‘Vanderpump Rules’: Rachel Leviss Sues Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix for Revenge Porn

The “Scandoval” saga continues on. Months after the affair between Vanderpump Rules stars Tom Sandoval and Rachel Leviss took center stage in the Bravo reality series’ 10th season, Levis is suing her former lover, along with his ex-girlfriend and her former BFF, Ariana Madix. Sandovol and Madix were living together and in a nine-year relationship at the time she uncovered the affair. Deadline reports Leviss filed a lawsuit against the former pair, alleging revenge porn, eavesdropping, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She notes in the filing: “It [Scandoval] 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.”

Levis is seeking unspecified damages. She also wants all copies of a NSFW Facetime video involving her and Sandoval destroyed, and an injunction to prohibit anyone from seeing it. 

“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 notes.

In the filing, Levis also admits guilt and remorse for her part in Sandoval and Madix’s relationship demise. But she hints that she was coerced by Sandoval and references an imbalanced power dynamic.

“Leviss has repeatedly acknowledged that her actions were morally objectionable and deeply hurtful to Madix. She has offered numerous apologies,” the filing notes. “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 also believes she was unable to speak about the ordeal publicly due to being bound by her contract for the show. She opted not to return for the show’s 11th season.