Katie Maloney doubts Tom Sandoval was actually misled when his lawyer filed a lawsuit against Ariana Madix amid Rachel Leviss’ ongoing revenge porn case.
The “Vanderpump Rules” star claims Sandoval deactivated his Instagram account before the cross-complaint went public – therefore preemptively “preparing” for blowback.
“[Tom] probably should’ve not done it to begin with and been like, ‘Yeah, well if you’re telling me I need to deactivate my account, like maybe we just don’t do this in general,’” Maloney said on Wednesday’s episode of her “Disrespectfully” podcast.
“Like, that would’ve been a good indication [that this is] probably gonna be pretty damaging [and] the language of whatever is gonna be put out there isn’t gonna be a good look.”
Maloney’s podcast host and former co-star Dayna Kathan then chimed in, agreeing that it was “telling” for Sandoval to deactivate his Instagram ahead of the new lawsuit.
“So, I think [he] did know the gravity of what was going to happen,” she said, calling the whole situation “just disgusting and shameful.”
Maloney, 37, clarified, however, that she does think Sandoval was “ill advised” by his former lawyer and “probably didn’t understand the full weight of what it was going to be.”
Sandoval, 41, eventually dismissed the lawsuit after claiming his now former lawyer, Matt Geragos, had “not articulated” what the lawsuit meant. He subsequently “removed” Geragos from his legal team.
“He said he had bad legal advice. I don’t believe that for a second. I think he saw the backlash,” Kathan reiterated. “You wanna move on? Then why the f–k are you suing her, you psycho?”
The two friends ended the conversation by calling Sandoval a “loser.”
A rep for Sandoval didn’t return Page Six’s request for comment.
Sandoval quickly faced backlash last week after he sued his ex-girlfriend for finding an explicit video of Leviss, 29, on his phone that ultimately led to Sandoval and Leviss’ months-long affair being exposed in March 2023.
In the lawsuit, Sandoval claimed Madix, 39, “obtain[ed] access” to the screen recorded FaceTime video on his phone without “authorization or permission.”
He further alleged that Madix went on to make “copies” of the clip and “distributed” them to “Leviss and third parties.”
Madix’s attorney quickly fired back that the lawsuit was an “abhorrent” attempt to “torture” her and “shirk responsibility for the effects of his actions.”
Sandoval’s lawyer initially defended his actions, but Sandoval later issued a statement claiming the phrases “new lawsuit” and “suing” were “not articulated” to him before Geragos filed the bombshell suit.
“In no way am I suing Ariana. The action against Ariana brought on my behalf is being removed. I hold no ill will or vindictiveness toward Ariana,” he wrote last week.
The former couple have been in the midst of a legal battle with Leviss ever since she filed a revenge porn case against both of them. She accused Madix of sending herself the risqué clip after Sandoval allegedly recorded the video without her consent.
Madix subsequently denied the claims, calling it “an abuse of the legal process.” Meanwhile, Sandoval attempted to dismiss the lawsuit in April, but his request was denied.
