Heavy The 'Vanderpump Rules" star's friend spoke out.
Tom Sandoval is in more hot water. Nearly two months after it was revealed that the “Vanderpump Rules” star was involved in a shocking cheating scandal with Raquel Leviss, his attempt at a joke was slammed – and he was called out by one of his ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix’s best friends, makeup artist Jared Lipscomb.
Here’s what you need to know:
Ariana Madix’s Best Friend Called Out Tom Sandoval for Making an Insensitive Joke About Cancer Treatment
In April 2023, Sandoval broke his silence on his betrayal of Madix with his first sit-down interview, which took place on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast. Near the end of the interview, a sympathetic Mandel said to Sandoval, “Ariana and you will be better people for this. You know, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
“Like radiation,” Sandoval replied, before quickly adding, “I’m just kidding, that’s a bad joke.”
Mandel agreed it was a bad joke, then commended Sandoval for recognizing that his joke was bad.
But on the April 26, 2023 episode of Kristen Doute’s “Sex, Love and What Else Matters” podcast, Lipscomb was not laughing. The longtime friend of the “Vanderpump Rules” cast, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019, revealed that Sandoval texted him to explain his bad joke but that it felt more like a gaslighting.
On Doute’s podcast, Lipscomb revealed that he was very upset by Sandoval’s insensitive joke and alleged that the Schwartz & Sandy’s co-owner texted him an unapologetic explanation, which he read on air.
“Jared, I absolutely did not mean to offend you or anyone else, for that matter,” Lipscomb read, before noting, “So we’re starting off with just no apology.”
“That was not a joke about cancer,” Lipscomb continued reading. “I’ve lost family members to cancer. I’ve been nothing but supportive through your battle and journey, have I not? …It was just giving an example of what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…This is also why we can’t travel to outer space or live on the moon. It’s too much radiation. Can I get a little bit of benefit of the doubt here? You know me a little bit better than that. Hope you’re doing well. Heart emoji.’”
After sharing the text, Lipscomb revealed that he felt gaslit and immediately blocked Sandoval from contacting him again. “I have never blocked someone so fast in my life,” he told Doute. “It was so shocking, but what it did was highlight the ability he has to gaslight.”
“All he had to say was, ‘I’m so sorry that I misspoke.’… I would have publicly forgiven him for that comment,” Lipscomb added.
Jared Lipscomb Previously Posted an Angry Message Directed at Tom Sandoval
Lipscomb has undergone multiple radiation treatments since being diagnosed with cancer. In 2019, several members of the “Vanderpump Rules” cast showed their support for Lipscomb and organized a fundraiser to help pay for his medical treatment, per BravoTV.com. Sandoval was front and center next to Lipscomb in photos from the 2019 cancer fundraising event, as seen in pics posted by Life & Style.
But in a video posted just after Sandoval’s bad joke made waves, Lipscomb stated that Sandoval was not part of his support system. In an Instagram reel, Lipscomb posted the clip of Sandoval’s joke and wrote, “Cancer jokes? Really?”
“Disgraceful. Shameful. Disgusted,” he added in the caption. “I thought this boy was my friend. To be so callous is horrifying,” he added.
In a video message, Lipscomb went off on Sandoval. “My blood is boiling,” he said. “What a f***ing coward. How dare he?”
The makeup guru added that he was “disgusted” by Sandoval’s joke and didn’t care that he admitted it was bad. “F*** you,” he said. “You are a coward. You are weak, and to compare what people go through in radiation during treatment. F*** you, you coward. You are scum.”
“I had 12 rounds of radiation,” Lipscomb added. “I thought that was gonna f***ing kill me.”
He also praised Madix, who was by his side throughout his cancer treatments, then claimed that Sandoval rarely showed up to support him. “The only two times this f***er showed up was when there was cameras around,” he said. “I can’t even believe I considered you a friend.”
Lipscomb has credited Madix with being one of his biggest supporters. Just after Scandoval broke, he posted a video of her and wrote, “I’m aware of how lucky I am to call Ariana a friend. …I’m so blessed she was a part of my recovery ❤️🩹.”
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