James Taylor is again in hot water, but this time, it’s more than just internet backlash. It’s a legal repercussion.
Earlier this year, former Bachelorette contestant James Taylor made quite the scene on social media when he claimed he was being blackmailed into outing his alleged affair with Nick Saban’s daughter, Kristen Saban. Taylor took her to Instagram to share images they had taken when he flew to Alabama to visit her. She noted that he “ended things” when she told him she was still married.
By the looks of it on social media, Kristen was in the midst of a divorce and seemed separated at the time of the interactions. Taylor noted that his “blackmailer” said they were going to go to TMZ with the images, and the news outlet was going to run the story, which made for quite the comical comment section, as many believed this was all a bluff and TMZ would not care about this news snippet.
“Hey so – this ain’t it. Nothing you’re saying is true. This is quite the attention grab and if someone was being blackmailed, with all due respect, why would it be you?”
“Why would TMZ or anyone else care lol? We’re not talking about A list or even B list celebs here…”
After all of this, Taylor seemed to be in a bad state, later releasing a “country music” single, “Drinking Disorder In Florida,” hinting the relationship with Kristen inspired its lyrics. The piece of trash song, though, is a mild offense compared to the latest headline involving the former reality TV star.
And now… it gets worse.
Sunday night, James Taylor was arrested in Bryan, Texas, which is a city right next to College Station, the home of Texas A&M University, for “forcing himself” upon a 19-year-old college student. Reports from KBTX say the two met at Northgate, leaving the bar together and returning to Taylor’s condo. The woman and Taylor began kissing before the woman said she began to feel uncomfortable. When she told Taylor she wanted to leave, police reports say she described him as “very serious and intense” and “got a look on his face that frightened her.”
The unidentified woman went to the restroom and called a friend, who ordered her an Uber so she would leave. When the woman returned from the restroom, she told police that Taylor was lying nude on the bed, and she asked him to put his clothes on as she was leaving. Taylor did so, walked her downstairs to the door, but slammed it shut before she could leave, forcibly kissing her and throwing her to the ground where he got on top of her and “groped her private area.” The woman was able to push Taylor off of her and get out of the door, where her Uber was waiting outside.
The next day, when Bryan’s police met with the woman, she showed them multiple bruises on her buttocks and hips, and police saw texts between the woman and her friend, which supported her story. Some of the messages exchanged included “Please come get me,” “I’m not ok,” and “He’s forcing himself on me.”
When police questioned Taylor, he gave quite a contradicting statement, noting that their time together was “consensual and enjoyable.” However, per their investigation, police believed Taylor was not being truthful and took him into custody, booking him for Assault, Causing Bodily Injury and Unlawful Restraint. His bond was set at $8,000.
🚨ARRESTED: James McCoy Taylor, 38, of Katy was arrested on warrants overnight by College Station police at a Northgate bar. Those warrants are for charges of Assault Causing Bodily Injury and Unlawful Restraint. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/Ux2heo4EsC
— 🚨 Rusty Surette 🚨 (@KBTXRusty) August 4, 2024
KBTX reported after his arrest that Taylor gave a statement denying the allegations.
“So let me get this straight. Not so much as a scratch on me as I showed to police via pictures of my whole body which was awkward, to say the least, and I’m a pretty big guy, but I was trying to ‘unlawfully restraint’ a girl and she just .. got away? And walked right to her Uber right outside my House? With no injuries? Okay, got it. This makes tons of sense. Trust me, if there were any injuries, they’d be all over the internet.”
Taylor also spoke to Page Six, giving a lengthy statement they shorted, saying:
“Not so much as a scratch on me (as I showed to police via pictures of my whole body, which was awkward, to say the least) … but I was trying to ‘unlawfully restrain’ a girl, and she just … got away … and walked right to her Uber right outside my House? With no injuries?”
The woman’s father said his daughter has since switched schools because of the incident. Taylor admitted to not remembering the woman’s name when confronted by her family and also said in his statement that he believed this was a publicity stunt because people disagreed with his political views.
“I would never hurt anybody. I’m nice to every person I meet. That’s my statement. Now go ahead and trash my life because you hate my political stances or for the views you’ll get on TikTok.”
He also told Page Six that:
“We didn’t spend much time together, but I feel like she wouldn’t want all this to have gotten here either if she could go back.”
He noted to the news outlet that he does not “hate” his accuser but wished to know where it came from.
Now that we’ve laid out all the facts, the dude seems off his rocker. As an almost 40-year-old gracing college town bars and preying on young girls, it looks as though he is asking to get himself into trouble. Maybe one day he will get his act together, and we will be writing a positive headline about James Taylor, but given his track record, it seems he has a long way to go…
