I Just Spent Valentine’s Day Chatting To James Kennedy. No, Really.

If someone had told me that I would be spending Valentine’s Day chatting with reality TV royalty DJ James Kennedy over Zoom, I would have said “Yeah cool, which season of Black Mirror was that episode?”. But the stars aligned, and somehow here we are. (To be fair, it does make sense cosmically. I’ve actually got a lot in common with his girlfriend as I too am brunette and was once 28.) 

A big shout out to Cupid (and Hayu) for lining this delightful conversation up with Vanderpump Rules’ “Number 1 Guy in the group”; talking all things Val Day, Vegas residencies and of course, season 11.

Image credit: Hayu

Punkee: Well happy Valentines Day from Australia, James! 

JK: Thank you, happy Valentine’s Day!

Punkee: I know that you have a DJ gig in New York for your Valentine’s Day, do you and Ally have any other plans?

JK: You know, we’ve been so busy but of course we’re gonna go out for a lovely lunch, maybe walk around in the snow a little bit, we woke up in the snow today in New York so it’s beautiful. Get a nice dinner, then I’ve got sound check and the show, so yeah, lots to do tomorrow it’s gonna be a beautiful day.

Punkee: That’s a pretty decent Valentine’s Day you’ve got lined up, well done. So obviously, season 11 is finally out. How are you feeling? Is it a sense of relief when the episodes air or is it a bit anxious?

JK: It’s always fun, it’s always a sense of relief. I’m always excited to watch it back and see where we began, you know, just from the beginning of the season to the end it all passes by so quickly so it’s always good to see. You know, the first scene you see the house, the house already looks so different now, in the backyard we’ve done so much just from when we first moved in. It’s great, I’m excited 

Punkee: I know I shouldn’t be comparing the houses, but I really like the vibe of your house compared to some of the other Valley Village ones.

JK: Oh thanks! I appreciate it. Yeah our house is super cute, I have Ally to thank for that. She’s decorated the whole inside and made it a complete vibe, and it’s so tranquil and lovely. And Hippie our dog matches, I don’t know how she predicted that!

Image credit: Hayu

Punkee: I know that last season, a big storyline was you playing at Imagine Festival with Kaskade, congratulations! Are there any acts or festivals that are just bucket list for you that we should watch out for?

 JK: Well this year I’m going to be playing at North Coast Festival here in the States which is gonna be massive. I’ve also started my Vegas residency at The Fountain Blue at LIV Nightclub, so it’s gonna be all year playing in Vegas now. I’ve got a headline show at LIV and then LIV Beach is gonna be starting. I think they’ve got Tiesto, John Summit, Metro Boomin just to name a few of the other residency DJs so, it’s pretty dope.

Punkee: You know, we do have a few good festivals in Australia. Scheana and Brock were here over New Years Eve…

JK: It’s a big dream of mine to come play in Australia! I can’t wait to come down and trust me when I do, everyone’s gonna know about it. It’s gonna be one big party. I’m gonna do as many dates as I can while I’m there, but no plans, no specific dates yet but trust me, it’s definitely on my bucket list!

Punkee: Amazing, I’ll keep an eye out for that one. I saw you recently popped up on Southern Hospitality with Maddi Reese, how was that? Have you been on any other Bravo shows or was this your first cameo?

JK: Have I done any other little cameos? I don’t know if I have actually, that might have been my first one! I had a show in Charleston that night and Maddi was in town filming, she was DJing as well. She actually opened for me that night at the night club. She was super nice, I came in and filmed some Southern Hospitality and yeah, it was a lot of fun. 

Punkee: Amazing.

JK: We’re actually doing Watch What Happens Live together tonight.

Punkee: Is Andy Cohen just magic in person?

JK: Oh, he’s more magical than you could believe. He’s the best, I love Andy.

Punkee: Stop! Well tell him he has a big fan from Down Under.

JK: I will. I’m excited to see him, I feel like I haven’t seen him since the reunion so, it’ll be good to see him.

Punkee: Who do you get more intimidated by – Andy or Lisa?

JK: Definitely Lisa, Andy and I are more friends. But Lisa doesn’t really intimate me anymore unless she’s mad at me…

Punkee: You’re in the naughty corner..

JK: Yeah if I’m on the naughty list, then she can be intimidating. But no, we’ve been good.

Punkee: And would you ever pee in Lisa Vanderpump’s bushes like you did Sandovals?

JK: No… no no no! No I would not.

Punkee: Good. So we saw at the end of season 10, obviously an explosive season, you kind of positioned yourself as the number one guy in the group..

JK: I did not position! Everyone else positioned me that way! I did not position that. The cards fell that way, yes.

Punkee: Well, I think they fell that way for a very good reason. Do you think by the end of season 11 you will still have that title?

Image credit: Hayu

JK: Ahh… yeah. I mean, hopefully. I don’t see Sandoval getting it back! I’m just kidding. I mean honestly, I think it’s a good year for Schwartz as well, you see him really managing a lot of stress. I feel like he had to man up a lot this year and I feel like there were times where he did that, so yeah. You know, maybe Schwartz will take the crown…

Punkee: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me, I really appreciate it. Have a lovely time, say hi to Andy from me.

JK: I will, I’ll tell him you say hi.

Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules is available to stream on Hayu from 31 January, with episodes dropping the same day as the USA.

Image credit: Getty + Punkee