Before Scandoval Lawsuit, Rachel Leviss’ Lawyer Sent Letter Discouraging Bravo From Airing Sex Tape Discussion With Tom Sandoval (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Kate Aurthur administrator On Feb. 29, ex-“Vanderpump Rules” star Rachel Leviss filed an explosive lawsuit against her former castmates Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix for eavesdropping, revenge porn, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

At the core of Leviss’ lawsuit is Sandoval’s recording of “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.” Though Leviss is not suing Bravo, NBCUniversal or Evolution, the production company behind “Vanderpump Rules,” the lawsuit, filed by her attorneys Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos, claims these companies “sanitized the story to ensure Leviss would be seen as the arch-villain.” But in contradiction to part of Leviss’ suit, Variety has reviewed an email from her former attorney dated March 6, 2023.

In the letter, sent to Evolution’s parent company, MGM, Leviss’ then-lawyer insisted that the “right thing” to do is not to air any discussion of the recording of Leviss. “Giving life to a recording that was illegally obtained by allowing discussion of it on-air would be tantamount to rewarding someone for robbing a bank or shooting someone,” wrote Lawrence M Kopeikin, who represented Leviss during this period. “We would hope that Evolution and Bravo have sufficient character and restraint to not air any discussion of this illegally obtained recording.” Asked to comment on this apparent discrepancy, Freedman — Leviss’ current lawyer — wrote: “Clearly, you do not understand what this case is about?