S09.E07: The Naked Truth

[Pop Tart]

Shep and Taylor try to move forward as friends, while Olivia and Rod's romance continues to blossom. When JT hosts an intimate dinner party, Southern etiquette is stripped away after Madison exposes Taylor's secret.

Air date: 10.26.23

[Emmeline]

This is terrible and similar to icing out a friend in Junior High.  It’s just bullying.  Madison probably sent plenty of nude pics to people like Arod when he was engaged to Jennifer Lopez.

I can’t stand Madison, Venita or Leva.  Taylor and Austin have been friends  for a long time.  Olivia seemed interested in Austin last season but it didn’t seem reciprocal.  If they shared some intimacy, good for them.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Emmeline

[Ladybugnine]

I don't care what anyone says, I'm LOVING Madison this season! Yeah, I know they're trying to make her the Greek Chorus, a.k.a. Cameran, but I love seeing her call shit out!

[whydoievencare]

Taylor just seems like a dummy.  It certainly isn't a plus to see more of her. Austen's mouth looks like it's on a hinge at the corners.   He's also a waste of my tv time.

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by whydoievencare

[snarts]

"I claim to be a slut, I'm just retired" ...and with comment, I am officially a Madison fan. She's really found her role & is carrying this season IMHO.

JT can sit back down with his faux chivalry. He just wants to bang Taylor.

Craig continues to have my favorite reactions, even without Paige there to gossip with him.

Admittedly, it took me awhile to warm to Olivia, but I feel for her & she's carrying herself well through some trying times.

Finally, Whitney! 

Edited October 27, 2023 by snarts

[SHERMDOG]

I'm not minding Madison this season too much!! But...dang...she's sure throwing Taylor under the bus regarding the nude pics.

And I guess most disturbing if ALL!!! WHY THE HELL does Patricia know what pics were sent to Whitney??? He had to show her!? I used to like him but that boy is just plain weird!!

The scene with Hudson was heartbreaking. Poor kid. 

[1011101010001]

I’m no fashion expert but I thought you don’t wear a striped tie with a plaid shirt.

[aghst]

I don't know any evangelical people in real life.  Taylor doesn't seem like one, at least the way they're portrayed as very conservative.  She supposedly mixes with non believers -- I thought that in itself is kind of verboten.

Certainly we haven't seen her talking up her faith on the show.  We're only told that she is from a conservative Christian family.

But she seems to be part of the hook up culture that this show depicts, wealthy single people living their best life or whatever.

Calling out religious hypocrisy is always going to please people but is it even true in this case?  Are these people anything like the way they come across on this show?

Producers must have been hoping for this kind of battle.  Like any other event, this dinner is not some organic event, it's staged for the show.  Still, even someone supposedly uncouth like Madison would stick her nose into someone else's business to slut-shame another cast member?

This kind of verbal putdown is Bravo gold, which is why it's hard to believe it's true.

 

Lot of the scenes in this show are like something out of GQ or Vogue.  They dress up and they're very specific about what they're drinking, like they not only dress fashionably but they're expert in what's trendy to eat and drink, like those lifestyle magazines.

Only thing they're not doing is dropping brand names or labels, asking each other what they're wearing, as in which designer.

Show seems more meta the last couple of season with the cast commenting on each other's fashion choices.  This episode, Shep tried to get advice from Taylor over FaceTime on what he should wear to this event.

Yes not surprising that this show is a triumph of style over substance.

 

 

[Opine]

Please Olivia, stop touching your hair!!!  I know it's kind of an in thing especially for those with extensions, but it is neurotic and weird.

[Caseysgirl]

Bravo ( and producer Whitney) stop taking young girls and slut shaming them on national TV. Unpopular opinion, I know  “ Raquel” ( from VPR) and now Taylor have been made  made villains by doing things the male characters somehow get away with. ( I see Tom Sandoval is still working & Shep is on a redemption tour.). Why Taylor sent nude pictures to the unsavory producer of this show probably says more about her naivety than anything else.  Madison made being a slut her entry to reality TV ; Taylor will sit with the pile of other females they tried to bring to this franchise but misogynist Whitney & his crew made it intolerable by villianizing them while making Shep, Thomas, Austin  et al into cute bad boys.  And Patricia should be ashamed of herself!  

