Faith Stowers, a former “Vanderpump Rules” cast member, accused NBCUniversal on Friday of racist harassment and retaliation, becoming the latest Bravo star to sue over her treatment on a popular reality show.
Stowers appeared on Seasons 4 and 5 of the series, which aired from 2015 to 2017. In her lawsuit, she alleges that castmate Lala Kent brandished a knife at her during an argument in Season 4, held it to her neck and threatened to “cut a bitch.”
Stowers alleges that the show’s executive producer discouraged her from reporting the “knife incident” to police. She also alleges that Lisa Vanderpump, the show’s star, warned that she would be terminated if she did not find a way to get along with Kent.
The lawsuit comes as Stowers is about to launch a podcast in which she will reveal more about her experiences on the show. She is represented by Bryan Freedman and Marc Geragos, the attorneys who have worked with former “Real Housewives” star Bethenny Frankel to bring a “reality reckoning.”
The attorneys also represent Bravo stars Brandi Glanville and Rachel Leviss, who have each leveled allegations of mistreatment against the network.
In the latest lawsuit, Stowers alleges that she was subjected to racial slurs and was mocked for her “nappy hair” while appearing on the show. She also alleges that she was maligned by fellow cast members Stassi Schroeder and Kristin Doute, who allegedly accused her of going AWOL from the military and of being “a serial criminal who had been drugging and robbing men throughout Los Angeles.” In June 2020, during the anti-racism uprisings after the murder of George Floyd, Stowers talked about this exeperience during an Instagram Live, and Doute and Schoeder were fired from “Vanderpump Rules” shortly afterward. In the lawsuit, Stowers calls these firings “an astonishingly cynical act of performative allyship. (Last month, a new spinoff of “Vanderpump Rules” called “The Valley” premiered on Bravo, starring Doute.)
According to the suit, she was paid $5,000 for her participation in Season 4. After that, she was demoted to an unpaid “volunteer,” she alleges. The lawsuit claims that the demotion was retaliation for speaking up about her mistreatment. In February 2018, she alleges that NBC warned her not to go public with her claims, as it would violate her contract.
“NBC and Evolution clearly believe that workplace safety rules, employment laws, and basic decency do not apply to those in reality TV,” the attorneys said in a statement. “Vicious assaults, racist harassment, and impugning the service of veterans are apparently acceptable to NBC and Evolution for the sake of ratings. Faith did not know what kind of cesspool she had found herself in and reported this unlawful behavior to her superiors. In response, she was demoted to ‘volunteer’ and stripped of her already meager compensation.”
NBCU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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