Taylor Armstrong’s ET Interview

22 Comments

1. 1
   featherhead
   Posted September 21, 2011 at 2:30 pm

   I watched the first night and didn’t bother on the second. For some reason it is really bothering me that we don’t get to hear Russel’s side. And some of the stuff coming out of her mouth, I’m sorry I have a hard time believing her. If what she is saying is the truth, then she’s a bigger asshole than I first thought! Wasn’t she the one last season that had the “big speech” at the charity for Abused women and wasn’t she the one who boo-hooed that she had to deal with her watching her mother be abused? So for the love of God, why would she stay with an abusive husband when she has a daughter?? While she says she has issues cause of her childhood, then why not get Kennedy the hell of out there? For anyone that’s interested I noticed that she’s on Dr Phil tomorrow. God she’s sure getting around now…..End Rant.

2. 2
   Matt Lam
   Posted September 21, 2011 at 2:33 pm

   Still don’t buy it.

3. 3
   lindaw205
   Posted September 21, 2011 at 2:50 pm

   Me either. She has such a long history of grifting and lies it’s difficult to believe anything that comes out of those trout lips. I would have to see video proof and even then I would question the editing.

4. 4
   shana
   Posted September 21, 2011 at 2:51 pm

   I feel I must mention:

   Russel doesn’t get to give ‘his side’ of the story because HE killed HIMSELF. Had he had a reasonable side to give, and if it was important for him to give it–he could have. To all the people who say he killed himself over financial reasons or the collapse of his marriage, I feel I must remind them that that he has been done these roads before. He had been bankrupt–or at least lost a ton of money–and has had a marriage dissolve before. Maybe both happening AGAIN at the same time in front of the cameras or any other number of things could set him off, but killing yourself kind of forfeits your right to defend yourself. He may have been very depressed and was not thinking of long term repercussions, but it is starting to piss me off a little the way everyone acts as if Taylor murdered him and then went around trying to defend herself by accusing him of something he did not do. I don’t trust Taylor, but I don’t trust Russel either.

5. 5
   someguy
   Posted September 21, 2011 at 5:36 pm

   Sad to write that her face and lips are so unnatural and bizarre .That is very hard to pay attention to what ever she is saying.What Doctor or person does that to a person.Her problems alone could fill a lot of books. A very sad women and sad man. So much pain all around.All prayers to her daughter.

6. 6
   kloewent
   Posted September 21, 2011 at 8:55 pm

   this seems really unlikely to me, we never saw any indication of abuse. It is a load of crap to make her sympathetic.

7. 7
   Robinez
   Posted September 21, 2011 at 9:12 pm

   @kloewent who is “we” ? Are you family? Or a close friend? Of course, that doesn’t mean that you would see signs of abuse, but when you said that you/we never saw any indication, it leads me to believe that you are close enough to pronounce it unlikely.

8. 8
   June Summer
   Posted September 21, 2011 at 10:19 pm

   You would be surprised at the things that give an abuser a reason/excuse to go off on their partner. I know a man who did not want what his wife cooked for supper so he slid the plate across the table and it crashed onto the floor. Another would beat his wife if there were footprints in the carpet when he got home. The women don’t leave because their self-esteem is gone, they are scared, and they believe that “it will never happen again”.

9. 9
   shana
   Posted September 21, 2011 at 11:16 pm

   @ June Summer: well, no one can truthfully say that Taylor has any self-esteem.

   Maybe Taylor is so comfortable in the ‘victim’ role because she has played victim to Russel all these years–or she allowed it to continue because that is how she sees herself, as a victim.

   People accusing Taylor of causing Russel to want to kill himself is reason enough to stand up and try to defend her position. Russel declared his big statement by killing himself and leaving everyone to figure out what really happened. It can’t be denied that when news of his suicide came out, everyone felt bad for him and a lot of people blamed her. I am starting to view her interviews as a defense strategy rather than as a chance to make accusations and garner sympathy.

10. 10
    ohralphie
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 4:58 am

    I cannot say with certainty the extent of abuse Taylor suffered at the hands of Russell. But what I can say with certainty is that Taylor is a manipulator and a liar. I don’t believe for a minute that being a victim of domestic violence absolves Taylor from being a bitch. In my opinion she can be both.

11. 11
    shana
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 5:32 am

    @ ohralphie: Well of course!

12. 12
    Mimi
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 5:43 am

    I’m shocked at all the scepticism on these comments. I believe that Taylor has been nothing but honest on her reality show and in this interview. She doesn’t come across as smart on the Housewives. She comes across as a follower. I think her only unattractive trait is her lack of independence. Her only fault was to trust an unstable man and to love him without conditions. She has the same trouble with friendships. She is the trusting one who is too sensitive and naive. She lacks a foundation of absolute truth to ground herself. Let’s not be so hard on her.

