The 'Vanderpump Rules' boss has reacted to the lawsuit launched by former cast member against Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix after she left the show due to scandal.
- Mar 3, 2024
AceShowbiz - Lisa Vanderpump has blasted Rachel Leviss' revenge porn lawsuit as "ridiculous." The "Vanderpump Rules" star was not impressed after Rachel took legal action against her former lover and his ex-girlfriend and accused the pair - who split when Tom Sandoval and Rachel's affair was discovered - of invasion of privacy, eavesdropping and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
"That's ridiculous. I think if you don't want to have somebody share your porn, then don't send it to your best friend's boyfriend," Lisa told TMZ.
Lisa was then informed that it was a FaceTime call, Rachel alleged that Tom recorded without her knowledge, and Ariana Madix found it and shared it with the castmates. She quipped, "Well she didn't share it with me! Why would she leave me out?"
A spokesperson for Rachel told DailyMail.com, "A disappointing choice for an executive on the show since victim shaming is a defense mechanism often used by abusers and coming from a person in a position of power can cause even further harm to a persons mental health."
Documents obtained by CNN have shown Rachel described herself as "victim of the predatory and dishonest behaviour of an older man, who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent."
The reality star believes her ex-lover is in possession of multiple illicitly recorded videos in which she features "in a state of undress and engaged in sex acts," and that Ariana has obtained "at least two" of the recordings, which she distributed or "showed them to others without Leviss' knowledge or consent."
Tom and Rachel's affair was discovered after Ariana found an intimate video on her then-boyfriend's phone, with the so-called "Scandoval" covered on season 10 of the Bravo show and remaining a storyline on season 11, despite the 29-year-old beauty having left the show.
The complaint said, "This case arises from a scandal of epic proportions starting in March 2023." It alleged the well-documented saga has caused Rachel to suffer "severe emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress, anxiety, shock, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, disgrace, humiliation, powerlessness, sleeplessness, and loss of enjoyment of life."
Her attorney, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement, "The idea that human beings are expected to sacrifice their mental and emotional health in service of Bravo’s ratings is obscene. While coming forward can be terrifying and even embarrassing, I implore people not to suffer in silence."
Another of her lawyers, Mark Geragos, said in his own statement, "This lawsuit is squarely about illegal behaviour and those who traffic in it and enable it. Rachel has apologised for her part in an affair. The law makes it clear that recording someone without their consent and distributing that illegal recording is punishable by law."
She is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from the pair, and requested they destroy and delete the alleged videos. Bravo, parent company NBC Universal, and production company Evolution Media are not part of the lawsuit.
The first court hearing on the matter will take place in Los Angeles on July 7.
