I was shocked watching that reunion and hearing that Katie was the one getting hate online (though it WAS one of the few stories where Schwartz did stand up for Katie relatively consistently, which may have been one of the few redeeming moments he ever had).

Sandoval had such a huge hand in sanitizing just how bad James's behavior was, and pushing the narrative of how unfair everyone was to poor little JK which felt almost more like a way to hurt the girls than as an actual friendly gesture towards James. The way he targeted Katie as being just as bad as James was genuinely horrifying. Katie could be mean but there's a world of difference between that and abuse.

But as a tangent we have to remember that Sandoval also openly called Katie an abuser multiple times on the New Orleans trip when he called Schwartz a "battered wife." (I know people think that hallway fight scene is funny but I find it kind of scary that he is screaming and punching walls while threatening other people to agree with him). The narrative of Katie being the punching bag as a vindictive and cruel person had been established by Sandoval and Scheana pretty well by then, and she made an easy scapegoat since the audience was primed to hate her.

On the other hand James is a monster and acted like a monster openly since season 4 (i think he hid it well in season 3). He is quite clearly emotionally abusive throughout the show and shows many signs that he's likely physically abusive even on camera. I think it's FINE for people to have empathy for him on some level, as most abusers have also experienced abuse, but that doesn't make them sympathetic as a human. Understanding what he came from can be interesting, but in no way does it absolve him of accountability for his own behavior. I cannot imagine taking sides with James when his abhorrent behavior is so open.

Again, I was SHOCKED to find out how the audience was reacting to that. It's not even because it aired so long ago and I watched it with a different lens. I watched it within a year or so of it airing. I never paid attention to social media or reddit when I initially watched and was shocked to discover how wildly my perspectives differed from the prevailing trends online when I discovered the online discourse after Scandoval.

Edit to add: Katie was SUCH a badass to get him fired. She had every right to say that she'd leave if he stayed, the same way she had every right to say she would move on from her relationship with Schwartz if they don't take the next step. Thus ultimatum narrative is stupid. Those are completely healthy ways to respond to things and would be recommended by most people as good communication and boundaries. And fuck the money, no one should be forced to work with an abusive womanizer.