Ariana Madix has failed to get Rachel Leviss’ revenge porn lawsuit thrown out, keeping one of the ugliest chapters of the Vanderpump Rules scandal alive.
A Los Angeles judge has rejected Madix’s appeal, ruling that the reality star did not establish that Leviss’ claims against her involved constitutionally protected activity.
The lawsuit stems from the explosive 2023 affair between Leviss and Tom Sandoval, Madix’s boyfriend of nearly nine years. Madix discovered the affair after finding sexually explicit videos of Leviss on Sandoval’s phone.
According to court documents, Madix allegedly accessed the videos, recorded them and sent them to Leviss. Madix has argued that she was simply returning the material to Leviss and did not distribute it publicly.
Her legal team also argued that the affair itself was a matter of public interest, an argument the court has now rejected as grounds for dismissing Leviss’ claims.
Leviss’ lawsuit tells a different story. She alleges that Madix obtained the videos from Sandoval’s phone without his authorisation and subsequently “distributed and disseminated them to others”, including Leviss herself and other people whose identities remain unknown.
Leviss has also accused Madix of sharing the explicit material with people working for Bravo.
The latest ruling does not mean Madix has been found liable for revenge porn. It means her attempt to have Leviss’ claims dismissed at this stage of the proceedings has failed, allowing the lawsuit to continue.
The case centres on allegations of non-consensual distribution of sexually explicit material. Revenge porn generally refers to the sharing of intimate images or videos without the subject’s consent, often following the breakdown of a relationship.
The lawsuit traces back to the scandal that detonated across Vanderpump Rules in March 2023, when Sandoval’s affair with Leviss became public. Madix was reportedly blindsided by the revelation, and the breakup quickly became one of the biggest storylines in the Bravo franchise.
Sandoval, 43, had been part of Vanderpump Rules since its 2013 debut, while Madix joined the cast in season two. Leviss entered the show in 2016.
More than three years later, the Scandoval fallout is still finding new ways to stay in the headlines. This time, the drama has moved from the Bravo cameras into a Los Angeles courtroom.
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Last modified: August 6, 2026
