Former Vanderpump Rules cast member Faith Stowers has sued Bravo, NBCUniversal, and Evolution Media over alleged mistreatment, “vicious assaults,” and “racist harassment.”
The reality star, who first appeared on Vanderpump Rules during the fourth season, has filed a lawsuit against Bravo, NBCUniversal, and Evolution Media through attorneys Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos.
The suit (via TheWrap) alleges that Stowers, the reality show’s only black cast member, “was subjected to racism, sexual harassment and physical assault in just her first season. When she reported her mistreatment to NBC and Evolution, the network and production company, respectively, she was warned in no uncertain terms to keep quiet and play nice.”
The lawsuit added, “Driven by concern for her career and fear about how she might otherwise be portrayed on air, Stowers reluctantly did so, only to discover that she had been nominally demoted to an unpaid ‘volunteer’ without any actual change in her employment status.”
The suit also highlights that mistreatment got worse over time, adding that NBC even “threatened her with ruinous legal action when she attempted to speak out.”
“Many cast members embarked on an overtly racist social media harassment campaign, accusing her of having gone AWOL from the military (false), of being a thief (false) and of being a career criminal wanted by the LAPD (false). NBC and Evolution, which tightly control the cast’s public statements and messaging, condoned, ratified and amplified these vicious lies, causing untold harm to Stowers’ mental health and reputation,” the suit reads.
The lawsuit further highlights the alleged assault of Stower’s former co-star, Lala Kent.
“Other cast members have alluded to the so-called ‘knife incident’ in the past, but it has never been fully fleshed out due to Evolution’s and NBC’s cover-up. Kent and Stowers were in SUR’s dining room arguing over Stowers’ disclosure of something Kent believed was said in confidence,” the suit claims, adding that “Kent became severely agitated and grabbed a knife and “began brandishing it at Stowers.”
The suit also claimed that “Stowers looked into Kent’s eyes while Kent was wielding the knife and could see that Kent was deadly serious and had completely lost control, and, consequently, that she (Stowers) was in actual danger.”
NBCU has yet to release a statement.
