The popularity of Vanderpump Rules is undeniable at this point. The series once centered around the employees at SUR restaurant, and continues to feature the other restaurants owned by Lisa Vanderpump and her husband Ken Todd. The series has never been without controversy, but the drama tends to focus on the personal lives of the cast. For the last two seasons, the fallout from the global phenomenon known as Scandoval has taken center stage and dominated the news cycle as Ariana Madix moved on from her cheating ex-boyfriend, Tom Sandoval.
However, behind the scenes, there has been consistent drama that has never been discussed on the series. Lisa and Ken have been accused on multiple occasions of violating the rights of their restaurant employees. In December 2019, a former employee initiated a class-action lawsuit for violating California’s unfair competition law at their restaurants SUR, TomTom, PUMP, and Villa Blanca. In August 2020, a former PUMP employee sued the couple for failure to pay overtime wages. More recently, unnamed bartenders from TomTom brought forward a lawsuit in January 2024, alleging violations of California labor law, including late paychecks.
Max Boyens Claims on Instagram That Ken Todd Owed Him Money
Max Boyens was the bar manager at Lisa and Ken’s restaurant, TomTom, where Sandoval and Tom Schwartz from Vanderpump Rules own a small share. Max was featured on the series for one season, before he was terminated in June 2020, along with costars Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, and Brett Caprioni, over their history of problematic behaviors that caused controversy for the network.
Afterward, Max continued working at TomTom until May 2021, when he allegedly got into a heated argument with Lisa and Ken over wage issues. On June 20, 2024, Max answered questions from fans on Instagram Live, recorded and shared by the account @readsnreceipts, naming himself as one of the bartenders who took legal action against Ken to secure wages owed.
During the live stream, Max claimed that he had to get a lawyer involved in order to secure the $8,000 that was owed to him. He also stated that once he took legal action, Ken told him “I’m not paying you because you deserve it, I’m paying you out of good will.”
Fans asked him numerous questions about his time on the series and the rest of the Vanderpump Rules cast. When asked if he knows the truth about what has been going on recently with Sandoval and his new girlfriend, Victoria Lee Robinson, in their social media feud with former cast member Billie Lee, Max confirmed he knows the truth, sipping his water without revealing any details.
He also confirmed that he is not interested in dating Vanderpump Rules star Katie Maloney after their off-camera “hook up” became a story line in the most recent season. While most of the live stream was dedicated to these questions from his viewers about the cast, the golden nugget was the confirmation of Lisa and Ken’s historical problems with paying staff what they are owed only after legal action has been taken.