Don’t know what to believe when it comes to Lance Bass and Jax Taylor‘s business relationship? We don’t blame you.
First Lance spoke out about the accusations of racism against the Vanderpump Rules star and his castmates, stating he believed his friend would lose everything because of his ignorant statements. He then revealed Jax had already stepped down from their business venture, a premium cocktail mixer company called Just Add X.
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That was Monday. Just a day later, Jax hit back through his rep, who called BS, saying:
“The statements from Lance on the podcast today are not only untrue but also extremely confusing and shocking to say the least. Jax is still very much a partner and founder of Just Add X and supports the team and the brand whole-heartedly.”
The rep also claimed the N*SYNC alum and his company had voiced their support for Jax in private.
Based on that statement it sounded like Lance had made up the whole “Jax stepping down” thing to save face amid the growing controversy!
Well, Lance wasn’t about to stand for that! Instead he sat down and recorded another episode of his podcast, The Daily Popcast With Lance Bass, in which he claimed his company was getting “a lot of hatred toward us because of our involvement with Jax” — and he now felt he should tell the full story of what happened. He began:
“[Jax] texted and said, ‘Look, I think it’s smart for me to step down,’ and we said, ‘Yes, that is the only thing we can do right now and it sucks,’ and it’s very big of him. I get that, you know? But then the publicists and managers and lawyers get involved and just throw the biggest wrench in everything and basically said that I was lying that he was stepping down.”
So he told them he was stepping down — but then his team told him not to?? Could there be a legal reason not to step down willingly? Hmm…
Lance continued:
“You wanna know what really went down? Look, I’m gonna preface this right now, because I know we have a lot of new listeners here. I do not think Jax Taylor is a racist or a homophobe, and I’ve said that millions of times. I would not be acquaintances with someone if I thought you were a racist and a homophobe. It just doesn’t make sense. The whole reason I married him and his wife last summer was I thought it was a great statement, because I was replacing their [homophobic] preacher. To me, that was a statement, and I thought it was big of them to make that statement.”
Did anyone else catch how he called Jax his “acquaintance”? Not his friend?
The 41-year-old goes on to clarify their relationship even further. He talks about knowing the VPR star for years, calling him a “lovable douchebag” who says “the stupidest things.” He says he thought going into business with him would show everyone how far the reality TV star has come.
But they’re just acquaintances. Anyway, he said of his not-friend’s transformation:
“On the show, Jax [was] looking great… he’s so pleasant to be around, zero drama, like, nothing. He changed. He turned his life around. We all saw it, we all watched it on television. So, that’s when [our friend] was like, ‘This is now your opportunity to show you’ve grown up. Take responsibility, you’re an adult. Now, you need to show the world you can have your own company and you’re looking [toward] the future.’ So, we thought this would be a great idea for him, and to show this growth.”
He continued:
“I was happy to back him and believe in him, and I always want the best things for him — but then, this season started airing, and he reverted back to the same crap he was spewing. I obviously have not heard anything racist come out of his mouth. I mean, I hear of tweets. I’m still confused exactly, the exact tweets everyone’s pissed about. This is all I know: I never heard him say a racist thing, except the big nose thing recently.”
That “big nose thing” is of course Jax’s Instagram comment about 90 Day Fiancé star Ashley Martson‘s Jamaican husband, Jay Smith.
Lance went on to say it’s forgivable to be ignorant at first, it’s “how you deal with it, and how you learn from it” that’s important. He finished:
“I’m an open book, I want to do the right thing. I’m trying to do the right thing. You have to stand up. Even if it’s just your circle listening to what you have to say, that is healthy… Sorry this got dramatic, but I have to defend myself. Once someone calls me a liar, I gotta tell you what happened.”
So now is everyone buying Lance’s side of things? How do you think Jax (and his team) will react to that??
