Credit: Instagram, Faye’s Vision/Cover Images
Rachel “Raquel” Leviss filed a 19-page lawsuit against Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix on Thursday in Los Angeles’ Superior Court, accusing her former Vanderpump Rules co-stars of revenge porn, eavesdropping, and invasion of privacy.
Just a year after Ariana, 38, discovered an NSFW clip of Raquel, 29, FaceTiming Sandoval, 41, amid their secret, months-long affair, which prompted a messy split between Ariana and Sandoval, and a major ratings increase for Pump Rules, Raquel wants all copies of the video destroyed.
“‘Scandoval’ captured the public’s attention in a massive way, went completely viral, and injected new life into Vanderpump Rules,” read Raquel’s February 29 filing, via Deadline. “It also caused mayhem in [Raquel’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, [Raquel] was subjected to a public skewering with little precedent and became, without exaggeration, one of the most hated women in America.”
Although Raquel did not name Bravo, NBCUniversal, Andy Cohen, 55, or the producers of Pump Rules as defendants, the parties are mentioned in the complaint.
Raquel, who is represented by attorneys Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos, is seeking a jury trial and requesting unspecified damages.
In her complaint, Raquel requests that the FaceTime video that Sandoval allegedly recorded without her knowledge and kept on his phone be destroyed, and that an injunction be put into place that would keep anyone else from seeing it.
According to Raquel, she was not only a victim of Sandoval throughout their sordid romance, but also of Ariana, who was described in her lawsuit as a “scorned woman seeking vengeance” and accused of distributing, disseminating, and publicly discussing the FaceTime video, which led Raquel to be an “object of public scorn and ridicule.”
Immediately after Ariana discovered the video of Raquel on Sandoval’s phone in March of last year, Raquel’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist to certain parties, stating that the video violated California laws regarding “nonconsensual pornography.”
Raquel’s court documents also accused Bravo of misleading her into thinking that her Pump Rules contract kept her from discussing the mistreatment she received during her time on the show.
“It is clear that Bravo deliberately sacrificed [Raquel] 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,” the filing claimed.
Vanderpump Rules season 11 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
