Taylor Armstrong: She May Go Oklahoma on Your Ass

[Cosmic Muffin]

NOOOOOOOO! The show was finally going to get a chance to show us what they could do without Brandy and Kim...I hate Taylor!

[KFC]

Oh god no, please no Taylor.

 

If they really wanted to go retro, then they should have resurrected the ghost of S1 Camille. Hell, I'd take Adrienne over Taylor's griftery self. I get that they want a trashy element to the cast, but Taylor came from the Lynne Curtin/Teresa Giudice school of Housewives. There's just something a little too gross about having someone with that much off-screen baggage being brought back onto our screens.

 

My only hope is that if she is back, Lisa Vanderpump returns to her barely concealed contempt for Taylor. Because, girl, I was right there with you on the Taylor hate.

Edited July 7, 2015 by KFC

[Giselle]

Not sure how credible this is:

From realmrhousewife.com

 

 

Damn, I wish it were Camille coming back. She had some house porn!

[mbaywife123]

Crap! I never liked Taylor, she is such a plastic grifter. Easy to blame your past misdeeds on your ex husband who is not here to dispute anything she has written or said to media. I will FF If she turns up again.

[GreatKazu]

It's being mentioned on several other sites. According to Radar, Taylor's husband has also tweeted something about being back in BH.

[chlban]

I can just see the producers realizing that with Brandi gone they just dont have anyone trashy enough.Not that Taylor's as trashy as Brandi but she sure doesnt ooze class either. Whatever. Not a fan at all, but they fired Brandi and Kim. They get a pass from me on this one.

[LotusFlower]

I'm sure she just made an appearance at a party, like she's done in the past. It doesn't mean she's returning to the show.

[mwell345]

Not a Taylor fan, but I'm willing to give her another shot since she has remarried and she and her life might be very different that what it was before.

 

My preference would have been Camille, but then I'm also in the ABKOB (Anyone But Kim Or Brandi) club.

[st.louielouie]

I will take Taylor back - she never bothered me that much.  I thought she was needy and desperate but not awful.  I have seen Camille is filming some with Kyle and Lisa and am happy about that.  I think Lisa Rinna and Taylor might bring the drama - enough and not as dark and mean as Kim and Brandi.  And I thought I was done with the housewives series.....

[PhilMarlowe2]

I do think Taylor is awful. I find her self-righteousness almost intolerable. It's one thing to be a hot mess, but it's another to then grandstand and act like a victim all the time. There is something very mean spirited about her. I never understood her narrative about not having her "voice," when she was always the one flipping out at Malibu beach parties, ruining tea parties and provoking Kim. And I find her "friendship" with Lisa so fake and saccharine. All that said, she does instigate drama. And her new marriage (another trainwreck, I am sure) will no doubt provide for some good snarking.

[nexxie]

Taylor is in a new place - I'm okay with giving her a second look. Hoping things are better for her and she's off the bottle (otherwise it would just be exploitation on Bravo's part).

Camille is too fake for me - always acting.

Edited July 22, 2015 by nexxie

[Showthyme]

Say it isn't so! Can we substitute the e-cig psychic or the morally corrupt Faye Resnick? They are easier to look at, which isn't saying much. I know these things because I would not be put on Team Pretty.

 

Taylor has her own issues with alcohol. We have been subjected to enough drunks on this show. I was done with Taylor when she got rid of Kennedy's little dog. That dog could have provided some comfort to Kennedy following her father's death.

 

The only Taylor scene that was enjoyable involved Russell asking Kennedy if she wanted some soup. 

[KFC]

Lord knows this show has seen its fair share of substance-dependent women, but what I really detest about Taylor wasn't so much her alcohol benders but her barely concealed con artist ways. Not that I want Kim or Brandi, but I do think bringing back Taylor is trading bad for worse. There's just something so unseemly and criminal lurking beneath the surface with her. It's one of the few times where I wish LVP hadn't caved to peer pressure and continued her outspoken dislike of Taylor. I think she could smell the phony like the rest of us.

 

Again, Taylor's presence on the show is very Teresa Giudice/Lynne Curtin unsettling to me. They might not be the most outwardly aggressive like a Tamra or a Kenya, but the grifter element is just as bad, if not worse. I, too, would even take TMC Faye Resnick over Taylor. 