[AEJ79]

Wait, did a kid or a dog bite Hudson?!

[Lassus]

I guess people are defending or loving her, but Madison seems like such a nightmare of a nasty human being to me.  To be clear, the entire cast is varying degrees of trash, but Madison to me seems like someone I would never, ever speak to in a group.

The adolescent prudishness of this cast is pathetic and awful. 

Maybe people will love this show this year, but it has such a sheen of being scripted it's very hard to care.  And they are SO BORING as a result - this is the best they could come up with? 

 

[wallies]

2 hours ago, AEJ79 said:

Wait, did a kid or a dog bite Hudson?!

I googled this and read that a kid bit Hudson in a fight. Hard to understand how a kid could bite another kid's leg repeatedly. Makes me wonder if it really was a dog.

[mandymax]

I can't say I'm becoming a Madison fan, but between seeing her devotion to her son and hearing her proclaim herself a retired slut, I actually found aspects of her to like.

And Shep reminds me of the Shep of old, who tried to be grounded and nice to everyone.  What on earth was that horrible phase he went through??

Why would they not show the name of JT's "event place"? Also, JT's painfully unsubtle approach to Taylor and the idea of their being Valentine's dates was just embarrassing.

And did that dinner table seem EXTREMELY skinny to anyone else?  Like barely wide enough for plates, let alone centerpieces?  I kept thinking that everyone must be banging knees with the person sitting across from them.

[bosawks]

If Madison doesn't turn her ire on JT this season I'm going to be crushed.

Her squashing him like a bug is just the type of entertainment I want from these shows.

[aghst]

BTW JT was really thirsty about Taylor this episode wasn't he?

She's the ultimate catch according to him.  He wouldn't throw her back to the sea.

He's not talking about fishing.

 

 

[ZettaK]

Shep is on a redemption tour, but it's not exactly a successful one. He still had to mention the twins in Australia.

As for Austin, there is no way he was getting a lot of attention from women before he joined the show (he is now a D list celebrity, enough to warranty a lot of DMs). His height is not enough. Even he cannot say what else he has to offer. He is not attractive (although he thinks he is- he compared himself to Errol Flynn in a previous episode), he is not witty, he is not intelligent, he is not a nice person, he is not interesting. He pushed his way into the show, and he then started hooking up with female cast members to remain on the show.

Taylor and Olivia are not interesting (and I'm not interested in their stories). Taylor didn't send the nude photo naively to Whitney (who is an executive producer). She admitted herself she was nude. She is not naive, and it seems the innocent, Christian girl is trying to connect with different male cast members. And if anybody noticed, Madison said Taylor wanted to show her NEW chest in the nude photo.

Why do so many guys like Taylor? What's the attraction?

Edited October 27, 2023 by ZettaK

[aghst]

She was feeling bad, maybe sorry for herself because Shep was cheating on her.

So she turns to Whitney?  Even thirsty JT would be less cringey, at least closer in age.

This seems as ridiculous as the Naomi and Whitney thing they were trying to sell last season.  Remember how unconvincing those scenes of them together were?

 

Whitney came up with the idea but he's so much older than the rest of the cast that you wouldn't think they'd gravitate to each other.  Shep maybe but nobody else.

[Opine]

15 hours ago, MrBuhBye said:

I’m no fashion expert but I thought you don’t wear a striped tie with a plaid shirt.

They called it “Charleston preppy”.

[1011101010001]

15 hours ago, aghst said:

She supposedly mixes with non believers -- I thought that in itself is kind of verboten.

Well she lived with Shep without being married and had premarital sex so she doesn’t seem all that evangelical.

15 hours ago, aghst said:

Only thing they're not doing is dropping brand names or labels, asking each other what they're wearing, as in which designer.

Venita did mention several design houses this episode and I wondered if it was product placement.

4 hours ago, wallies said:

I googled this and read that a kid bit Hudson in a fight. Hard to understand how a kid could bite another kid's leg repeatedly. Makes me wonder if it really was a dog.

