Rachel “Raquel” Leviss Blasts Lisa Vanderpump For “Victim Shaming” Her

Vanderpump Rules season 11 may not have seen Rachel “Raquel” Leviss return to the series, but she’s been open about her feelings on the show, including her recent criticism of Lisa Vanderpump for victim shaming. After the drama of Scandoval, Rachel entered a treatment facility in Arizona to deal with the emotional distress she had to deal with from the public and private vitriol she was facing. While the world was turning on Rachel, her personal relationships were crumbling because of the way she was positioned in the media regarding her public affair with Tom Sandoval behind Ariana Madix’s back.

In a recent episode of her podcast, Rachel Goes Rogue, the former Vanderpump Rules star criticized Lisa for her behavior when asked publicly about the lawsuit Rachel has filed against Tom and Ariana. “Look, I know Lisa and I were never super, super tight in the same way she is with Tom. But it doesn’t feel good to have somebody speak out about this lawsuit and the situation that’s very sensitive,” Rachel explained. “I would just hope that people don’t speak on it until they really understand what the lawsuit is and my reason for holding these people accountable.”

Vanderpump Rules

Vanderpump Rules is a reality-drama series created for Bravo that stars Lisa Vanderpump, a former star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, as she expands her restaurant empire and staff. The cast consists of Lisa’s staff members across her various establishments in West Hollywood as they try to build their futures and establish relationships that range from friendly to romantic. All of which frequently turn messy as mixing with business pleasure, as they are warned, doesn’t always end well.

Rachel’s lawsuit against Tom and Ariana cites image-based sexual abuse, eavesdropping, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and been something she’s been debating keeping to herself for fear of public perception. She explained that Lisa’s comments, which brush off the lawsuit in a pithy way, left her “heartbroken,” and question her decision. “It’s one thing to be an advocate and advocate for mental health in general,” Rachel explained, “but it’s another to twist and turn things to support one of your cast members who is a male and have the woman take the fall. It’s disappointing.”

While Lisa may not have known the full gravity of the situation, her reaction to the issue seemed to be something more casual than Rachel was looking for. While the former Vanderpump Rules star was hoping that the woman behind the series would be somewhat more sympathetic to the situation, Lisa’s reaction seemed like it was meant to brush off the issue more than to comment on it. Making it clear that she wasn’t in Rachel’s corner, Lisa’s attitude was difficult for Rachel to hear after she’s looked up to the former RHOBH star who used to be her boss.

While Rachel has been open about her feelings on Vanderpump Rules season 11 on her podcast, she’s shared recently that she won’t be able to speak much about the lawsuit while it’s ongoing. For the former Vanderpump Rules star, it’s been difficult to take accountability for her actions and own that she made some major mistakes in the past. In the wake of Scandoval, Rachel has done major work on herself, and continues to speak up about the way that the drama from Vanderpump Rules and beyond has impacted her life.

Sources: Rachel Goes Rogue, Rachel Leviss/Instagram