Faith Stowers. Courtesy of Faith Stowers/Instagram
Former Vanderpump Rules star Faith Stowers has filed a lawsuit against Bravo, its parent company NBCUniversal and the production company Evolution Media for discrimination and harassment, among other allegations.
Stowers, 35, claimed in the suit that she was “driven out [of the show] by a vicious campaign of racist harassment and retaliation,” according to court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Friday, April 5.
“Stowers was subjected to racism, sexual harassment and physical assault in just her first season,” the suit claimed. “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.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Bravo and NBCUniversal for comment.
Several Vanderpump Rules stars have stepped away from the Bravo series over the years. Cameras started following the staff at Lisa Vanderpump’s West Hollywood restaurant SUR in 2012 after she rose to fame on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Season 1 of Pump Rules, which premiered in January 2013, starred Lisa, Stassi Schroeder, Jax […]
Stowers appeared as the only Black cast member on two seasons of the show from 2015 to 2017 before her departure. The suit claimed she was “paid a total of $5,000 for her first season, a figure she assumed would rise over time.”
During her VPR tenure, she alleged that fellow VPR star Lala Kent “grabbed a knife from a nearby counter and began brandishing it at Stowers” while filming the show. Stowers allegedly “reported the events to NBC and Evolution,” who, according to the filing, “began the cover-up almost immediately.”
A source close to Kent, 33, told Us that she is “stunned” by Stowers’ accusation, which “never happened.” The insider claimed that the “insane” allegation is a way for Stowers to promote her upcoming podcast and appearance in Cash Out 2: High Rollers, a movie directed by Kent’s ex-fiancé Randall Emmett.
“Lala hopes that NBC and Bravo defend themselves vigorously,” the source added.
The cast of Vanderpump Rules are no strangers to controversy. The staff of Lisa Vanderpump’s West Hollywood restaurant SUR made their debut on Bravo in 2013 as part of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills spinoff. The season 1 cast included Vanderpump, Stassi Schroeder, Jax Taylor, Katie Maloney, Tom Sandoval, Kristen Doute and Scheana Shay. […]
Aside from Kent, the lawsuit names other VPR stars including Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright, Kristen Doute and Stassi Schroeder.
“In a seemingly coordinated effort, the Vanderpump Rules cast embarked on a campaign — through social media, podcasts and elsewhere — to destroy Stowers’s life,” the suit alleged, referring to a past podcast appearance where Schroeder and Doute wrongfully called the police on Stowers. (Schroeder, 35, and Doute, 41, were fired from VPR in 2020 after the interview resurfaced.)
“NBC and Evolution clearly believe that workplace safety rules, employment laws and basic decency do not apply to those in reality TV,” Stowers’ lawyer, Bryan J. Freedman, shared in a statement to Us on Friday. “Vicious assaults, racist harassment and impugning the service of veterans are apparently acceptable to NBC and Evolution for the sake of ratings.”
The statement concluded: “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.”