Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Lala Kent’s Ex Randall Emmett Now Directing Movies Under Pseudonym After Their Bitter Split
Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent‘s ex Randall Emmett has continued to pursue his dream of directing movies but he’s using a pseudonym instead of his own name for his recent work.
“He’s known as a producer, and he’s starting to do a lot of directing. He’s decided he’s going to direct going forward under the name Ives and produce under the name Randall Emmett,” a source told Page Six on Friday, April 26.
According to his rep, the change had nothing to do with the bad publicity Randall, 53, received following his bitter split with Lala, 33, in October 2021, when she called off their engagement and accused him of cheating on her repeatedly.
“Randall made a creative decision to use his middle name, Ives, to distinguish himself as a director rather than a producer,” his representative confirmed to the outlet.
The Miami, Florida, native’s directorial debut, 2021’s Midnight in the Switchgrass, was savaged by critics. It received a mere eight percent positive reviews among the 38 critics who reviewed the movie via Rotten Tomatoes, with one calling it a “formulaic dud.” The brutal comments came despite a starry cast including Bruce Willis, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly.
Randall’ new movie, Cash Out, is available to stream starting on Friday, April 26 on Apple TV+. It stars John Travolta and Kristen Davis and the director’s credit goes to Ives. The auteur has wrapped filming on Cash Out 2: High Rollers, and the movie is currently in post-production.
The Force of Nature producer became a familiar face to Vanderpump Rules fans, as he appeared in season 8 and 9 of the show as Lala’s fiancé. The duo got engaged during a trip to Mexico in September 2018.
Lala and Randall initially set a wedding date of April 18, 2020, but were forced to postpone it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That September, the former couple announced Lala’s pregnancy, and they welcomed daughter Ocean in March 2021.
The Salt Lake City, Utah, native called off their engagement and scrubbed her Instagram page of all traces of Randall in October 2021, after he was pictured out with two women in Nashville, Tennessee.
During a November 2021 episode of her podcast “Give Them Lala…With Randall,” now titled simply “Give Them Lala,” she revealed, “I want to acknowledge that I’m sure everyone knows what is going on between Randall and myself and just in my personal life. There will be a time where I feel comfortable enough to open up and share. Today is definitely not that day. It’s been a lot, I’m going through a lot.”
“We communicate through an app and it has just to do with Ocean. There was no closure at all when it came to my relationship and exiting it,” Lala said during a January 2022 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “Ocean is the main focus and that is how we communicate. If that doesn’t have to do with her then I have no desire to communicate with that person.”
One year after leaving her ex, Lala shared in an October 27, 2022, Instagram Story, “Happy Independence Day to me. A year ago, I had my ducks in a row, and it was time to execute my game plan of escaping a toxic and unsafe place. Even writing this, my heart has started pounding. I didn’t know what my future would hold.”
Lala said the stress of the breakup caused her to lose 30 pounds before going on to thank her family. “Without you, I would have been stuck. Today, I feel happy. It is one day at a time until I reach resolution for the well-being of Ocean.”
The pair are still in a custody battle over their daughter, who lives primarily with her mother. Ocean doesn’t appear on Vanderpump Rules, as Lala has said Randall refuses to allow their child to be filmed.