[Showthyme]

Lord knows this show has seen its fair share of substance-dependent women, but what I really detest about Taylor wasn't so much her alcohol benders but her barely concealed con artist ways. 

 

Yes, the real issue is that Taylor is being cast for the wrong show. She needs to be on American Greed or Dateline or Botched. I would like to hear the story behind the name change and her business dealings/stealings that she participated in with Russell. She definitely is not an innocent spouse. I shouldn't judge but her new husband gives me the creeps too. Something in buttermilk ain't clean (thank you, Phaedra).

 

Taylor Botched Armstrong doesn't fit any better in RHoBH than Tamra Barney or Nene might. It has nothing to do with money. At best, Taylor needs to go over to the OC. We don't want to see her there either.

Edited July 23, 2015 by Showthyme

[Lemondrop 16]

I suppose I could begrudgingly watch Taylor again, but I can't believe even Bravo would be cold-hearted enough to bring back that poor little Kennedy! Can't the network have the decency Taylor lacks and film the mother and not the daughter? That girl deserves better. God knows, she's already suffered enough!

[ColinO]

I have read a few articles now about Taylor Armstrong returning to the real Housewives of Beverly Hills and honestly it makes me sick to think that they would cast her again. She clearly only cares about fame and staying relevant. I was really shocked to learn that Taylor Armstrong attacked Yolanda Foster during filming the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It is really sick to hear that people actually attack one another about their illnesses. Seriously why would Bravo TV cast Taylor Armstrong? Well I read this other news report about why Bravo TV cast Taylor armstrong (The Sad Truth Behind Taylor Armstrongs RHOBH return) and it looks like producers were seriously desperate and it was their last choice! Honestly that does not surprise me! this show will be a train wreck!

[link417]

I have read a few articles now about Taylor Armstrong returning to the real Housewives of Beverly Hills and honestly it makes me sick to think that they would cast her again.

I don't mind her return, it'll be nice to see a familiar face. My disdain for her previously was due in large part to her husband at the time, and she endeared herself to me a bit by acknowledging and laughing off the disaster that is her lips.

Though after the RHOC illness storyline, I don't want to see more of that featuring Yolanda (ugh, can't stand her) and her Lyme Disease. Don't care if it's a matter of whether she has it or if it's a matter of questioning the severity of her symptoms---I don't want it on my screen.

OT, but I LOVE how the internet has democratized journalism so that any ol' shlub can "write" an "article," grammar and punctuation be damned! Various mistakes in those riothousewives.com links kept tripping me up while reading.

[Lura]

Taylor's plastic surgery cannot have gone well.  I can't imagine that she was happy with her lips.  She reminds me of Donald Duck.

 

Taylor, to me, has always been a shrew.  I know that husband Russell had his own problems, but I always felt that Taylor contributed to his suicide.  In that scene at Camille's dinner party, when Taylor stood and yelled "Enough!", I felt that I had finally seen the real Taylor.  I'm terribly disappointed about her return and hope that Bravo shows her the door before long.

[lunastartron]

I find Taylor a fascinating study in sociopathy and cunning. It's at once remarkable and frightening that she has been able to control a narrative that at one time was a whisper away from careening off the rails to the extent that Camille, the woman she literally accused of imperiling Kennedy's safety on national television, is now all air kisses in their appearances together. And while I think she is an incredible (and incredibly talented) liar, I don't mind her coming for Yolanda considering Yo's own bizarre fabulism began in earnest when she needed an excuse for yelling "you're a real asshole" to Taylor at a social event.

[PhilMarlowe2]

If only Yolanda realized that she needed no excuse - Taylor is a real asshole!

[Midnight Cheese]

Taylor's a liar and a con and IMO lied about significant aspects of Russell's behavior.  I wish her ill.  She got what I think she wanted - I think she wanted him permanently gone and a richer husband, and I think not too deep down, she's very happy Russell is dead and cannot contradict her recall.  She's a lying piece of trash.  She is worse than Tre G. because she's cannier and she herself is darker and more manipulative IMO.  We see the fake elements of her appearance, but her thinness, ability to sound articulate and ability to control her temper, her awareness that putting herself in philanthropic roles (the work for the shelter), the name change from Shana to Taylor, ALL of it demonstrates that she is a long-con queen who has been prepping to elevate herself for all of her adult life.  She is really scary. 

