Rachel Leviss, formerly known as Raquel, is taking Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix to court in the aftermath of the Scandoval.
The 29-year-old Vanderpump Rules alum filed a lawsuit against her former costars on Thursday (February 29) in Los Angeles.
In it, she accuses the former couple of revenge porn amongst other claims. The lawsuit stems from the revelation of her affair with Tom in early 2023.
Read more about Rachel Leviss’ lawsuit…
Deadline broke the news of the lawsuit, which does not currently name Vanderpump Rules‘ network Bravo and is instead focused on Tom and Ariana.
“‘Scandoval’ captured the public’s attention in a massive way, went completely viral, and injected new life into Vanderpump Rules,” court documents 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 documents continued, adding, “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.”
Rachel‘s lawsuit suggests that Tom filmed a racy video call without her consent. She alleges that it was circulated amongst the castmates after Ariana discovered the video on Tom‘s phone.
“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,” the court docs read. “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.”
It adds that Rachel was “misled” about how she was allowed to respond to the scandal so that she remained silent as her castmates became celebrities.
“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 documents add.
Rachel did not appear for the current season of Vanderpump Rules. There have been discussions about her making an appearance in the future.
If you missed it, earlier this month Rachel revealed if she and Tom would ever be friends again. She has recently referred to him as “manipulative” and described how he wanted to go public with their relationship.