OUTbound Travel Co-Owner Jaymes Vaughan to Appear on ‘The Real Friends of Weho’
2023 is shaping up quite nicely for Jaymes Vaughan. After recently being announced as Grand Marshal of Miami Beach Pride (in addition to his husband actor Jonathan Bennett), he has also been revealed to be a cast member of the new MTV reality show The Real Friends of Weho.
Vacationers will of course recognize Vaughan as co-owner of OUTbound Travel, a joint venture he began with his husband which offers a collection of cruises, excursions, and activities that specifically connect with our community and culture as queer people. You might also recognize him as the host of the nationally syndicated entertainment news show, Celebrity Page, as a former contestant on CBS’s Amazing Race (in which he placed second), or as the co-host of Pridecast. His pedigree in business, travel, and entertainment made Vaughan a natural choice for casting in The Real friends of Weho which MTV describes as an “unfiltered and honest look at a select group of friends living, loving and pursuing their passions in the West Hollywood community, consisting of some of Hollywood’s most influential and successful LGBTQ+ celebrities, personalities and entrepreneurs.”
In addition to Vaughan, the show will feature Brad Goreski, the highly sought-after stylist to the stars; Todrick Hall, the multi-talented yet scandal-ridden entertainer fresh off his stint on Celebrity Big Brother; Curtis Hamilton, a television and film actor; Dorión Renaud, the CEO of Buttah, one of the most successful skincare companies in the world; and Joey Zauzig, a social media influencer, and entrepreneur.
Unsurprisingly, there is already drama surrounding the show with Dorión Renaud taking to social media, calling the show “The Fake Friends of Weho” and clarifying that he, in fact, lives in The Valley. Chris Salvatore from the Eating Out series of films also took to Twitter to reveal that he was originally in the cast but was fired after a week due to three other cast members’ concerns over his Only Fans work. In addition, there have also already been calls from fans to boycott the show due to Todrick Hall’s involvement.
Perhaps most concerning of all, at least to the show’s producers, Weho has managed to incite the wrath of RuPaul’s Drag Race fans. Since MTV has given Weho the 9 pm slot on Friday nights, that means Drag Race, which airs at 8 pm, will only have 60-minute episodes as opposed to the extended 90-minute episodes fans have grown accustomed to since season 10. The hope, of course, is that Drag Race fans will stick around to watch The Real Friends of Weho each week, but the strategy is looking like it might backfire. Fans are already plenty resentful that they are having to sacrifice 30 minutes of their beloved Drag Race for a show they never even asked for.
All of this and the show has not even premiered yet!! So, what does this mean for the future of The Real Friends of Weho and Jaymes Vaughan’s attempts at further expanding into entertainment? I guess we will have to wait and see. Will you be watching?
The Real Friends of Weho will premiere on January 20 at 9 pm, only on MTV.