[quinn]

I always felt Reality TV Taylor was one of the least canny housewives, yeah she tried to play "the game" but it usually blew up in her face - I suspect that Taylor comes across better in person than on TV.  To be sure Taylor is a fervid social climber, and does have skills in that area, but I don't fault her for being able to make rich and influential friends because she knows how to stroke their egos.

 

Russell had a history of domestic abuse and other violence that preceded Taylor.  Pre-Taylor, he had also gotten in hot water re his business and/or other financial dealings.  Taylor's history pre-Russell is pretty clean, her biggest crime was getting that lip implant. ;-) Some deem Taylor's name changes as suspicious but they were legal name changes which is not easily doable if you have  a criminal history and / or credit malfeasance, and Taylor's name changes were straightforward court filings.

 

I don't doubt think that Russell was physically violent towards Taylor, and I believe that Russell was unhinged enough to go after Taylor for no good reason, but I am pretty sure that alcohol on both sides, Taylor's emotional volatility and/or her assholery also played a role in a good chunk of their altercations

 

I think Taylor is a villain in that she can be an asshole, disingenuous, opportunistic, and has screwed up values, but I don't think that she had/has what it takes to be the big, bad grifter extraordinaire that she's been accused of being.

[KFC]

Hmmm, I do agree that she probably comes across better in person than on TV. For all of Kyle's questionable taste in friends/general inability to judge character, it seemed like Kyle bonded with Taylor in part because Taylor was willing to call out LVP as a phony. Like on the S2 reunion when Taylor pointed out how LVP was hiding behind Giggy's Twitter account as a way to insult the other HWs while keeping her hands clean.

 

But on the flip side, phonies tend to sniff out their same kind, and that's probably why Lisa disliked Taylor's griftery ass. And yes, I do absolutely think Taylor is a big bad grifter extraordinaire. The way she depicted her marriage to Russell, both during AND after, still doesn't add up. To me, there's always been something more odious about Taylor's lies/exaggerations than the typical delusional HW babblings.

 

And as early as S1 we've seen glimpses of Taylor's nasty side, as evidenced by her going after crazy Kim. I mean, Kim is her own special brand of asshole, but Ms. "Go Oklahoma On Your Ass" seemed so calculated in zeroing in on Kim as a way of solidifying her position with Kyle.

[quinn]

IMO Kim went after Taylor as much if not more than Taylor went after Kim.  The one time Taylor went after Kim, LVP put her up to it - for the record I don't give Taylor a pass for doing Lisa's bidding. 

 

I can see why Taylor wasn't all that pleased with Kim if one minute she's all "I get nervous!" when asked what she witnessed, but then ostensibly a few minutes later she's trying to call out Taylor.  Also IIRC that night in New York may have been one of those filmings where the Kim's bad side was on display but her bad behavior ended up on the cutting room floor. 

 

I do think Taylor liked flaunting in Kim and Lisa's face that she and Queen Bee Kyle hit it off.

 

At the time of the season two reunion Taylor and Lisa were getting along, but their previous bad blood had to be addressed.  I think bringing up the snarky Giggy Twitter account is one of the more benign explanations from Taylor regarding why she didn't get along with Lisa.  Overall Taylor tried to explain it away that she did not get Lisa's British humor.

 

What I find odious and downright perverse was how Taylor was willing to use her marriage for a plotline knowing how volatile it was.*  However it should be noted that Taylor's initial "character sketch" was that she and her gay BFF were business partners but apparently that footage was not very interesting and the producers took an interest in Taylor and Russell's marriage. 

 

I think Russell was violent towards Taylor and that is not acceptable, but yeah I am pretty sure that his and hers alcohol use played a role in quite a few of their altercations, and that Taylor minimized her role and tried to craft the image that she was a timid little mouse whose husband abused her for arbitrary reasons.

 

Given how Kim, Lisa and Brandi were able to attain and maintain their popularity for a significant period of time, I put them way ahead of Taylor when it comes to their skills in grifting and/or manipulating.

 

ETA:

*  It was also perverse of Russell to go along with the Armstrong marriage plotline.  Additional perversities were Taylor's active involvement with an organization that serves abuse victims, and Russell involvement with substance abuse centers.  They were a very strange pair.