It’s not like they are toddlers.  If the kid is Hudson’s age that sounds like disturbing behavior.  I also thought it weird that new stepdad took him upstairs to clean his wounds when you think both son and mom would prefer mom to do it.  But she wanted her moment crying at the sink I suppose.

[1011101010001]

3 hours ago, mandymax said:

I kept thinking that everyone must be banging knees

Well they are banging everything else.

1 hour ago, ZettaK said:

He is not attractive (although he thinks he is- he compared himself to Errol Flynn in a previous episode), he is not witty, he is not intelligent, he is not a nice person, he is not interesting.

How coincidental he was sporting a Trop Hop t-shirt after bringing some over for Taylor a few episodes ago.  Must be a certain number of mentions per season in the contract.  Oh yeah he also asked JT if he was going to order one in another episode.  It’s an IPA with tropical juices, they are a dime a dozen.

[RedHawk]

18 hours ago, SHERMDOG said:

I'm not minding Madison this season too much!! But...dang...she's sure throwing Taylor under the bus regarding the nude pics.

And I guess most disturbing if ALL!!! WHY THE HELL does Patricia know what pics were sent to Whitney??? He had to show her!? I used to like him but that boy is just plain weird!!

The scene with Hudson was heartbreaking. Poor kid. 

It was heartbreaking yet I also wondered why it was included. Yeah, it humanizes Madison but does she really want her kid shown crying and bleeding as the victim of such an attack on national TV? I mean, the other kid BIT him several times??? I sense a pending lawsuit or at least a serious talk with the other parents, certainly not a scene on a dumb reality show. Surprised Madison didn't take photos for evidence before he was cleaned up, though maybe she did it off camera.

[howiveaddict]

Madison should have stopped filming and not had her poor son's business on tv. He probably already gets teased because of her, and now this is going to make it worse when his friends see him crying.  I  know it's not a kid friendly show, but his schoolmates will see it.  She may even be why he got in a fight to begin with.  Luckily her new husband was there for the child.

[JenE4]

I can’t with JT and his “chivalrous defense” of poor, wilting flower Madison. Simply because she has a uterus we must demur to her ravings. Yo, dumb-dumb, Shep was actually defending your unrequited love, Taylor. If the whole “tit pic” controversy was to upset Shep, he was literally the only person in the entire room who was completely unbothered by it. Taylor and I were broken up, and she’s a grown woman who can send pictures of whatever to whomever she wants. JT was so enraptured by the thought of making some grand gesture to try to get some attention and accolades from the women by bringing down the patriarchy because he just watched the Barbie movie, probably, that he completely missed the point that Madison was the one slut-shaming Taylor and Shep was defending her right to do whatever she damn pleases without judgment.

Re the question above on the name of his event space, he said in a prior episode that he purchased and renovated a number of homes on this block to rent out as Air BNBs. I guess he gets extra for this one to rent out as “an event space” beyond just a house to stay in.

[TeeMo]

Olivia could not be less interested in Rod and is not a good enough actress to convince anyone otherwise. The show should let this particular plot point go. Rod definitely seems to have Austen’s number though and said some pretty unflattering things about him despite being his friend. Craig said similar things on a recent WWHL which makes me think that as bad as Austen comes off on TV, we are only seeing a portion of how awful he actually is.

Once again I will say that I am impressed that JT manages to make my skin crawl more than any other man on this show which is saying something considering how gross and awful they all are. He is trying real hard to sell himself as a chivalrous southern gentleman but all I am getting is sociopath who potentially has some bodies buried in his backyard. His pathetic attempts to win Taylor over we uncomfortable to watch. 
 

The flashback to Austen in his first season was jarring because he seemed like a baby in both looks and voice. All three of Shep, Austen and Craig have developed a really raspy voice that seems to be caused by several years of hard living. 

[wallies]

The biting scene was staged or edited very poorly. I couldn't tell if Hudson was crying or laughing as he came through the door. Madison asks "Who bit you?" right away. How could she identify human bite marks from across the room? Why would she immediately assume such an unrealistic attack had occurred? Hudson is escorted upstairs and then comes right back down for a drink as if nothing happened. The truth is being covered up, probably because it might make Madison look like a negligent mother.

