Vanderpump Rules’ Raquel Leviss sues Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval over revenge porn
The lawsuit accuses Madix and Sandoval of disseminating videos of sex acts featuring Leviss without her consent
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Photo: Jon Kopaloff (Getty Images)
Former Vanderpump Rules star turned “most hated woman in America” Rachel “Raquel” Leviss is suing her fellow “Scandoval” castmates for, among other things, sharing “sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent.” Per Deadline, the suit also accuses Bravo and Evolution Media, the show’s producers, of silencing her by misrepresenting her contract.
Scandoval was a reality TV storyline involving an affair between Sandoval and Leviss while Sandoval was in a 10-year romantic relationship with Madix. The whole thing kicked into gear when Madix discovered a sexually explicit FaceTime recording with Leviss on Sandoval’s phone. The story arc garnered the biggest ratings of the show’s run and its first two Emmy nominations. In addition to seeking unspecified damages for her treatment, Leviss’ lawyers want all copies of the tape destroyed and demand that no one see it again.
“‘Scandoval’ injected new life into a previously faltering series, causing its viewership to explode to unseen levels and making its cast members mega-celebrities,” the complaint states. “Due to a narrative deliberately fomented by Bravo, Evolution, and the cast, Leviss became an object of public scorn and ridicule.”
Leviss had previously discussed the tape on Bethenny Frankel’s podcast, which, it should be noted, also became the subject of much scrutiny.
“I decided to be adventurous and look at the adult section on the TV, and Tom and I FaceTimed a lot, so it turned into something more of an intimate FaceTime,” Leviss said. “I expected to have privacy in that moment, so that happened.”
Later, she received a text from Ariana, sending her “two screen recorded videos and a text that said, ‘you’re dead to me,’ and that’s how I knew that she knew […] That’s how I found out I had been recorded without my consent, so of course all of these emotions came flooding over me.”
The suit reframes the treatment of Leviss, who has, as the suit states, “became an object of public scorn and ridicule,” “was subjected to a public skewering with little precedent, and became, without exaggeration, one of the most hated women in America.” Leviss, the suit argues, “repeatedly acknowledged” wrongdoing in the affair and “has offered numerous apologies.” However, “lost in the mix was that Leviss was a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man.” That man, Tom Sandoval, 11 years Leviss’ senior, has also been among the most hated men in America, but his visibility has increased. He’s still the star of one of television’s hottest shows and, as The A.V. Club has often asserted, is in the middle of a redemption arc on the series. Not so for Leviss, who spent three months in a mental health facility after the fallout as “Bravo, Evolution, and the cast milked the interest her excoriation had peaked.”
To be clear, Bravo and Evolution are not defendants, but they are named. The suit accuses both of misleading Leviss, their employee, “into believing that she was contractually barred from speaking out about her mistreatment.” While infidelity is the engine that all reality television runs on, revenge porn is not. Nevertheless, Bravo, Evolution, and the rest of the cast enjoyed a ratings bonanza, a massive increase in media exposure, and career opportunities for its stars.
It does appear as though Bethenny Frankel’s “reality reckoning” is continuing in various forms because this is not the only issue weighing down Bravo at the moment. In the past week, two Bravo stars have accused Andy Cohen of inappropriate behavior, including sexual harassment and giving favorable treatment to Bravo stars who do cocaine with him. Cohen denies the allegations, but as with all things Vanderpump Rules, the truth always comes out.
25 Comments
“The story arc garnered the biggest ratings of the show’s run and its first two Emmy nominations.”And people take stuff like the Emmys seriously.
Imagine being assigned to write about this for low money on a blog. Desolation!
Remember 500 Days of Kristin?Good times man, good times…
(nods) yes I for sure know who any of these people are
SCANDOVAL!It’s fun to say, try it!SCANDOVAL SCANDOVAL SCANDOVAL!
Would rather see Ariana hammering away on herself that Leviss.
Are those freckles or is a Predator about to blow a hole in her chest?
LOL
Followup question: Do we really care either way?
It’s the issue that most piques my interest in this story, yes.
Sounds like a predator is at least planning to remove her shirt (again). So stay tuned.
I thought my screen was dirty.
“lost in the mix was that Leviss was a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man.”
She was apparently (I had to Google this) 28 at the time. Probably old enough to avoid being predated upon via FaceTime sex romps with married men.
I think these shows do society a favor by basically putting people like this in zoos, away from the rest of us.
When did Sandoval get married??
You may have intended that as a criticism of my fake news, but I take it as welcome confirmation that in fact I know nothing about this show or the people that star in it. The article I pulled up about “Scandoval” described what happened as an “affair” so I just assumed.
You can record FaceTime calls?
It’s safe to assume that anything you send via a phone or computer can be recorded.
I get it. For a second I wondered if it was a native feature in FaceTime that I had been missing. It’s more likely, however, that it’s software that the production installed on the “actors” phones so that they could capture FT, chats, etc.
Not necessarily.The iPhone has a screen recording function built in without any need for external tools. And it makes sense that an aggrieved spouse catching their partner cheating would turn that on.Android also has a similar feature.
Screen recording in iOS is not something one just enables and is on indefinitely. It’s intended to be used for short periods of time (ex. recording a specific call) and it’s clearly indicated on the phone when recording is active. So yeah, not something someone could surreptitiously use to spy on a cheating spouse.
I don’t watch trash TV for trash people, so I have no idea what any of this is about, but “Ariana Madix” kind of already sounds like a porn name.
I’ve watched more than enough porn to agree with you.
Or a Bond villain.
You swear people actually watch this show?