“Vanderpump Rules” exes Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval fired back at former co-star Rachel Leviss, denying her allegations that they distributed sexually explicit videos without her consent.

Last week, Madix and Sandoval filed separate responses in Los Angeles County Superior Court to Leviss’ February lawsuit, which accuses the former romantic partners of eavesdropping, revenge porn, invasion of privacy and “intentional infliction of emotional distress.” The 29-year-old reality TV star’s complaint stems from the tabloid scandal — known among Bravo fans as “Scandoval” — that revealed she had been sleeping with Sandoval, Madix’s longtime boyfriend.

A legal representative for Leviss (formerly “Raquel Leviss”) did not immediately respond Monday to The Times’ request for comment.

Madix, 38, filed a declaration on Friday requesting that the court strike Leviss’ complaint, citing California’s anti-SLAPP law, which protects against frivolous lawsuits. The reality TV personality turned Broadway star‘s declaration countered Leviss’ claims that Madix had obtained and distributed at least two sexually explicit videos of Leviss without her knowledge or consent. Leviss claimed in her February complaint that her co-star had informed the “Vanderpump” cast and production team about the videos.

“I did not send the videos to anyone else. Nor did I share, display, or show the videos to anyone else,” Madix said, according to legal documents. “To be clear, I only saw the video of Plaintiff masturbating in places secluded from others.”

Madix said in her declaration that she was in a locked bathroom stall when she discovered explicit FaceTime videos of Leviss on Sandoval’s phone. “I hurriedly took out my own phone and made two recordings of the FaceTime video,” she said.

She also said she confronted Sandoval later about the videos in an alley near the West Hollywood venue where his cover band was performing, and that her ex-boyfriend “forcibly grabbed my phone from my hands” and deleted the videos from her phone. However, before he deleted the videos, Madix shared them with Leviss, with the text reading, “you’re dead to me.”

The declaration added that Madix had informed friends and family about Sandoval’s affair, and included screenshots of text message exchanges between Madix and Leviss and between Madix and a friend about Madix’s discovery of the affair.

Attorney Margo Arnold and Joseph Greenfield, vice president and chief forensic examiner with digital forensics investigations firm Maryman, also filed declarations in support of Madix’s motion to strike Leviss’ complaint.

Days before Madix filed her declaration, Sandoval, 40, filed his response: a motion to strike portions of Leviss’ lawsuit.

“Leviss’ lawsuit is a thinly veiled attempt to extend her fame and to rebrand herself as the victim instead of the other woman while denigrating her former friend Madix as a ‘scorned woman’ and her former paramour Sandoval as ‘predatory,’” the TomTom Restaurant & Bar co-founder’s motion said.

At the core of Sandoval’s response, filed April 22, are Leviss’ alleged “dubious and supported causes of action” against Sandoval. In February, Leviss alleged that Sandoval had recorded sexually explicit clips of his co-star without her knowledge or consent.

Sandoval’s motion counters the accusations, alleging that “these videos were created by Leviss and published by Leviss to Sandoval via a consensual exchange on Facetime, i.e., ‘their video calls.’”

The court documents continued: “Based on Leviss’ own allegations, Sandoval merely saved private copies of the videos that Leviss had filmed and shared with him.”

Citing “deficient allegations” in the February lawsuit, Sandoval said Leviss’ causes of action “fail and require either dismissal or amendment.” He requested that the court grant his motion against Leviss’ suit in its entirety and strike her request for special compensatory damages.

“The allegations in support of this cause of action are conclusory and devoid of sufficient facts to evidence [Sandoval’s] conduct as being intentional, willful or fradulent, let alone despicable,” the declaration says.

In a statement shared with People last week, Leviss’ attorneys Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman fired back at Sandoval’s declaration.

“Sandoval’s response in the face of irrefutable evidence that will be presented in court is disturbing,” they said. “Leveraging such claims for media attention and perpetuating victim-blaming is not just deplorable but actionable.”

The Idea of You, 2024.