Edited October 28, 2023 by wallies

[snarts]

58 minutes ago, wallies said:

The biting scene was staged or edited very poorly. I couldn't tell if Hudson was crying or laughing as he came through the door. Madison asks "Who bit you?" right away. How could she identify human bite marks from across the room? Why would she immediately assume such an unrealistic attack had occurred? Hudson is escorted upstairs and then comes right back down for a drink as if nothing happened. The truth is being covered up, probably because it might make Madison look like a negligent mother.

Seriously? A negligent mother because her 10 year old was out playing with friends and got in a scuffle? Amazed anyone would willingly have a child at this point with all the mom shaming they face.

When he came in crying she asked who hit him. It wasn't until she walked over and was looking at his injuries that it became apparent he'd been bit.  He went upstairs to clean up and settled down because he was now home and safe. I applaud Madison for how she handled it. She stood up for him, comforted him and yet didn't make a huge deal out ii because shit like that happens and parenting is teaching your kid how to handle things, their reactions and the emotions behind it. 

I'm just glad to see that JT is universally despised. He seriously gives me the ick.

[Starlight925]

JT gives us all the ick.  His lifelong overbearing, narcissistic shrew of a mother aside, he's a try-hard with a Napoleon short-man syndrome.

Rod seems like such a great guy, which is why Olivia will sabotage this and sleep with Austen.  (I know no spoilers).  She hugs him like that old high school buddy you haven't seen.  Kisses him like that aunt you only see at holidays.  She will wake up at 50 and realize she let a really good one go (ask me how I know all this.....I digress).

Taylor's immaturity is showing, and as @JenE4 pointed out, the only one NOT bothered by her "provoca-pics" was Shep.  The entire table erupts in finger-wagging and shaming, yet Shep sits there as calmly as someone who knows what to do when a bee lands on them.  

What bothers me most about Taylor isn't the pics, or the fact that she did whatever with Austen, but that she not only lied to her "best friend", she continued the lie.  Lie to me once, shame on me.....Olivia should back off from this entire friendship.

Olivia's underbite is distracting to me.  This should have been corrected with ortho when she was a teenager.  Shameful of me to say, but I wore a headgear for 2 years, and the lifetime of straight, aligned teeth was worth it.

[StevieRocks]

3 hours ago, JenE4 said:

I can’t with JT and his “chivalrous defense” of poor, wilting flower Madison. Simply because she has a uterus we must demur to her ravings. Yo, dumb-dumb, Shep was actually defending your unrequited love, Taylor. If the whole “tit pic” controversy was to upset Shep, he was literally the only person in the entire room who was completely unbothered by it. Taylor and I were broken up, and she’s a grown woman who can send pictures of whatever to whomever she wants. JT was so enraptured by the thought of making some grand gesture to try to get some attention and accolades from the women by bringing down the patriarchy because he just watched the Barbie movie, probably, that he completely missed the point that Madison was the one slut-shaming Taylor and Shep was defending her right to do whatever she damn pleases without judgment.

Re the question above on the name of his event space, he said in a prior episode that he purchased and renovated a number of homes on this block to rent out as Air BNBs. I guess he gets extra for this one to rent out as “an event space” beyond just a house to stay in.

[Vivigirl10]

Never been a Madison fan AT ALL but girlfriend is just trying to do them all a service, play a part and save this sinking ship.  I also don't think the point is to slut shame Taylor but just to question her hypocrisy and ask....who are you really??  She does in fact portray herself as one thing but her actions tell a different story.  And I didn't have a problem with someone finally calling her on the carpet for it.

Also not a Leva fan but I appreciated her highlighting that the guys in this group definitely treat some women one way and some women another.  It is completely a Virgin/Whore mentality and it's gross. 

On 10/26/2023 at 9:08 PM, whydoievencare said:

Taylor just seems like a dummy.  It certainly isn't a plus to see more of her.

This sums everything up nicely.   

