Heavy/Getty Raquel Leviss says she hasn't earned money in the wake of Scandoval.
Raquel Leviss rose to fame on the Bravo series “Vanderpump Rules.” When she came onto the scene, officially, she was romantically linked to full-time cast member, James Kennedy. She joined the cast in a full time role on season 9, which aired in 2021 and 2022.
Flash forward to March 2023, and Leviss, who had previously split from Kennedy, was outed for having a secret affair with her co-star, Tom Sandoval. The scandal, dubbed “Scandoval,” has consumed “Vanderpump Rules” fans for months.
On the August 16, 2023, episode of the “Just B” podcast, Leviss sat down with host Bethenny Frankel to share her side of Scandoval for the very first time. During the interview, Leviss said that she hasn’t capitalized on the scandal like some of her VPR co-stars. In fact, she says that she hasn’t made any money at all.
Here’s what you need to know:
Raquel Leviss Says It’s ‘Not Fair’ That Her Storyline Is Making Other People Money But Not Her
During her interview with Frankel, Leviss, 28, said that she felt as though her affair with Sandoval was taken to the extreme to make it sound more salacious for television. For example, she says that she and Ariana Madix — Sandoval’s girlfriend at the time of the affair — wasn’t her “best friend” despite production (and the media) painting that picture.
Over the past several months, Leviss has watched as many of her “Vanderpump Rules” co-stars, including Lala Kent and Madix, have capitalized on the drama.
For example, Kent told Page Six that her “Send It to Darrell” merch ended up making her enough money for a downpayment on a house. Kent used the phrase in an Instagram Story after she received a letter from Leviss’ lawyer. Kent said that any and all communication should go through her lawyer, whose name is Darrell. And thus, a winning phrase was born.
Moreover, Scandoval has been a major windfall for Bravo.
“The network is running to the bank. Like, laughing, running to the bank with this scandal. And I haven’t seen a single penny,” she told Frankel.
“It’s not fair. And I feel like a toddler saying, ‘It’s not fair!’ But it really isn’t. And I feel like I’ve been portrayed as the ultimate villain. My mistakes that I’ve made on-camera live on forever,” she added.
Following the episode’s release, TMZ caught up with Lisa Vanderpump who seemed to disagree with Leviss’ statement. “I think she got very well paid,” Vanderpump said, adding that Leviss made some $350,000 for season 10.
Raquel Leviss Says Production Told Her She Would Earn More Money Based on Her Performance From the Season Prior
During Leviss’ chat with Frankel, the former “Real Housewives of New York” star said that it was her “understanding” that Leviss actually made less money in one year than what Frankel’s “interns get paid.”
This seemed to take Leviss by surprise. “Really?” she asked.
“One of the things that producers also told me is that you get paid based off of your performance from the season prior. So, that already set me up to want to perform well going into season 10,” Leviss said.
“I took direction well,” she joked.
Leviss’ future on “Vanderpump Rules” is unclear, though TMZ has reported that most of the cast is “confident” that she won’t be returning for season 11. There have also been reports that Leviss is negotiating terms of a contract, though she hasn’t confirmed or denied those rumors.
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