Former Vanderpump Rules star Faith Stowers has filed a lawsuit against Bravo, NBCUniversal, and Evolution Media, claiming discrimination and harassment led to her departure from the show. Stowers, the only Black cast member on two seasons of the show, alleged that she was subjected to racism, sexual harassment, and physical assault during her time on VPR. She reported mistreatment to NBC and Evolution but was told to remain silent. Stowers was paid a total of $5,000 for her first season on the show, a figure she expected to increase over time.
Stowers also claimed that fellow VPR star Lala Kent brandished a knife at her during filming, an incident that she reported to NBC and Evolution. Kent denied the allegation, calling it “insane.” The lawsuit alleges that there was a cover-up by NBC and Evolution, and that Stowers made these accusations to promote her upcoming projects, including a podcast and movie directed by Kent’s ex-fiancé Randall Emmett. The source close to Kent mentioned that she hopes NBC and Bravo defend themselves vigorously against the accusations.
The lawsuit also names other VPR stars including Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright, Kristen Doute, and Stassi Schroeder, alleging that they embarked on a campaign to destroy Stowers’ life through social media and podcasts. Schroeder and Doute were fired from VPR in 2020 after a podcast resurfaced in which they wrongfully called the police on Stowers. Stowers’ lawyer Bryan J. Freedman stated that NBC and Evolution seem to believe that workplace safety rules, employment laws, and basic decency do not apply to those in reality TV. Stowers reported the unlawful behavior to her superiors and was demoted to a volunteer and had her compensation stripped.
The statement from Stowers’ lawyer concluded that Faith did not know what kind of environment she had found herself in when she reported the unlawful behavior to NBC and Evolution. She was then demoted and had her compensation reduced to a volunteer position. The lawsuit alleges that NBC and Evolution prioritize ratings over workplace safety and decency, and they allowed vicious assaults, racist harassment, and attacks on veteran’s service to occur. Stowers hopes her lawsuit will bring attention to the mistreatment that she and others experienced on shows like Vanderpump Rules. Bravo and NBCUniversal have yet to comment on the lawsuit.