[aghst]

9 minutes ago, Vivigirl10 said:

Never been a Madison fan AT ALL but girlfriend is just trying to do them all a service, play a part and save this sinking ship.  I also don't think the point is to slut shame Taylor but just to question her hypocrisy and ask....who are you really??  She does in fact portray herself as one thing but her actions tell a different story.  And I didn't have a problem with someone finally calling her on the carpet for it.

Also not a Leva fan but I appreciated her highlighting that the guys in this group definitely treat some women one way and some women another.  It is completely a Virgin/Whore mentality and it's gross. 

This sums everything up nicely.   

Madison is trying to do the show a service, by having scandal, which did wonders for VPR.

Last season it was supposedly Naomi and Whitney.

This season it's Taylor and Austen and then Taylor and Whitney.

All these alleged hookups happen off screen and the viewers are suppose to believe it and be scandalized but interested.  When you see these alleged hookup couples, you see no chemistry, no sign that anything ever happened between them.

 

 

[Thumper]

On 10/26/2023 at 9:13 PM, snarts said:

 

Craig continues to have my favorite reactions, even without Paige there to gossip with him.

Admittedly, it took me awhile to warm to Olivia, but I feel for her & she's carrying herself well through some trying times.

Finally, Whitney! 

(Bolded).  I love this!   They really are gossipers! 😂

Edited October 28, 2023 by Thumper

[chick binewski]

On 10/27/2023 at 10:55 AM, Lassus said:

I guess people are defending or loving her, but Madison seems like such a nightmare of a nasty human being to me.  To be clear, the entire cast is varying degrees of trash, but Madison to me seems like someone I would never, ever speak to in a group.

The adolescent prudishness of this cast is pathetic and awful. 

Maybe people will love this show this year, but it has such a sheen of being scripted it's very hard to care.  And they are SO BORING as a result - this is the best they could come up with? 

Agreed. Madison is basically OC Tamra - dishonest about her own life and willing to disparaging anyone in order to get the camera focused on her and make her target look bad. I know I can't expect much from reality TV but I need SOME truth within the conflicts and Madison can't serve that up.

Leva can cram her insane troll logic and her alliance with Venita & Madison. Madison not only had no problem blasting Taylor's (probably fake storyline) nude pictures to an entire dinner party - she was also working some faux outrage at the hypocrisy! of a Christian woman posing nude. But OK Leva, Madison is a victim of toxic patriarchy. 

[aghst]

12 minutes ago, chick binewski said:

Agreed. Madison is basically OC Tamra - dishonest about her own life and willing to disparaging anyone in order to get the camera focused on her and make her target look bad. I know I can't expect much from reality TV but I need SOME truth within the conflicts and Madison can't serve that up.

Leva can cram her insane troll logic and her alliance with Venita & Madison. Madison not only had no problem blasting Taylor's (probably fake storyline) nude pictures to an entire dinner party - she was also working some faux outrage at the hypocrisy! of a Christian woman posing nude. But OK Leva, Madison is a victim of toxic patriarchy. 

They tell us that she's from some very conservative background but how do we really know?

Christian or not, a young woman being called out like that in public might lose her composure.  We see her get emotional among a group yet it really doesn't seem to  upset her to be slut-shamed and be called a hypocrite so publicly.

Even Madison, no matter how mean girl she is, seemed to relish this shaming.

This show is called Southern Charm, which implies some gentility.  But this is Bravo and we knew after the first season that they would likely try to have big, melodramatic confrontations, which weren't such a thing in the first season.

So this scene seems like them sticking to the formula more than anything else.

[CallmeCray]

Madison is vile.   She’s my least favorite person on all of Bravo - which is saying a lot, considering how I feel about Tamra, that idiot Vicki, Erika and the late Rinna.  (No, she’s not dead but I’m glad she’s part of the Cast of Bravo Past). 

None of them can stand her, I’m especially surprised Austen and Craig managed to bite their tongues during that attack on Taylor.  

Leva and Venita are both thirsty assholes, too.  

[Vivigirl10]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

They tell us that she's from some very conservative background but how do we really know?

Taylor's life being lead by Jesus is something that she has personally shared, it isn't a storyline or anything that is being told to us.  It comes out of her own mouth. I don't know if I've picked it up on social media, I thought she was quite clear about it on the show too.  Not sure what her particular brand of religion is though. 

