Raquel Leviss Sues Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix for Revenge P----, Eavesdropping and Invasion of Privacy in Blistering Lawsuit
The drama never ends: Raquel Leviss is suing Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix.
According to documents, the former cast member of Vanderpump Rules filed a blistering lawsuit in a Los Angeles court on Thursday, February 29, accusing her former flame and his ex-girlfriend of revenge p---, eavesdropping and invasion of privacy.
"'Scandoval’ captured the public’s attention in a massive way, went completely viral, and injected new life into Vanderpump Rules," the complaint read.
"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," the document continued.
While Bravo, NBCUniversal, Andy Cohen are not targeted in the lawsuit, they are named several times in the filing. "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," the suit claimed.
In the 19-page document, Leviss and her attorneys Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos centered their argument on a reported inappropriate FaceTime video from the former beauty queen that Sandoval allegedly secretly taped and supposedly spread around.
- Raquel Leviss' Revenge: Ariana Madix 'Totally Shocked' Former Pal Is Suing Her and Tom Sandoval
- Raquel Leviss Shows Injuries After Claiming 'Vanderpump Rules' Costar Scheana Shay Attacked Her As Tom Sandoval Affair Drama Continues
- Raquel Leviss Refuses To 'Label' Scandalous Relationship With Tom Sandoval: 'I Need Time To Heal'
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Now, Leviss and her legal team want all copies of the alleged s-- tape destroyed, and an injunction put in place to keep people from seeing it ever again.
"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 s------- 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," the document read.
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"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 legal letter alleged.
Deadline obtained the court documents.