Scandoval lawsuit: Rachel Leviss sues Tom Sandoval over revenge porn claims

In the wake of a high-profile cheating scandal that played out on Bravo reality show Vanderpump Rules, Rachel Leviss is taking fellow cast members Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix to court over claims of revenge porn, eavesdropping, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Sandoval had a six-month affair with Leviss while in a relationship with Madix, with the ensuing fallout dubbed “Scandoval”.

In court documents filed at Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday (29 February), Leviss’s legal representatives write: “‘Scandoval’ captured the public’s attention in a massive way, went completely viral, and injected new life into Vanderpump Rules.

“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.”

“Scandoval” occured during the reality show’s tenth season, which centres on a West Hollywood restaurant run by Lisa Vanderpump. Sandoval and Madix have returned for the show’s current Season 11, while Leviss did not,” the filing, seen by Deadline, continues.

“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 women seeking vengeance, catalyzing the scandal.”

The Independent has contacted Sandoval and Madix’s representatives for comment.

The lawsuit recounts an incident from 4 March 2023 in which Leviss alleges that she “confronted Sandoval for secretly recording pornographic videos of her and storing them unprotected on his phone”.

She says the conversation left him so “rattled” that he “refused to leave Leviss’s apartment in spite of her requests. Leviss was forced to have her sister and brother-in-law pick her up and drive her to their home.”

Leviss is seeking a jury trial.

When the cheating scandal first broke, fellow Vanderpump Rules cast members Katie Maloney, Lala Kent, and James Kennedy rallied around Madix as they shared their unfiltered reactions and choice words for both Sandoval and Leviss on social media.

Meanwhile, fans began boycotting Schwartz & Sandy’s Lounge – the restaurant and bar that Sandoval founded with his co-star and business partner, Tom Schwartz. As a result, Sandoval issued a statement about the cheating scandal on Instagram.

“Hey, I fully understand and deserve ur anger and disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz my friends and family out of this situation,” Sandoval wrote on Saturday 4 March. “Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions. This was a very personal thing.”

The reality star also urged fans to “direct ur anger towards me” and not the “3 other partners and 20 employees” who work at Schwartz & Sandy’s. Sandoval went on to say that he will be “taking a step back” from the business “out of respect for my employees and partners”.

“I need some time to address everything else,” he added. “Sorry for everything.”