13. 13
    truthsquad
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 7:00 am

    So domestic abuse is now “Entertainment Tonight”? Sad commentary….

14. 14
    mick
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 8:41 am

    Taylor may be (and is, imo) a total bitch, a total drama queen, whatever else – but that does not *automatically* mean she was not abused. Bad things happen to bad people too, and this blaming the victim bullshit is totally depressing.

    That said, I won’t watch any of her interviews. I *am* saying that since I don’t know for sure one way or another, I accept that she very well could have been abused by Russell, and fuck anyone who beats their loved ones.

15. 15
    Snootchy Bootches
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 12:07 pm

    For the record, I think anyone who beats someone else, no matter if it is a child, spouse, friend, or total stranger, is a complete waste of oxygen.

    However, there are things which make me skeptical about Taylor’s story. The biggest of these things is that she is selling pictures which supposedly prove the abuse. Those pictures were clearly post surgery pictures. She claims that is because the abuse was so bad she had to have surgery on her face. If that were the case, that hospital staff would have to file a report about suspected abuse. They are required by law. And if you are a surgical case, there are a LOT of people involved in your care and EVERY one of them would be held to that legal requirement. So for there to not be a report, that would mean that at least one surgeon, at least one surgical nurse, an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist, an x-ray tech or MRI tech or CT scan tech, at least a few floor nurses, at least one PACU nurse, and a floor supervisor would ALL have to have decided to break the law and not file the required report. Highly freaking unlikely. So if she needed proof, all she needed to do was release that report. But there is no evidence that this report was ever filed. You know what evidence is plentiful? That she has had multiple cosmetic surgeries to her face. And facial cosmetic surgery quite often leaves the patient with facial bruising especially around the eyes. I don’t believe a thing she says. She is a con artist, pure and simple.

16. 16
    Matt Lam
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    She claimed she had no access to any money and never signed any checks, when the MMR lawsuit says she signed checks!
    She claimed she didn’t know anything about Russell’s business dealings when she was in the thick of almost all of them (MMR, Beautyticket, Davi).
    She said she was not a gold digger because Russell had just declared bankruptcy right before they were married, yet the photos from their wedding looked like it was a pretty pricey affair. We also know Russell continued to live the high life even after declaring bankruptcy. We also know he had offshore accounts.
    She said she changed her name from Shana Hughes to Shana Taylor because she felt she was closer to her stepfather than her real father. Yet her senior high school photos all have the name Shana Hughes, so she must have changed her name as an adult. Then she said she changed her name to Taylor Ford because she’s a fan of Tom Ford the fashion designer and she thought the two names sounded familiar so she just went ahead and changed it. She never mentioned all of the times she told investors she was a member of the Ford family, inferring she was a member of the famous Ford Motor family.
    Lies! Lies! Lies!

17. 17
    sarcasatire
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 2:44 pm

    Russell slapping Taylor around just goes to show..there’s no honor among thieves.

18. 18
    Tadow
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 7:31 pm

    I also caught the Dr. Phil show. I thought Taylor did a good job of defending herself (what’s to defend really) and even sounded, dare I say, intelligent. In regard to the hospital and mandated reporting, she said that the next day Russell escorted her to her lasik’s surgeon and she told him that Kennedy kicked her in the face.

19. 19
    Tadow
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 7:34 pm

    Well okay, at first I thought she sounded like some kind of slowed down Suicide/Depression madlib, but she warmed up.

20. 20
    kthxbai
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 8:44 pm

    The day after Russell committed suicide, they found one of his fellow Tiger 21 business associates in his car shot dead. His name was Alan Schram and he also managed a hedge fund and was active in international intrigues. They said it was self inflicted.

    When’s Part 2 of the ET interview about the eye pictures coming out?

21. 21
    Robinez
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 8:59 pm

    I also saw the Phil interview.

    My first impression was it looks like they have better lighting than Bravo.

    Phil is a publicity whore. He is also a bully. He publicly berates folks for ratings. He truly is stepping into Jerry Springer territory lately. He beats folks down on national TV and as long as he makes a donation to your charity, or sends you to a rehab center, he is absolved from assholeness..

    He tread softly with Taylor, the fact that he was in her home certainly had a lot to do with that. All that gobbedly goop about her leaving Shana behind was the only time that Taylor and I may have slightly had the same look on our faces at the same time. HUH? You know she was thinking “What is this idiot talking about”? I changed my name because thats what I do to get what I want! …dumb ass…

    I thought he might ask who’s genius idea it was to take a child to a place that has so many variables and unknowns. But, it was ratings for him and easy interview for her. It was good for both of them.

22. 22
    kthxbai
    Posted September 22, 2011 at 9:06 pm

    @Robinez

    “It was good for both of them”

    Anybody who asks if they had an electric cigarette afterwards is a terrible terrible person. Know that.