Vanderpump Rules put on PAUSE: Bravo show won’t film this summer following Scandoval fallout but insiders insist show isn’t being axed

Vanderpump Rules will not be in production this summer for its upcoming twelfth season, which is a break from past tradition.

The popular Bravo series, insiders said TMZtypically begins production in May each year and films through July.

Bravo executives ‘feel like they need to give the cast a break and let their lives breathe a little’ after the long-running scandal over the show in which Tom Sandoval, 40, cheated on Ariana Madix, 38, while Rachel Leviss, 29, led to more than a year of headlines and ongoing lawsuits as a result of the messy split.

The storyline surrounding the fraud scandal, sources told the newspaper, “has dried up at this point” after 14 months of the fallout from the affair.

The show’s producers want to let the cast relax before the cameras start rolling again, sources told the outlet, leading to new storylines to explore in the post-Scandoval reboot.

The schedule change is not an indication that the series could be in jeopardy, as insiders emphasized to TMZ that the show has NOT been canceled.

Madix is ​​set to host the Peacock reality series Love Island USA, the outlet reported.

Production sources told the outlet that Madix’s schedule for that series, based in Fiji, was “an additional factor in the decision” Bravo made to postpone filming Vanderpump Rules.

The show’s eleventh season reunion was called “incredibly intense and electric” by Bravo’s Andy Cohen, according to the outlet.

Ny Breaking.com has reached out to Bravo representatives for comment on the story.

In the latest scandal, Leviss sued Sandovalaccusing him of violating California’s revenge porn law by recording sexually charged videos without her consent and keeping them on his phone.

One was a FaceTime video that Madix allegedly saw when she looked through Sandoval’s phone the night she discovered that Tom Tom’s co-owner had cheated on her.

Leviss is also suing for wiretapping, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She claimed in her lawsuit that it was her former lover who recorded the explicit FaceTime call.

Sandoval earlier this week denounced Leviss’ lawsuit against him and Ariana Madix in his response to the filing in his own legal documents.

The reality star labeled it a “thinly veiled attempt to increase her fame and rebrand herself as the victim instead of the other woman” while responding to the lawsuit.’

Sandoval, who cried on camera after Leviss claimed she never loved him during their seven-month affair, disagreed with the lawsuit that labeled him “predatory.”

Sandoval also said it denigrated his ex-partner Madix as a “woman scorned,” according to legal documents obtained by People And Page six.

In his counterclaim, Sandoval said: “These videos were taken by Leviss and published by Leviss to Sandoval through a consensual exchange on FaceTime… based on Leviss’ own allegations, Sandoval only kept private copies of the videos that Leviss filmed and shared with him. ‘

He has asked for the case to be dismissed or Leviss’ lawsuit to be amended.

In response to these claims, Leviss’ attorneys responded with “Sandoval’s response to the irrefutable evidence that will be presented in court is disturbing,” in a statement to People.

“Using such claims for media attention and perpetuating victim blaming is not only deplorable, but actionable.”

Although she did not name Bravo or production company Evolution Media in her lawsuit, Leviss claims that they, along with other Vanderpump Rules cast members, subjected her to “public skewering,” making her “without exaggeration, one of the most hated women in America’. .’

She also claimed that she had come to believe that she was “contractually prohibited from speaking out about her abuse,” while the rest of the cast benefited from huge ratings and “unprecedented levels of public recognition and professional opportunity,” while Leviss’ suffered from it’. Silence.’

Leviss apologized for her part in the affair, but claimed she was “a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man, who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent.”

She claimed the videos were “then circulated, disseminated and publicly discussed by a scorned woman seeking revenge, causing the scandal,” forcing the former pageant queen to seek treatment at a mental health facility where she stayed for three months.

Leviss claims compensatory, special, general and consequential damages.

She wants Sandoval and Madix to stop distribution and destroy all copies of the allegedly explicit video.

She is also asking for her attorneys’ fees to be reimbursed and that the court award any other form of damages it deems appropriate.

Madix has not yet responded to the lawsuit.

Leviss isn’t the only Vanderpump Rules cast member who has accused Sandoval of bad behavior.

On the March 5 episode of the reality show, which was taped several months before the air date, LaLa Kent said, “You know what triggered me when [Leviss] said [during the final part of the season 10 reunion]“If I’m not on the same page as Sandoval, I don’t have anyone.”

She added: “You’re isolating. You groom. You’re lying. I don’t want to know you. You are scary.’