Raquel Leviss has hinted at expanding her lawsuit to include BRAVO and the producers of Vanderpump Rules over the intimate videos leaked by her ex co-stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix.
According to In-Touch Weekly, the 29-year-old reality TV personality is contemplating adding the network and production company behind Vanderpump Rules to the legal proceedings.
This decision comes after Raquel's initial lawsuit against Tom and Ariana for sharing explicit videos without her consent.
The lawsuit stems from an affair Raquel had with Tom while he was in a relationship with Ariana.
The reality TV star claimed that Tom recorded their intimate FaceTime conversations without her knowledge, and Ariana discovered one of these recordings on Tom's phone, leading to the breakup.
While Tom vehemently denied the accusations and sought dismissal of the lawsuit, Raquel's lawyers criticized his response.
They labeled Tom's actions as "disturbing" in the face of undeniable evidence that will be presented in court.
Ariana, on the other hand, refuted the allegations against her, stating she never shared the videos with anyone and only saw them in private settings.
In a declaration to the court, Ariana explained her shock at finding the explicit video on Tom's phone and clarified that she did not disseminate it to others.
“While other women waited to use the toilet, I opened the photo app on Mr. Sandoval’s phone and was shocked to find a video of a Facetime call between Mr. Sandoval and [Raquel] that showed Mr. Sandoval’s face in the upper corner while the main image was of Plaintiff masturbating. I hurriedly took out my own phone and made two recordings of the Facetime video,” Ariana said in a declaration submitted in court.
“Prior to that moment, I considered [Raquel a friend and did not know that she and Mr. Sandoval were having an affair," she continued. “I did not send the videos to anyone else. Nor did I share, display, or show the videos to anyone else.”
Raquel's legal team condemned Tom's behavior, highlighting the seriousness of the invasion of privacy, writing, “[Tom] engaged in conduct sufficiently despicable to warrant punitive damages. [Tom] is alleged to have surreptitiously recorded sexually explicit videos of [Raquel] without her knowledge or consent, in effect turning [Raquel] into an unwilling pornstar and gravely invading her right to privacy.”
Despite Tom's attempts to dismiss the case, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled in favor of allowing the lawsuit to move forward.
This legal battle adds to the existing controversy surrounding Vanderpump Rules, as the show's producers and Bravo are also facing a lawsuit from former cast member Faith Stowers over alleged discrimination.
The outcome of this case remains pending, with the defendants denying the accusations.
