Rachel Leviss Files Lawsuit Against Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix for Revenge Porn Over ‘Scandoval’

Rachel Leviss Files Lawsuit Against Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix for Revenge Porn Over ‘Scandoval’ 

In a heated legal action initiated today in Los Angeles, Rachel Leviss has filed a lawsuit against Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix — accusing them of revenge porn, unlawful eavesdropping, and breaching her privacy.

“‘Scandoval’ captured the public’s attention in a massive way, went completely viral, and injected new life into Vanderpump Rules,” announces the complaint for a jury trial filed on Thursday in the Superior Court of Los Angeles. “It also caused mayhem in Leviss’s life, culminating in months-long in-patient treatment at a mental health facility and her departure from the show. Fomented by Bravo and Evolution in conjunction with the cast, Leviss was subjected to a public skewering with little precedent and became, without exaggeration, one of the most hated women in America.”

Although Bravo, NBCUniversal, Andy Cohen, and other producers of Vanderpump are not directly listed in the most recent lawsuit stemming from the notoriously scandalous Real Housewives franchise, their names are certainly mentioned throughout it.

Simultaneously, with the internal workings of the reality TV sphere facing heightened examination, Rachel Leviss focuses her legal grievances on Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix, pursuing damages of an unspecified amount.

Represented by Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos, the former Vanderpump Rules star is demanding the destruction of all copies of the sex tape. She seeks an injunction to prevent its future viewing, a directive aimed at NBCUniversal’s Bravo and the producers at Amazon MGM Studios’ Evolution Media.

“It is clear that Bravo deliberately sacrificed Leviss for the sake of its commercial interests from its refusal to allow her the opportunity to tell her side of the story and defend herself, which she repeatedly begged for permission to do,” Leviss’ filing exclaims.

The 19-page complaint further elaborates, suggesting that what viewers witnessed during the 10th season of Vanderpump Rules might not fully capture the extent of what was truly happening behind the scenes:

“Plaintiff Rachel Leviss is a former cast member on Vanderpump Rules, a reality television show produced by Evolution Media (“Evolution”) and broadcast by Bravo Media (“Bravo”), an asset of NBCUniversal (“NBC”) (together with Bravo, “Bravo”). This case arises from a scandal of epic proportions starting in March 2023. Stemming from an affair between Leviss and another cast member, Tom Sandoval, “Scandoval”—as it came to be known—went instantly viral and was the subject of extraordinary press coverage, even in the mainstream media. “Scandoval” injected new life into a previously faltering series, causing its viewership to explode to unseen levels and making its cast members mega-celebrities. Due to a narrative deliberately fomented by Bravo, Evolution, and the cast, Leviss became an object of public scorn and ridicule.

To be clear, Leviss has repeatedly acknowledged that her actions were morally objectionable and deeply hurtful to Madix. She has offered numerous apologies. There is more to the story, however. Lost in the mix was that Leviss was a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man, who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent, which were then distributed, disseminated, and discussed publicly by a scorned woman seeking vengeance, catalyzing the scandal. Leviss ultimately checked herself into a mental health facility and remained there for three months while Bravo, Evolution, and the cast milked the interest her excoriation had peaked.

To make matters worse, Leviss was misled by Bravo and Evolution into believing that she was contractually barred from speaking out about her mistreatment. As a result, she suffered in silence as Bravo and Evolution watched viewership explode, and the rest of the cast enjoyed unseen levels of public recognition and professional opportunity. Meanwhile, Leviss, who was humiliated and villainized for public consumption, remains a shell of her former self, with her career prospects stunted and her reputation in tatters.”

The scandal, dubbed Scandoval, erupted when Tom Sandoval, who had recently graced the cover of the New York Times Magazine, was discovered cheating on his then-girlfriend Ariana Madix with one of her close friends, Rachel Leviss.

The situation escalated significantly, partly due to a NSFW Facetime video from Leviss that Sandoval allegedly recorded in secret and is believed to have shared. The revelation of “Scandoval” coincided with the broadcast of Vanderpump Rules’ 10th season on Bravo, with Madix uncovering the affair through an inadvertent glance at Sandoval’s phone, leading to a dramatic unraveling on the show.

The repercussions of “Scandoval” extended into Season 11, becoming a focal point in several reunion specials. Leviss, who has not appeared in Season 11, addressed the incident on Bethenny Frankel’s podcast last summer. Furthermore, asserting the video was recorded and distributed without Leviss’ consent, her attorneys issued cease-and-desist letters last year, highlighting the act as a breach of California’s “nonconsensual pornography” laws.

Amidst what Frankel has termed the “reality reckoning” — a critical examination of the production ethics in shows like Real Housewives and Vanderpump Rules — Leviss’ lawsuit represents a significant move.

While Bravo is not named as a defendant in this lawsuit, its significant presence within the complaint.

 

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