Faith Stowers, who starred in the fourth and fifth seasons of Vanderpump Rules, is suing the show’s production companies, Bravo and NBCUniversal, for discrimination and retaliation.
In the suit, which was obtained by Deadline, Stowers claims she was “subjected to racism, sexual harassment, and physical assault in just her first season.” When she reported her mistreatment to NBC and Evolution, she was allegedly told to “keep quiet and play nice.” However, she says her treatment “got even worse” over time, with her castmates embarking on an “overtly racist social media harassment campaign” in which they falsely accused her of going AWOL from the military, of being a thief and of being a career criminal wanted by the LAPD.
Stowers was referring to Jax Taylor‘s 2017 tweet, which read: “She’s wanted by the police for grand theft auto and ‘awol’ from military, bad idea to be on a reality show dude. Someone’s going to jail.” Stassi Schroeder later admitted that she and Kristen Doute also called the police on Stowers because they thought she looked like another Black woman who was wanted by authorities, thus resulting in their firing from Vanderpump Rules in 2020.
“NBC and Evolution, which tightly control the cast’s public statements and messaging, condoned, ratified, and amplified these vicious lies, causing untold harm to Stowers’s mental health and reputation,” the suit reads, per Deadline.
Stowers further accused Taylor’s currently estranged wife, Brittany Cartwright, of making fun of her “nappy hair.” Taylor had previously cheated on Cartwright with Stowers in the early days of their relationship.
The former reality star claimed that NBCUniversal “reverted to their old ways” when they rehired Taylor and Doute for the Vanderpump Rules spinoff The Valley. Schroeder had also been invited to return for the show, but she declined the offer.
According to the complaint, Stowers was also a victim of sexual harassment and physical violence when producers allegedly forced her to share a bed with Lala Kent on a cast trip.
“Production pressured Kent and Stowers to ‘get intimate’ and touch each other sensually on camera,’” the suit claims, per Page Six. “All of this was greatly distressing to [the plaintiff].”
When their friendship was on the rocks, however, Stowers alleges that Kent once pulled a knife on her, held it to her neck and threatened to “cut a bitch” while cameras were rolling.
Stowers says she never spoke out before because NBCUniversal allegedly “threatened her with ruinous legal action.” She also claims that she was only paid $5,000 for her participation in Season 4, and was “demoted to an unpaid ‘volunteer’” in Season 5.
Decider has reached out to the show’s reps for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
The post ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Alum Faith Stowers Sues Bravo For Discrimination And Retaliation, Claims She Was Forced To “Get Intimate” With Lala Kent appeared first on Decider.
