Bravo Hit With Sexual Assault Lawsuit By ‘RHUGT’ Star

Bravo Hit With Sexual Assault Lawsuit By ‘RHUGT’ Star

Marco Vega, the butler who appeared on Season 2 of Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip, has filed a lawsuit against Bravo, claiming that he was sexually abused during a cast party.

Season 2 of the “Housewives” spinoff was filmed at Dorinda Medley’s Massachusetts mansion, Blue Stone Manor. 

Vega claimed in documents obtained by TMZ that Phaedra Parks slapped his behind and Brandi Glanville ripped open his shirt during a wild bash, in September 2021.

Brandi allegedly told Vega — “Earn your money, Marco. Take your shirt off. Do something!”

Vega claimed that boundaries were crossed after a strip-tease show played out at the “Real Housewives of New York City” alum’s Berkshires home. He alleged that producers pressed him to “go over and get the women dancing!” after the show ended. The lawsuit noted that the reality stars were drinking heavily at the time.  

He went on to say that the chain of events caused problems in his marriage, because his wife was upset by the alleged incidents. Vega is suing Bravo for sexual abuse and harassment and is asking for damages. He claimed that the network has a pattern of  excusing inappropriate behavior from its cast members.  

Page Six reached out to the two cited RHUGT cast members and Brandi’s rep responded — “She has the utmost respect for Marco. Anything that occurred on the set that evening was requested by the producers and approved by Marco Vega himself.”

Phaedra’s rep replied — “She is traveling and unavailable for comment.”

Vega took to his Instagram Story last year to express disappointment in his  experience filming the series, as shared in screen grabs posted by a Bravo fan account. 

Vega said that he “didn’t really ‘connect’ with any of the ladies” and was “forcibly stripped,” about which he “was not happy.”

However, he noted that Dorinda was “extremely kind to him.”

News of the lawsuit comes after Bethenny Frankel announced her plan to “bring down Bravo” amid a fight to hold the network accountable for alleged mistreatment of their reality stars. The “Real Housewives of New York City” alum hired legal eagles, Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos, and reportedly recruited about 80 cast members to join her crusade. 

“They got these performers wasted on national TV, there has been revenge porn, they have illegally filmed people having sex — and they are trying to keep people silent,” a source told Page Six, later that month. “You will definitely know their names.”

Freedman and Geragos fired off legal letters, accusing NBCUniversal and Bravo of “deliberate attempts” to “manufacture mental instability” by loading up the reality stars with “alcohol while depriving them of food and sleep,” as well as denying help to those experiencing “mental deterioration.”

The network was also accused of “distributing and/or condoning the distribution of non-consensual pornography.”

A Bravo rep told the outlet that all current and former cast members and crew are “free to discuss and disclose any allegedly unlawful acts in the workplace, such as harassment or discrimination, or any other conduct they have reason to believe is inappropriate.”

 

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