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Lawyers accused of tricking Tom Sandoval into blaming Bravo, NBCUniversal

Lawyers accused of tricking Tom Sandoval into blaming Bravo, NBCUniversal

The high-profile lawyers who the so-called “Reality settlement” are accused of trying to persuade Tom Sandoval to involve the campaign’s main target, the reality giant Bravo.

Along with Bravo alumnus Bethenny Frankel, attorneys Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos vociferously launched the crusade last year, vowing to make NBCUniversal — the company that owns Bravo — pay for the allegedly “grotesque and depraved mistreatment” of its stars.

It seems that the ‘Reckoning’ has made little progress since then.

“Vanderpump Rules” star Tom Sandoval claims the lawyers behind “Reality Reckoning” have offered to drop a lawsuit against him if he would help “point the finger at NBCUniversal.” Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images
Lawyers Bryan Freedman (right) and Mark Geragos (left) launched the crusade against NBCUniversal last year, together with Bethenny Frankel. AP Photo/Jaimie Ding

Now Sandoval tells Page Six that Geragos and Freedman have offered to drop a damning lawsuit against him if he would be willing to “point the finger at NBCUniversal” and help them build their case that the company had concocted a storyline who allegedly humiliated their client, ex Rachel “Raquel” Leviss’ “Vanderpump Rules” star.

In 2023, reality fans were gripped by ‘Scandoval’, which revealed that Sandoval had an affair with co-star Leviss behind the back of his longtime girlfriend, Ariana Madix, who also starred in “Vanderpump Rules.” The deception was exposed when Sandoval’s cell phone, which contained incriminating photos and videos, fell from his pocket and was handed to Madix.

Leviss finished suing Sandoval and Madix in a revenge porn actionclaiming that Sandoval had secretly recorded her having FaceTime sex and that Madix had sent her the footage to shame her. (Madix has asked to be dropped from the lawsuit, claiming she never sent footage to anyone other than Leviss, and Sandoval has denied secretly recording Leviss.)

Sandoval now claims that sometime in the summer of 2024, Freedman and Geragos approached his attorneys Varand Gourjian and Tara Karamians of the Gourjian Law Group and offered a quid pro quo.

Sandoval had an affair with co-star Rachel “Raquel” Leviss (seen above) in 2023. Photo by Robin L Marshall/Getty Images
Leviss (not in the photo) sued Sandoval and his ex Ariana Madix for revenge porn. Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

“My lawyer said to me, ‘They made you an offer – I know you’re not going to take it – but I have to put it to you: If you point the finger at NBCUniversal, they’re going to drop the case against you. ”, he tells us.

Sandoval, 42, claims the attorneys asked if he “would be willing” to say that NBCUniversal agents “pushed” him into revealing the affair to Madix, 39.

A representative for Gourjian Law Group told us: “We cannot comment on the settlement offers made to our client, but it is my impression that Leviss intended from the beginning to make the studios its real target, as evidenced by various passages in the lawsuit they filed (against Sandoval and Madix). Tom Sandoval has consistently stated that the studios had absolutely nothing to do with the unfortunate events that unfolded.”

Sandoval claims the lawyers wanted him to say that NBCUniversal pushed him to reveal the affair to Madix. Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images

When asked about the claims, Geragos and Freedman said: “Tom claims he lost his phone. Tom claimed he had lost his lawyer. Tom did indeed lose his motion to dismiss (the revenge porn charge). It now looks like he has gone mad.”

(Sandoval didn’t actually “lose” his lawyer. He fired a lawyer he hired to work on the revenge porn case.)

The 2024 letter promising that “doomsday has arrived” for NBCUniversal – which also owns reality-heavy E! – Geragos and Freedman claimed they had “a significant number of individuals” ready to tell their stories.

But they haven’t filed any claims yet, and as Page Six recently reported: they stopped representing “Real Housewives” star Brandi Glanville in a lawsuit against Bravo.

The lawyers had sent a separate letter to NBCUniversal telling the company and Bravo figurehead Andy Cohen to prepare for a lawsuit over the way they treated Glanville during her time on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and ” Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip’. ”, including a sexually charged private message that Cohen sent to Glanville in 2023. (Cohen has denied wrongdoing and a third-party investigation cleared him of wrongdoing.)

Meanwhile, a separate case brought by former “Real Housewives of New York City” star Leah McSweeney against Cohen and the network, among others, is ongoing. She is represented by another lawyer.

Yet another case filed against NBCUniversal by Caroline Manzo, in which she claims that she was sexually harassed by Glanville while filming for Bravo is also ongoing. She also has another lawyer. (Glanville has denied wrongdoing.)