Lara Sophia 
Raquel Leviss is taking legal action against her former Vanderpump Rules co-stars Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval over the fallout from Scandoval.
Page Six reports that the 29-year-old former SURver is suing Sandoval and Ariana “for revenge porn, eavesdropping, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.”
On Thursday Raquel Leviss filed her complaint in the Los Angeles Superior Court pertaining to the intimate FaceTime video that Raquel claims Sandoval filmed without her consent.
In the lawsuit, the Vanderpump Rules alum take ownership for the role she played in Sandoval cheating on this then girlfriend of nine years, Ariana.
However, she insists there’s “more to the story.”
“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 reads.
While appearing on Bethenny Frankel’s podcast in August, Raquel Leviss commented on the video, saying, “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.”
At the time she also alleged that Ariana saw the video on Sandoval’s phone.
The video in question features Raquel Leviss “in a state of undress and masturbating.”
“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,” Raquel Leviss explained. “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.”
According to the complaint, the Bravoleb believes that Sandoval may have “additional illicit videos and/or photographs” of her in his possession.
The 29-year-old says she was filled with “shock” and “fear” over the videos being “in the hands of someone who hated her guts and was out for blood,” adding that she was “terrified Madix would leak them.”
On top of that Raquel Leviss’ lawsuit also address her having to seek mental health treatment following Scandoval.
“‘Scandoval’ captured the public’s attention in a massive way, went completely viral, and injected new life into ‘Vanderpump Rules’,” the 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.”
“The rest of the cast enjoyed unseen levels of public recognition and professional opportunity,” the complaint continues.
“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.”
Raquel Leviss’ attorneys Bryan J. Freedman and Mark Geragos, the same lawyers representing Brandi Glanville in her lawsuit against Bravo, opened up about her lawsuit to Page Six.
Freedman says, “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.”
He 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.”
“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,” Freedman concludes.
Geragos adds, “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.”
He 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.”
Vanderpump Rules airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
