The “Reality Reckoning” movement, led by attorneys Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos, has come under fire for allegedly pressuring Vanderpump Rules star Tom Sandoval to implicate Bravo’s parent company, NBCUniversal, in a scandal. Freedman and Geragos reportedly offered to drop a lawsuit against Sandoval if he would cooperate and blame NBCUniversal for orchestrating a storyline to embarrass his ex-girlfriend, Rachel “Raquel” Leviss.
Last year, Freedman and Geragos teamed up with former Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel to launch the “Reality Reckoning” movement, which aimed to hold NBCUniversal accountable for mistreatment of reality stars. Sandoval, an original cast member of Vanderpump Rules, found himself caught in the middle of this legal battle when Freedman and Geragos allegedly approached him with their proposition.
In March 2023, it was revealed that Sandoval had been involved in a months-long affair with Leviss, cheating on his long-time girlfriend, Ariana Madix, who also appears on the reality show. The fallout from this scandal, known as “Scandoval”, was captured on camera for the Bravo series.
Sandoval claimed that Freedman and Geragos asked him to falsely accuse NBCUniversal of encouraging him to reveal his affair to Madix. His lawyers, Varand Gourjian and Tara Karamians of the Gourjian Law Group, were approached with this offer, but Sandoval maintained that the studios had no involvement in the situation. Gourjian Law Group’s representative stated that Leviss seemed intent on targeting the studios in her lawsuit against Sandoval and Madix.
Despite the pressure from Freedman and Geragos, Sandoval stood his ground and refused to cooperate in implicating NBCUniversal. The ongoing legal battle between the reality star and the lawyers behind the “Reality Reckoning” movement continues to unfold. The drama surrounding Sandoval, Leviss, and Madix has captivated fans of Vanderpump Rules and has shed light on the complex relationships between reality stars and the networks that broadcast their lives.