Directed by Michael Showalter.
Starring Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin, Annie Mumolo, Reid Scott, Perry Mattfeld, Jordan Aaron Hall, Mathilda Gianopoulos, Meg Millidge, Cheech Manohar, Raymond Cham Jr., Jaiden Anthony, Vik White, Dakota Adan, Roxy Rivera, Graham Norton, Grace Junot, and Jon Levine.

SYNOPSIS:

Solène, a 40-year-old single mom, begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet.

There is no denying that The Idea of You, a romantic drama in which the meet-cute involves a 40-year-old divorced mom and artist unknowingly stumbling into a 24-year-old global celebrity pop star’s trailer under the assumption it’s a bathroom while taking her 16-year-old daughter and her friends to Coachella, is ridiculous. However, co-writer/director Michael Showalter’s film is also a reminder that it doesn’t necessarily matter how improbable a romance is so long as the screenplay does something compelling with the dynamic and would-be lovers.

Admittedly, it takes a while to get to that point since the film is based on what feels more like someone’s fantasy than a novel (Michael Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt adapting the work of Robinne Lee), but once the film confronts the reality of how difficult such an unlikely relationship would be, not to mention how judgmental and nasty society and Internet culture can be, the screenplay from Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt leans further into a more human, grounded side of these characters that Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine convey with gripping emotion. This also means that the second half sometimes feels like it’s rushing through its thornier, more adult, and engaging material, but there is just enough tackling every subject a film with this premise probably should, barring an unnecessary, hokey epilogue that reverts to something far-fetched.

Even setting those frustrations aside, it is admirable that Michael Showalter is comfortable embracing a romantic comedy formula, aware and confident that such tropes are less irksome when the endeavor is injected with characterization. Once the story goes in a serious direction, moving on from the will-they/won’t-they part of the attraction, one practically forgets the absurdity of how these characters were brought together. That is a true, telltale sign that something is working here. It all leads to several moments of piercing emotion between two people harboring trust issues, trying to make this relationship work.

Solène (Anne Hathaway) sees all the reasons she should try resisting superstar boy band singer Hayes’s (Nicholas Galitzine) charm; he is much younger, and she has a teenage daughter (Ella Rubin) who listens to their music (although Hayes is not her crush). The world, including the ex-husband (Reid Scott) who cheated on and left her, will judge the nature of the relationship.

Is it awkward when the father drops by to pick up his daughter with a much younger man answering the door shirtless? Sure. It’s also amusing. It’s also harmless, but when the gender roles are reversed, this age gap is generally an acceptable celebrity dating lifestyle. Leonardo DiCaprio seems determined never to be caught dead dating someone older than 25, Chris Evans just married a woman in her 20s, and Billie Eilish previously dated a man in his 30s. Even movies rarely touch on the reverse of this age gap, perhaps for several reasons, but I won’t dive into those hypotheticals.

What it does come down to is that people, especially men on the Internet, will always look for reasons to attack and hurl insults at women, as if that happiness threatens them. There is a moment where Solène takes charge, determined to make the relationship work despite that. We desperately hope they are successful, completely ready to be heartbroken if it doesn’t pan out.

For whatever reason, the film sidelines the teenage daughter at a summer camp, actively avoiding this intriguing trauma in favor of watching Solène accompany Hayes on his European tour (smartly aware that music and concerts are not the main attraction of this story) filled with bonding and sex (unfortunately, the PG-13 style despite an R rating, leaving one wishing the direction went for something more steamy and sensual. This section drags on, although there are noteworthy scenes showcasing how much more mature Solène is than these younger men (obviously), as well as how sincere Hayes is with his commitment. 

If it seems this review mostly only discusses the second half of The Idea of You, this is mostly a straightforward, corny rom-com until the ideas take hold. As such, it takes a while to get invested properly, but damn do Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine make a great on-screen pairing, age and social class gap be damned. The movie morphs from fantasy into something believably messy and real right before one’s eyes.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com

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