James Kennedy‘s girlfriend, Ally Lewber, addressed his arrest for misdemeanor domestic violence.
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love and support and for checking in on me,” Lewber, 28, wrote via Instagram Story on Saturday, December 14. “I’m OK and taking the time I need right now. I deeply appreciate all the kindness and respect for my privacy during this time.”
Us Weekly confirmed on Thursday, December 12, that police were dispatched after they received a call about an argument between a man and a woman. The authorities saw Kennedy, 32, allegedly grabbing a woman on Tuesday, December 10. Officers who responded to the scene did not see any visible injuries and he was released on a $20,000 bond.
Kennedy’s attorneys released their own statement about the incident on Friday, which read, “We are in the process of conducting our own investigation into the allegations levied by the Burbank Police Department against James. We understand that there were no injuries and we are hoping that, after careful review, the city’s attorneys will decide not to file formal charges.”
Lewber previously denied fellow Bravo stars Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge’s claims that they witnessed Kennedy being physically abusive toward Lewber. Scheana Shay rehashed the allegations after inviting Lewber on a February episode of her “Scheananigans” podcast.
“I think it was two years ago now [after the MTV Movie & TV Awards]. And [Tamra] said that they were heading to an afterparty at TomTom. And during that car ride there was an altercation between two people in the car, which made her and Teddi have to get out of the car,” Shay, 38, explained. “They had to separate the two individuals in the car. And [they] further suggested that James was involved, and now there’s rumors flying around that Teddi might have hinted at an altercation between you and James.”
Lewber shut down assumptions that Kennedy “physically hurt” or “assaulted” her.
“That’s crazy to me that that’s the most asked question [for me]. That makes me really sad, because no, I’m good. That never happened. There was no physical altercation,” she told Shay at the time. “Yes, we were in the car together. I thought we were having fun. We were having fun. But then James and I did get into an argument, but there was no physical assault. I was not bleeding, and they didn’t have to get out of the car and separate us. So that didn’t happen. That’s all I’ll say on that.”
Lewber continued: “We’re good. We’re happy. He’s working on himself. I know in the past that he has anger issues. So I get it. But I just want people to know that I’m good and I’m safe and I love him.”
According to Lewber, Kennedy was drinking during the 2022 disagreement. (Kennedy confirmed on season 11 of Vanderpump Rules that he is currently sober after past issues with substance abuse.)
“He was still drinking. Yeah, we were all drunk in the back of that car. Yeah, that’s true,’ Lewber explained. “But nothing happened physically. I mean, we went to TomTom. We showed up at TomTom and we had fun. It was, like, a good night. I don’t think that that was, like, the moment or, like, the night when we were like, ‘OK, drinking is not great.’”
Lewber was grateful when Kennedy chose to cut alcohol out of his life, adding, “We would fight when we would drink. I would drink and pick [fights]. When you drink that much and in those environments, it is not great. That’s not who we really are. That’s an example of why he shouldn’t drink.”
Later in the episode, Shay acknowledged that Kennedy’s ex-girlfriends Rachel “Raquel” Leviss and Kristen Doute have previously sparked speculation that Kennedy might have been physically abusive toward them during their relationships. Shay subsequently wanted to give Lewber “a safe space” to speak about anything on her mind.
“Thank you. Because I didn’t know,” Lewber replied. “I’m like, do I go on my Instagram to say, ‘I’m good, guys?’ Like, I don’t know how to navigate these types of things. And this is something that’s very serious. And I do appreciate everyone worried about me. But I do want everyone to know I’m good.”
Kennedy’s ups and downs were at the center of multiple seasons of Vanderpump Rules. After making his first appearance in season 3, Kennedy’s off-and-on romance with Doute, 41, took a turn when she slapped Kennedy at Scheana’s wedding to Mike Shay in 2014. In another season, Kennedy spit on Doute’s door. (Doute, for her part, reacted to Kennedy’s arrest by writing “Finally” via her Instagram Story.)
Meanwhile, Leviss, 29, hinted that there were more details about her split from Kennedy that she didn’t previously share with the public. In a January episode of her “Rachel Goes Rogue” podcast, Leviss recalled filming a scene for season 10 of Vanderpump Rules where she started hyperventilating while discussing their split and hinted that she left out a lot of information.
“I was telling them the story of me planning to break up with James and how I had intentions of leaving the ring box on the counter when he got back from Europe,” she recalled. “All of my stuff was going to be gone, and I felt like that would be the safest way for me to break up with him. I didn’t go into the details of why we were breaking up and why I couldn’t be with him anymore.”
Leviss reacted to Kennedy’s arrest through her legal team
“We are aware of James Kennedy’s recent arrest for domestic violence. This news is, unfortunately, not surprising,” her attorneys, Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman, told Us Weekly in a statement on Thursday.
Kennedy has never publicly addressed Doute and Leviss’ claims.