Edited November 15, 2015 by quinn

[Lura]

Has anyone read that Taylor's husband, John Bluher, will be on the show as well?  He seems to me to be just as bad as Taylor is.  I hated him when he had a wife and children at home but also had Taylor and Kennedy living with him in Colorado.  There's mean and there's really mean, and I felt that he was really a drinking, stinking really mean man.  Then, when they finally decided to marry, they didn't have a nice, quiet wedding but a huge splash of an event that could only have been arranged for publicity.

 

And what of Taylor?  She not only went along with the whole thing, but she tweeted endlessly about skiing today, lounging in the pool the next day, etc., etc.  That was nothing more than showing off.  The final straw was that when she'd already had an unhappy marriage with Russell, she marries a guy like this loser.  She sure wasn't marrying him for his moral character.  I can just see the two of them fighting when they're both tanked and the abuse starting. 

 

Taylor smelled money and headed straight for it the very first night when she sent Kennedy to stay with the grandparents and flew to Colorado hours after meeting John.  I give her a -0 for her IQ and the same for her common sense, but I give her a +100 for her cunning.  To have to watch her again on Bravo makes me ill.   I can only hope that Bravo's writers and producers will give her an unbearable season which will have all the other HWs so fed up with her that she'll be stuck in BH without a job or a friend.  I dislike Taylor 10 times more than Kim, Brandi or Faye.

 

Sorry for the length.  It's clear that I should stay away from this thread!  Oh well, I'll just try to concentrate on her lips!  LOL

Edited November 15, 2015 by Lura

[lunastartron]

If one really considers the red flags surrounding Taylor that are, imo, really obvious in retrospect, she's nothing less than chilling - as well as nothing less than minor maestro at her tradecraft with respect to the nature and scope of the logistical challenges that she faced and the relative adroitness with which she navigated them. Sure, Brandi and Kim may have enjoyed longer runs of professional success and viewer popularity but where are they now? Unemployed and homeless. The Armstrong tragedy dominated Radar, Gawker, ET, and the like for months and received coverage for almost a year from the point of Russell's suicide in real time until the aftermath of its broadcast. Despite all of that very public baggage, she managed to hustle her way into another lucrative marriage despite a relatively advanced age for the game in question and the fact that her mark was already married with kids. She's kept herself in the reality racket with outlets that have afforded her the opportunity to reinforce her chosen rising-from-the-ashes redemption-empowerment narrative while managing to avoid the scrutiny that a full-time Housewife position would warrant. From my perspective, it was all but spelled out by season two editing that she was determined to cash-in in a scheme that spiraled from one target to another - I, for one, fully believe that she and Russell were disseminating the abuse allegations among her co-workers off-camera first as a way to capitalize on the opportunity to milk some money out of Lisa. When Camille blew that up, I would argue that Taylor was still making a concerted effort to capitalize on the "broke your jaw" nuances and the premise that Camille had imperiled Kennedy right up until she realized that her only path out of the quagmire in which she had landed herself was to introduce Russell to the underside of the proverbial bus. While Russell indeed had a history of domestic violence accusations, one of those women would later go on to be convicted of a murder or murder-for-hire plot herself and, as noted above, there's a substantive difference between varieties of abuse; I have no trouble imagining physical altercations erupting between the Armstrongs, but sensationalized specifics in Taylor's book and press rounds were either never corroborated or outright disproven. I recall, for instance, that she circulated a photo of herself boasting a black eye with the clear implication that it was Russell's direct handiwork only to later have to clarify that what she really meant to say was that it was a post-surgery pic (but was still Russell's fault). I think Lisa rallied to her defense for an array of reasons (she appreciates the socially disadvantaged as pets; has a genuine altruistic streak; and, having a husband who worships her, probably took the vitriolic texts that Russell sent Taylor as evidence of Taylor's overall veracity) but the footage from the tea party really highlights the Jekyll and Hyde quality of Taylor's demeanor when she seamlessly transitions from the "if you can't be my friend, please don't be my enemy" vulnerability to practically foaming at the mouth with venom when she's talking shit to Paul at the front gate of the property. This characteristic is also on display when she initially sneers angrily at Kyle refusing her admission to the white party but subsequently comforts Kyle during her drama-queenning in the limousine. And the manner in which she malevolently threatens Kyle with a disclosure of Kim's lack of sobriety - as well as Kyle's docile acquiescence - at the season one reunion is really bizarre and sinister. I can't say that she's more lamentable than Faye Resnick - who, after all, also capitalized on the horrific passing of a close associate for fame - but her patterns and propensities have certainly been documented at greater length on film.

