Ariana Madix has lost her appeal bid in the revenge porn lawsuit levied against her from her former Vanderpump Rules costar Rachel “Raquel” Leviss.
According to court documents obtained by Us on Wednesday, August 5, the California Court of Appeals ruled that Madix’s attempt to get Leviss’ lawsuit thrown out has failed. According to the docs, the lawsuit will move forward as scheduled.
The Love Island host, 41, has been accused of improperly obtaining and sharing sexually explicit videos of Leviss, 31, she recovered from her ex Tom Sandoval’s phone during his illicit affair with the former couple’s friend. (Madix acknowledged in a previous declaration that she secretly accessed Sandoval’s phone without his knowledge or permission and copied the FaceTime videos of Leviss. She allegedly only sent the videos to Leviss to confront her about the affair.)
Madix’s legal team argued that Leviss’ affair with Madix’s ex was a matter of public interest, so her alleged conduct was protected under free speech.
The court ruled that Madix “failed to meet her burden of establishing that the claims alleged against her arose from constitutionally protected activity.”
Us has reached out to Madix and Leviss’ lawyers for comment on the ruling.
Madix and Leviss’ drama started back in March 2023, after Madix broke up with Sandoval following his public affair with Leviss. The drama, later dubbed “Scandoval,” became a plot point on season 9 and 10 of Vanderpump Rules. Leviss ultimately left the reality series, while Madix and Sandoval stayed one for one last season.
Nearly one year later, Leviss sued Madix and Sandoval for alleged revenge porn, eavesdropping and invasion of privacy. According to docs obtained by Us in March 2024, Leviss claimed that the explicit video Sandoval allegedly recorded “illegally” without her knowledge or consent.
“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 documents stated. “Leviss ultimately checked herself into a mental health facility and remained there for three months while Bravo, Evolution, and the cast milked the interest her excoriation had peaked.”
Madix previously stated that she did not keep the explicit video of Leviss after discovering it on Sandoval’s phone.
“To be very clear, I have not shown or sent that video. I don’t have it. I did not hold on to it for any reason,” Madix claimed on costar Scheana Shay’s podcast in August 2023. “So that video was gone before I even called her on the phone. I saw about maybe 5 seconds of that. I wasn’t sitting there like opening popcorn. I know that people know about what’s in it. It’s very simple. I’m not going to get into the details but there’s not a lot of details. It’s very straightforward.”
If you know of a young person who is being exploited or is the victim of a crime, you are urged to report it to your local FBI field office by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can also be left at http://tips.fbi.gov/
