you? You're never accountable for anything.' It's just very manipulative."
The two traded a few more words, but the conversation — and Vanderpump Rules episode — ultimately ended with Katie telling Sandoval, "Bitch, get a life."
Watch Vanderpump Rules on Bravo Wednesdays at 9/8c and next day on Peacock. And catch up on all past seasons of Vanderpump Rules on Peacock.