Rachel “Raquel” Leviss is suing Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix for revenge porn, eavesdropping, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy following the fallout from her Scandoval affair, Page Six can /confirm/i.
The complaint filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday and obtained by Page Six pertains to an intimate FaceTime video that Leviss, 29, has previously alleged Sandoval, 41, filmed without her consent.
The suit notes that the “Vanderpump Rules” alum takes responsibility for the role she played in Sandoval cheating on Madix, his then-girlfriend of nine years, but says there is “more to the story.”
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“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 complaint states.
Leviss previously said on Bethenny Frankel’s podcast of the video, “I decided to be adventurous and look at the adult section on the TV, and Tom and I FaceTimed a lot, so it turned into something more of an intimate FaceTime. I expected to have privacy in that moment, so that happened.”
She also alleged at the time that Madix, 38, saw the video by going through Sandoval’s phone.
“I get a text from Ariana sending me two screen recorded videos and a text that said, ‘You’re dead to me,’ and that’s how I knew that she knew,” Leviss continued. “And then also that’s how I found out I had been recorded without my consent, so of course all of these emotions came flooding over me.”
The new lawsuit also addresses how the former pageant queen had to seek help for her mental health. Page Six confirmed in April 2023 that she had entered a treatment facility.
“‘Scandoval’ captured the public’s attention in a massive way, went completely viral, and injected new life into ‘Vanderpump Rules’,” Leviss’ complaint states.
“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.”
Bravo, NBCUniversal, Andy Cohen and other producers are not named as defendants in the suit but the complaint claims the network and Evolution, the production company behind “Vanderpump Rules,” “misled” Leviss by allegedly making her believe she could not speak out about her “mistreatment” due to contractual obligations.
“The rest of the cast enjoyed unseen levels of public recognition and professional opportunity,” the complaint states.
“Meanwhile, Leviss, who was humiliated and villainized for public consumption, remains a shell of her former self, with career prospects stunted and her reputation in tatters.”
Reps for Madix, Sandoval, Bravo and NBCUniversal did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.
Although Leviss went away from the public eye for months after Scandoval, she recently has gotten back into the spotlight with her own podcast called “Rachel Goes Rogue” and a modeling gig during New York Fashion Week.
Leviss’ lawyer Bryan Freedman tells Page Six exclusively, “For decades, a great deal of my life has been devoted to mental health treatment and recovery and helping others on that path. I’m outraged that NBC and Bravo have used illegal NDAs as cudgels to profit off their employees.
“The idea that human beings are expected to sacrifice their mental and emotional health in service of Bravo’s ratings is obscene. Many of their employees are suffering in silence due to brazen and calculated actions by NBC and Bravo.”
The attorney, who is also representing Brandi Glanville amid her sexual harassment claims against Andy Cohen, continues, “Hundreds of reality TV participants have reached out to Mark Geragos and myself, and we are committed to ensuring that they have zealous advocates to confront the damage these employers have wreaked on their lives.”
Freedman concludes, “While coming forward can be terrifying and even embarrassing, I implore people not to suffer in silence. Reach out to my firm or Mark’s firm, and we will help you get the help you need.”
His colleague Geragos adds in a statement to Page Six, “This lawsuit is squarely about illegal behavior and those who traffic in it and enable it. Rachel has apologized for her part in an affair. That’s not a crime. Tom and Ariana are alleged here to have engaged in criminal acts.
“They then doubled down and used those actions to shame, bully, belittle, and intentionally try to destroy Rachel’s mental health.”
The Los Angeles-based lawyer concludes, “The law makes it clear that recording someone without their consent and distributing that illegal recording is punishable by law; however, doing so while knowingly enticing them to engage in sexual acts deserves the harshest of penalties allowable under the law.”
Deadline was first to report the news of Leviss’ lawsuit.
