‘Vanderpump Rules’ Star Raquel Leviss Sues Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix Over NSFW Video in ‘Scandoval’ Saga

The notorious “intimate FaceTime” call credited with launching Scandoval into a pop culture phenomenon is now the subject of a new eavesdropping, revenge porn, and invasion of privacy lawsuit filed by Raquel Leviss against her Vanderpump Rules co-stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix.

In her new 19-page complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday, Leviss, whose real name is Rachel Leviss, alleges Sandoval “surreptitiously recorded” her “in a state of undress and engaged in sex acts” as they embarked on a romantic relationship purportedly behind the back of his longtime girlfriend, Madix.

The complaint, obtained by Rolling Stone, says it was on March 1, 2023, that Madix “discovered” the “sexually explicit videos” on Sandoval’s phone and “distributed them to others” in an alleged act of “revenge porn.” As fans of the highly addictive Bravo reality show are well aware, the NSFW video is credited with blowing the doors off Sandoval and Leviss’ affair, leading to sky-high ratings for the show. Madix purportedly found the video on Sandoval’s phone after his device slid out of his pocket while he was performing with his cover band. The lawsuit questions this narrative (more on that later) as it accuses Madix of later displaying or disclosing the videos to members of the Vanderpump Rules cast as well as people working for the hit Bravo show.

“Leviss has suffered grave emotional, psychological, financial and reputational harm as a result of Madix’s distribution, dissemination, and publicization of the illicit videos,” the new lawsuit states. Leviss says Sandoval and Madix acted with “malice” and should pay punitive damages “to deter such conduct in the future.” Reps for Sandoval and Madix did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Rolling Stone.  

The new lawsuit goes into great detail on the behind-the-scenes dynamics that made Scandoval an “instantly viral” sensation. It alleges much of the drama was scripted by Bravo and Evolution and unfairly characterized Leviss as a villain deserving “scorn and ridicule.”

“To be clear, Leviss has repeatedly acknowledged that her actions were morally objectionable and 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. 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 lawsuit states.

The complaint, filed by lawyers Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos, says Leviss was “humiliated and villainized” and now “remains a shell of her former self, with her career prospects stunted and her reputation in tatters.” It states that Leviss is now hoping to “attain a measure of justice that has so far eluded her.”

According to the lawsuit, Leviss was in a “vulnerable state” in 2021 when she allegedly was “encouraged” by producers to drink alcohol while filming because “it would make for better television.” Leviss alleges she was “imbibed and emotionally raw” following her breakup with cast member James Kennedy when she started to confide in Sandoval and rely on him for emotional support. She says Sandoval told her his relationship with Madix was in a “dire state” and about to end, even though they continued to live together.

“On or about August 10, 2022, Leviss and Sandoval began sleeping together. The affair continued apace as Sandoval’s relationship with Madix further deteriorated. Although purportedly secret, the affair was, in fact, well-known to may cast members and suspected by others. Leviss and Sandoval were not particularly discrete. Leviss is informed and belies, and on such information and belief alleges, that Madix knew about it as early as the Fall of 2022. Indeed, in December of 2022, Madix scolded Leviss and Sandoval for being handsy in public, admonishing them to save the story for Season 11,” the lawsuit states.

Leviss alleges that Vanderpump Rules was on the verge of being canceled around this time, as prior plots had “grown stale.” Her lawsuit claims Madix, in particular, was “on the chopping block,” in need of a “sticky new storyline.” Leviss states in the new complaint that she believes Sandoval and Madix “had every incentive” to “leverage” the affair into “the storyline that Vanderpump Rules so desperately needed.”

The new complaint questions the narrative of how Madix first obtained the video. It says the phone purportedly fell from Sandoval’s pocket and slid, “unlocked or otherwise fully accessible,” into the crowd, where a concert attendee was able to retrieve it and hand it to a waiting Madix, still unlocked, giving her the opportunity to search the device. Leviss says she was with another cast member, Scheana Shay, in New York when Madix texted her in response to finding the video. The text read, “you are DEAD TO ME,” and arrived with two videos of Leviss from Sandoval’s phone. Leviss alleges that Shay reacted to the revelation by “shoving” her into a wall and “punching her in the face.” (Shay is not a named defendant in the lawsuit and previously denied punching Leviss.) Two days later, on March 3, 2023, the first reports of the affair appeared on TMZ.com, with anonymous sources apparently talking about the videos with other tabloids, the lawsuit says.

Leviss says producers asked her to film with Sandoval hours later on March 4, 2023. “With cameras rolling, Leviss confronted Sandoval for secretly recording pornographic videos of her and storing them unprotected on his phone,” the lawsuit states. “Sandoval responded to Leviss’ fury with cowardice and lies, claiming falsely that he had obtained permission to record her. Seeing that Leviss was having none of it, however, Sandoval ultimately offered a reluctant admission and sheepish apology.” Leviss alleges Sandoval was “clearly rattled” by the exchange and successfully buried the exchange by threatening to cease all filming for the show unless he was given editing rights to the scene. “The scene was selectively edited to omit any mention of Sandoval’s illicit recording or Leviss’ lack of consent,” the lawsuit states.

The new lawsuit comes after Real Housewives of New York City star Leah McSweeney sued Bravo and producer Andy Cohen for failing to accommodate her struggles with drinking and mental health disorders. A rep for Cohen told Deadline, “The claims against Andy are completely false!”