Everybody loves Kenneth and Armando.
When it comes to 90 Day Fiance as a whole or The Other Way this season, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more popular couple.
A very popular blogger targeted Kenneth and castmate Jenny Slatten, accusing them of imposing American values and “ruining” families.
Kenneth is clapping back to this surprising take. Who is right?
This is a complicated and frankly heavy topic, involving 90 Day Fiance blogger John Yates’ recent post.
While disagreement is absolutely warranted, we of course hope that none of the backlash will be hateful or cruel to Yates.
The blogger has been a source of many good observations and behind-the-scenes details over the years, which is part of what makes this so disappointing.
“I think that both Kenny and Jenny are forcing their first world agendas on their spouses,” Yates began.
These partners, Armando and Sumit, are people “who have families with third world values and beliefs.”
Those are John Yates’ words, not ours, of course. Armando Rubio is Mexican. Sumit Singh is Indian.
“Both of these people are in their 60’s who continually force their loved ones,” Yates claimed.
He opined that they do this “to makes their families adhere to what Americans think they should do.”
“With all due respect Kenny has forced Armando to have his very deeply Catholic Mexican parents to fall in line with their agenda,” Yates alleged.
Yates wrote that this is “just as Jenny has forced Sumit to have his very Indian spiritual parents to fall in line with their love story.”
“Both of these cast members (Jenny & Kenny) have been around the block,” he characterized.
Yates continued: “Being baby boomers who are dating/engaged to people a third of their age.”
“And,” Yates accused, both Kenneth and Jenny “should know better.”
“You knew that this was already going to be an issue when you started dating them,” he claimed.
“So,” Yates continued, “don’t make a federal case out of it when you don’t get you way.”
“And to shove this marriage stuff down the throats of families who aren’t as progressive as you are is just wrong,” Yates stunningly declared.
“With that being said,” he wrote, “I feel like Armando has went above and beyond trying to talk to his family about this.”
“And as a gay person with a super Catholic family,” Yates added, “I applaud you.”
“It wasn’t easy for me to tell my family that I was marrying a man,” Yates said, referring to his husband, Cody.
“And,” he continued, “I just want to give you a round of applause.”
“As for Jenny – you knew from jump that this wasn’t going to go the way you planned it in your head,” Yates accused.
“And,” John Yates expressed, “I feel bad for Sumit as you have totally ruined his family.”
He continued: “And I also have to applaud Sumit for trying to make it work.”
“You have your own family,” Yates wrote, “and the fact that you continually try to divide him from them only shows your true colors.”
“I suggest you work those beads hard cause all the chanting in the world ain’t going to stop all the bad you’ve done,” Yates taunted.
“To sit here and watch TV and hear Jenny say how Sumit’s parents are out to get him is appalling,” he commented.
Yates demanded that Jenny “Go back to Palm Springs where the family that you have is waiting for you.”
Obviously, parts of this would be absolutely homophobic if they were not coming from a gay man.
I have followed Yates for years and cannot explain where this, particularly the commentary about Kenneth, is coming from.
Perhaps he could figure that out with a therapist. We’re tempted to joke that he’s been spending too much time with Angela.
While it’s true that John Yates has sometimes chosen his friends poorly, we don’t believe in guilt by association.
His friendship with Angela, spending time with Angela’s child-molesting daughter, or even claiming that monster Geoffrey Paschel as a friend do not explain this.
And the assertion that Jenny has “destroyed” Sumit’s family by daring to love their son is … difficult to understand.
A couple of quick points of order that have nothing to do with Yates’ opinions (or ours!).
Kenneth is in his late 50s, not in his 60s.
Also, Armando’s family aren’t Catholic — strict or otherwise.
We would quote clapback from Instagram commenters all day long, but this article would be come truly endless.
We also don’t want to quote the replies that, though coming from a good place, were overzealous in condemning Yates’ take.
You can condemn someone’s truly appalling opinion without attacking the person. And that is just what Kenneth did.
“This is a worldwide human matter,” Kenneth Niedermeier wrote on his Instagram Stories in rebuttal to Yates’ take.
“I want to make it clear,” he wrote, that “nobody is forcing an agenda on anybody.”
Kenneth observed: “A person can only truly be happy when they are being truly their authentic self.”
“Supporting Armando in living HIS authentic life is not an agenda!” Kenneth wrote.
(Or, if it is, it’s certainly not a bad one)
Kenneth also noted and praised Armando’s growth and newfound confidence and personal peace as an out and proud gay man.
“Accepting your child for who they are should be a world value,” Kenneth emphasized.
(Notably, this directly addresses him and Armando but also extends to Sumit and his struggles)
“This isn’t just an American value,” he continued.
Kenneth does note that he and Armando have worked together to take an active role in pushing for progress.
That has involved Armando’s family as well as living as an out couple.
But, as Kenny notes, progress “happens when people don’t sit on their hands.”
Kenneth notes that his age means that he has seen more of LGBTQ+ history unfold, and how at each step, it was fought for.
Human rights don’t advance on their own, and should be advocated for everywhere.
That’s how people like Kenneth and Armando, but also like John and Cody, were able to live and marry as they choose.
Even if we ignore that John Yates has not said similar things about Angela, of all people, this is just … odd.
Culture defines the clothes that we wear, what we eat, what languages we speak, and more.
But right and wrong — including human rights — don’t stop at any border.
Let’s be clear — if any families are being torn apart or “ruined” right now, people loving their families but also marrying the people they love aren’t doing the “ruining.”
Family members who choose to, successfully or otherwise, try to control each other’s lives and loves and marriages are the wrongdoers.
And just as “third world” is an outdated and yikes-worthy tone, Yates’ critique also robs Armando and Sumit of agency in their own lives. We just don’t get it.
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