Randall Emmett Is a Way Worse Guy Than We Realized

Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent's ex-fiancé has been accused of extensive verbal and physical abuse, according to a new report.

By Emily Leibert | June 30, 2022 | 10:10pm

Celebrities

Randall Emmett Is a Way Worse Guy Than We Realized

Photo:JOCE/Bauer-Griffin/GC Image (Getty Images)

Randall Emmett, a self-proclaimed “H-level” producer, and the ex-fiancé of Bravo reality star Lala Kent, has been accused of verbal and physical abuse, sexual harassment, and fraudulent business activities in a new Los Angeles Times investigation. While the alleged behavior ranges from horrific to downright petty, the report proves yet again that the individuals who sign up for reality television shows are more like moths circling a street light than wannabe actors—so blindly addicted to attention that they all but seal their own downfall by allowing cameras into their lives.

Emmett was one of those reality television characters who sort of bumbled along in the background of Vanderpump Rules: annoying, somewhat delusional about money and success, and more famous for calling 50 cent “fofty” than anything else. Though he began dating Kent in 2015, Emmett went unnamed in the show until 2020 due to “privacy” concerns. Even without a name, however, Emmett was a frequent target of castmate James Kennedy’s drunken and “pasta”-filled rage; that Kent shouldn’t be with an old rich guy who buys his sugar baby—aka Kent—Range Rovers in exchange for blowies. (Kent also relentlessly talked about having sex with her mystery benefactor who she called “my man,” which, in hindsight, is gross). Despite initially telling Kent he was separated from his wife, it later came out that Emmett was definitely still married when he started dating Kent.

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By the time Emmett appeared on the show as Kent’s serious boyfriend—and later, fiancé and baby daddy to Ocean—Emmett wasn’t the subject of all that much drama. His attempted persona was clear though: Emmett painted himself as Scott Rudin-lite, often stressed and always with too much gel in his hair. According to IMDB, he has produced over 120 (mostly) critically abhorred straight-to-DVD genre films like horror flick The Row (which stars Kent), The War with Grandpa, and Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous.

But the Times investigation paints Emmett in a much different light—not only as a sketchy director who was allegedly involved in pushing Bruce Willis to work on five action movies after witnessing Willis’ declining health on set, but as a man who often leveraged his position of power and industry proximity as a way to coax women into giving him sexual favors. Emmett reportedly pressured women into signing nondisclosure agreements and allegedly promised $200,000 to one female accuser. He also owes various creditors more than $25 million. Emmett has denied these allegations.

Among the more disturbing accusations is an alleged incident following the birth of his child with Kent. She said that she learned Emmett may have been cheating on her, so she confronted him and asked to see his phone. Refusing, Kent said Emmett “ran after me, tackled me and knocked me to the ground,” adding that she “used every ounce of strength to get him off of me.” (His representative told the Times that Emmett hadn’t cheated on her, he just enjoyed hanging out with his friends.) Kent also claimed that Emmett attempted to get her to sign an NDA, offering her $14,000 to keep her relationship with Emmett a secret.

Another woman told the Times that she was leaving a bar in 2014 when a Rolls-Royce pulled up and rolled down the window, revealing a complete stranger to the woman. “I’m not a creep, I promise. I’m a movie producer, you can Google me—please Google me,” Emmett told her, because prowling women on the streets is also totally normal. Another woman claimed that Emmett slid into her DMs, repeatedly asking her to “f— on the dl” and “do heroin and meth.”

Later, Emmett told a different budding actress “that to receive acting work from [him], she would have to perform sexual favors,” and when she asked about a role she’d auditioned for, he allegedly replied: “Yes. one day of work and u need to fuckme hun.”

One former associate said Emmett “had his back hair shaved in the office on the carpet;” another individual reported that he did lines of cocaine off a poker table at Sundance. Emmett also blamed an associate for the death of his goldfish, texting, “Don’t care. I told you to get doctor … and now my fish is dead.”

Emmett blamed all of the allegations in the Times report on Kent, claiming that she is conducting a “smear campaign” for control of Ocean in their ongoing custody battle. But we knew exactly who Randall Emmett was from the moment he entered the Bravo universe: a money-hungry, fame-seeking, wife-cheating cliché.