Edited October 29, 2023 by Vivigirl10
Rewording

[1011101010001]

8 minutes ago, Vivigirl10 said:

Not sure what her particular brand of religion is though.

Well Jesus hung out with whores and Taylor hangs out with man whores.

[Marley]

I wish Austen was off this show he’s such a fucking dud I have to FF everytime I see his dumb face.

Madison can shut the fuck. She’s such trash. Filming her son after he’s in a fight seems kind of douchey.

I don’t even like Taylor but to me Whitney is coming off as a sleaze in the nude pic situation. Just going around showing it to everyone and telling his mom. Such a loser. Also who even cares it’s a fucking nude a single woman sent to a single guy. They all are so lame. Shep didn’t seem to care at all. 

JT is a fake idiot. I don’t buy his sticking up for woman schtick he was trying to pull at dinner.

Couldn't care less about Olivia and Rod. Another fake relationship I’m sure.

Austen Olivia Taylor drama is lame as hell.

[Jst2Wld]

On 10/28/2023 at 5:24 AM, TeeMo said:

Shep, Austen and Craig have developed a really raspy voice that seems to be caused by several years of hard living. 

I noticed that too. I wonder if any of them smoke cigarettes? I don't recall seeing them smoking but maybe it was just edited?

[snarts]

Craig's voice has always been raspy.

[Chicklet]

Just drinking a lot of alcohol can cause that raspy voice and throat cancer. Also HPV is probably the cause of a majority of throat cancers. We know they drink too much. Wonder when they will realize they aren't 20 anymore and can't live that life? Bravo never shows who smokes except by accident so who knows.

[Thisgirllovespasta]

I don't know if he still does but Craig used chewing tobacco in prior seasons. 

[slowpoked]

I think the one good thing in this episode is Rod calling out Austen for playing the victim or thinking of himself as the victim when it's him who orchestrates all the messes he gets himself into. Austen showed this perfectly in an earlier episode where he was wondering why he couldn't be in a healthy, long, loving relationship with a woman. I mean, yeah, why can't any decent woman see him as a catch when he "accidentally" hangs out with two naked women in his apartment while in a relationship? One of life's greatest mysteries indeed. What a schmuck. Hope his parents are proud of him.

I think Madison's one of the thirstiest Bravolebs I've seen in awhile, but it's obvious her blabbering of Taylor's nudes comes from a deep, personal place, where, arguably, she wasn't shown the same grace as the guys are begging to be shown to Taylor now. Madison has a point where all her sluttiness is out in the open - she doesn't pretend to be someone else she's not. But because Taylor is a southern, bible-thumping Barbie who was hurt from a previous relationship, it suddenly excuses what she did. I don't know who's in the right, and frankly, I don't care, because between Madison and Taylor it's like choosing eating my own puke or stepping into my own shit. But for once, I wasn't telling the TV to "shut up, Madison!"

[ZettaK]

On 10/30/2023 at 2:02 PM, Thisgirllovespasta said:

I don't know if he still does but Craig used chewing tobacco in prior seasons. 

I think some smoke. Like Shep?

[Sweet-tea]

Late to the party... the THs of all of them talking about sending nudes and how common it is made me feel old. I have never sent a nude photo to anyone, not even my husband. 

I don't get why the guys are all defending Taylor. I guess the sweet young thing energy is working on them? She seems dim to me. 

[Natalie68]

19 minutes ago, Sweet-tea said:

Late to the party... the THs of all of them talking about sending nudes and how common it is made me feel old. I have never sent a nude photo to anyone, not even my husband. 

I don't get why the guys are all defending Taylor. I guess the sweet young thing energy is working on them? She seems dim to me. 

I am thinking these men have similar um preferences, like some of those names that are promised to be released in that report (trying to not include the name but has a royalty tie).

What I really don't like is slut shaming women.  I want women to stand together and put these fuckers in their place.  A bunch of overgrown, overage man-babies who think they can demean/use women is grotesque and shit needs to start changing.  The women who cosign and engage in this are really small brains and need some effin pride.