Rachel “Raquel” Leviss accused James Kennedy of being “violent and dangerous” in her bombshell lawsuit against Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix.
Credit: Instagram
In court documents filed this week in Los Angeles, the Vanderpump Rules alum, 29, suggested that James’ “despicable behavior” was “well-known” by Bravo and its producers and covered up by Lisa Vanderpump, 63, as an expert suggested she has a stronger case against Ariana, 38, than Sandoval, 41, and Raquel shared a news clip in which it was noted that she could receive massive damages from the involved parties.
“[James is] prone to violent outbursts and grappling with long-standing substance abuse issues and emotional dysregulation,” her documents read, as seen in a post shared on Reddit. “[James] would regularly berate [Raquel], falsely accuse her of cheating, and act in a generally unhinged manner. Some of this was captured on camera; some was not. [Raquel] eventually warned [James] that she would leave him if he did not stop drinking. However, she soon learned that his despicable behavior was not solely a function of alcohol abuse.”
A Thanksgiving day incident with her former fiance was also mentioned.
“[James] erupted at [Raquel]’s mother and father and kicked her family dog four times in an uncontrollable rage,” she alleged.
According to Raquel, Bravo, and Evolution, the company behind the production of Pump Rules, were well aware of the behavior, including James’ supposed aggressions against his ex-girlfriend Kristen Doute, 41, and did nothing about it.
“[James]’s dangerous behavior was well-known by Bravo, Evolution, and the cast. [James] once physically assaulted then-cast member [Kristen Doute] on camera; the footage, however, never aired. Nor has [James] faced any repercussions for his actions .. due in part to the intervention of his powerful ally, Lisa Vanderpump, who served as his protector,” the documents stated.
As for Raquel’s lawsuit against Ariana and Sandoval, in which she accuses the ex-couple of revenge porn and invasion of privacy, among other charges, an attorney has suggested that she has a greater chance of winning her case against Ariana than Sandoval.
“The case against Tom is actually weaker than the case against Ariana,” Neama Rahmani, who is not part of the case, told Us Weekly on February 29. “This is why under California’s revenge porn statute, there is a requirement that the porn be distributed. We know that Tom was allegedly participating in this FaceTime, and he may have recorded it, but it’s unclear whether he sent it to anyone.”
As Pump Rules fans will recall, Ariana and Sandoval split in March 2023 after Ariana discovered a video of Raquel on his phone.
“The allegations are that Ariana got access to Tom’s phone and sent it to herself and to Rachel. So that would be the distribution there. Of course, we don’t know who has the video and who it was sent to,” the attorney continued. “The complaint says that it may have gone to members of the production company or even the studio, in which case the distribution requirement would be met. But based on the complaint itself, I don’t know how strong of a liability case it is against Tom.”
According to Neama, Raquel’s lawsuit will be based on “how many people” received the clip.
“If it was disseminated far and wide and there’s a video out there and dozens or more people have seen it, that’s a big problem,” he noted. “Once it’s out there on the internet, you can’t really unring the bell or put the toothpaste back in the tube or whatever analogy you want to use. But if it was really limited in terms of the distribution and it just went to Ariana, Tom, and Rachel, I think it’s a much weaker case.”
“I think the lawyers who are going to defend Ariana in this case are really going to attack the damages here. There’s no question that Rachel suffered some emotional distress. She had to check into a rehab facility. But I think what the lawyers will argue is that this was all Rachel’s own doing because of this affair or previous substance abuse problems. And any harm she suffered, it wasn’t because of anything Tom or Ariana did. It was because of Rachel’s own doing. So I can see the case being defended on that ground,” he added.
Meanwhile, on Raquel’s Instagram page on Friday, she shared a clip of NBC News Now, in which the hosts were discussing her case.
“There’s gonna be a lot of digital evidence here, I would presume, is that kind of what happens with these revenge porn cases?” one asked.
“Yeah, but also, with this allegation, there is allegedly a video … and the allegation is that he recorded that video without her consent,” the other replied. “Now, in California, it’s a two-party consent law. You need that person’s explicit consent. So unless he has written or a text message or in the FaceTime video saying, ‘Yes, sure Tom, you can record this, it’s almost guaranteed that he did eavesdrop. That’s what wire-tapping is.”
Revenge porn is the second aspect of Raquel’s case.
“That’s that each of them then allegedly distributed these materials to either friends or to even each other without her consent, so that’s where Ariana gets the fall because she allegedly did that too,” it was noted.
Also in the clip, after a “billion dollar” judgement was mentioned, it was stated that Raquel could receive “huge” damages if they go to trial.
Vanderpump Rules season 11 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