[tulip555]

Say it isn't so! Can we substitute the e-cig psychic or the morally corrupt Faye Resnick? They are easier to look at, which isn't saying much. I know these things because I would not be put on Team Pretty.

 

Taylor has her own issues with alcohol. We have been subjected to enough drunks on this show. I was done with Taylor when she got rid of Kennedy's little dog. That dog could have provided some comfort to Kennedy following her father's death.

 

The only Taylor scene that was enjoyable involved Russell asking Kennedy if she wanted some soup.

Indeed....Bravo has quite the knack of finding disturbed women for their shows...wonder if they give the women any kind of psychological

Testing to find the most in need of serious therapy.

[Lura]

LOL, Tulip!  That's a real possibility -- that Bravo recruits BH's least-known loony ladies!  So far, Bravo has quite a record.  Maybe that's why I don't know anything about their latest addition.  Maybe she hasn't been a household name because she just got released from the Funny Farm, along with a few others in the cast who were either also there or are on their way!  I think you're onto something.

[BodhiGurl]

Why in the world has she retained the last name "Armstrong" if Russell was so abusive to her? Re-watching season 2, being reminded of how much I just can't with this woman....

[Lura]

I wonder what acting school Taylor attended, or maybe she just studied acting in college.  I would think that any good acting coach would go after her voice first thing.  It is so shrill and guttural.  She speaks from the back of her nose and throat, and she  has the same tone quality that Daisy Duck does in cartoons.  Add those newly-enlarged lips to the picture, and she really could pass for Daisy.  I find Taylor to be terribly, terribly irritating in a number of ways, all beginning with her voice.

 

When Taylor first entered the scene and greeted each old friend with her "Mmmwah, mmmwah" routine on each cheek, I became dangerously close to becoming ill.  With that mouth of hers, she could easily have swallowed up any one of them.

[kokapetl]

Shana Hughes probably keeps the name Armstrong because what good is a husband who offed himself if you move on? "The Widow Armstrong" is beyond reproach, she benefits from maintaining that image.

Edited December 20, 2015 by Kokapetl

[link417]

Why in the world has she retained the last name "Armstrong" if Russell was so abusive to her? Re-watching season 2, being reminded of how much I just can't with this woman....

Is Kennedy's last name "Armstrong"? If so, that's probably why. I had a friend with a longtime partner and she said if they ever got married she would still keep her first married name because of her kids.

[zoeysmom]

Is Kennedy's last name "Armstrong"? If so, that's probably why. I had a friend with a longtime partner and she said if they ever got married she would still keep her first married name because of her kids.

Kennedy is probably Kennedy Bluher because she was adopted.  About time for Taylor to drop the Armstrong and move on.

[link417]

Kennedy is probably Kennedy Bluher because she was adopted. About time for Taylor to drop the Armstrong and move on.

Ah, I had forgotten about that, thanks! Yeah, I got nothin'.

[savannah1985]

Kennedy's middle name is Caroline.

[ivygirl]

In terms of the Internet, this is old news, but: Taylor’s a meme.

Examples

[SuprSuprElevated]

My favorite so far.

Note - How soon before we read that Taylor is suing these meme creators?

[FairyDusted]

Totally funny that she breaking the internet YEARS after her lack luster seasons as a HW. I'm sick of explaining to the guys in my family who Taylor is.

[Stats Queen]

On 12/11/2019 at 5:40 AM, FairyDusted said:

Totally funny that she breaking the internet YEARS after her lack luster seasons as a HW. I'm sick of explaining to the guys in my family who Taylor is.

My brother texted me a Taylor/cat meme that was funny but he probably doesn’t know who Taylor is 😺

Hw probably doesn’t know who the cat is either.

[MissFeatherbottom]

Browsing through IG and saw this post. Took a screen shot of Taylor’s face. Omg almost did not recognize her!