Chapter 11: Vanderpump Rules, You're So Vain

Published Feb 27, 2024, 11:13 PM

Rachel takes the headlines head on.

Vanderpump Rules and its cast can't seem to keep themselves out of the press, Rachel gives her rogue take.

This is Rachel Goes Rogue. Hey guys, it's Rachel Savannah Levis, your host of Rachel Goes Rogue. Who we are going rogue today because I have a lot to say on what's happening with the show, how often they're using my name and hot topics on course Tom Sandoval and his most recent endeavors, and I feel like I just want to rant a little bit. I know you guys are reading the same stories that are out this week about no other but Tom Sandoval. He did a New York Times magazine article called how Tom Sandival became the most Hated man in America, and he's getting a lot of flack for it. I know you guys know exactly which parts have gone viral from it, but if if you read this whole article, it is very interesting, to say the least. There's a few takeaways for me, one of them just really showing how Tom is living in this hyper reality state. I think we can all agree that Scandabal doesn't even come close in comparison with OJ Simpson or George Floyd. These were tragedies, one in which sparked a huge movement. I know all of you guys are thinking the same thing. It goes to show that Tom is really in his own reality. Let me quote this. It says Sandival can't always tell if he's living for himself or the show or both. Sometimes he really has to talk to his best friend and co star, Tom Schwartz, but he knows he shouldn't be a text, so he will call producers and ask how quickly they could have cameras on him to film him. I think this is really interesting because this is actually something that Tom Sandoval has crept me to do when I was still new to filming. He taught me, when we're filming a TV show, it is the most effective when we have the conversation on camera for the first time, because that's when we can really show our true emotions and how we are actually feeling. But if you have that conversation off camera, then you're going to have to recreate that conversation for camera purposes and you'll have to fake your emotion. So wait to have those real talk conversations for on camera, but then like talk about the weather or whatever it might be that's not important for off camera. It is really bizarre if you think about it, because it's like, yes, this show creates a base for these huffer conversations that are real in the moment, but it's reality TV, so you can see how that can get very complicated. The article is really interesting because it kind of demonstrated and painted a picture for us of how the effects of reality TV is impacting a regular person. In fact, i'll pull a quote from the article where the writer said, although reality programming has been a dominant part of American culture for over two decades, we've never actually put a regular person on reality TV to live out much of their adult life and gotten to see what happens to them as a result. So this is interesting to me because it's kind of like an experiment. I think there was reference also to other shows where past members would come on for a short duration of time and then they would be off of it and deal with whatever backlash that they would receive from being on that season, processed through that, and then it would be over unless they, like did another show like Bachelor in Paradise or something. But in Fander Pump Rules, this is a recurring cast. You know, it's been eleven seasons now, so at least over eleven years of these people's lives, you know, including my own my old twenties were on this show, and I think it just goes to show that your reality can be so skewed and if you don't have strong boundaries in place of like, Okay, I know exactly who I am, and I know that this is a job that we're here to do, it still gets so messy because it's like when does your job become just the job and not your real life at a certain point living for the storyline on the show, it's just very complex, and I think this article really captures how that is playing out in a long term way for everybody to see. I was mentioned in the article a few times. It says in April he quit drinking, hence the tea he was now sipping. He did it for Levis when she entered that facility in Arizona. He assumed that they would be together once she got out, But then Levis stopped talking to him and hasn't returned his calls since June. She never even gave me any closure. He said, it was really hard. It still messes with me. He even tried reaching out through her publicist but got no response. And I'm not sure we talked about this yet. But I do remember that phone call that you know, he was really trying to get me on the phone and said he had important info and he would only share it if I was on the phone. Obviously that's manipulative and that conversation was wild, but I didn't respond because I'm trying to stay in reality and I know his priorities are the show, and it even got so confusing for me when I was hanging out with him. I feel like people are starting to see how this show has affected Tom and his reality, and now they're saying like, oh, Tom should take a year off. He needs to process through this, and I'm like, yeah, people like that's why I didn't come back. But I think other people are starting to see that too. They're like, oh, I can see why Raqueal didn't come back to do this show because there's no way it is good for mental health. I'm glad that people are starting to see it and starting to connect the dots, because that was a huge issue for me. It was like, there's no way I could go back to the show and have some sort of real reality. Now, let's talk about something that stood out to me watching episode four. I thought it was interesting in this episode how when Lisa gave Graham to James, she never said my name. She didn't say that story that was put out in the press of me surrending my dog to kill Shelter and it was hours away of being euthanized. And I thought that was very interesting because I was like, Oh, this isn't what I thought it was gonna be. And I'm pleasantly surprised. I'm a little bit relieved because now I don't have to worry about more death threats and death wishes. I don't know if that scene was reshot so that she could backtrack after being called out on it, or if that was original thing and she just let those rumors run rampant because it was like propaganda to make me look like this ultimate villain. But I'm glad that I called her out on it and put the real story out there, because my family was in contact with the foster that was screening and taking care of Graham, and so we actually did know like the story of how Lisa adopted Graham, and I think she realized that we had so many facts that we published to the press that she was going to have to change her story. We've also heard from the fans watching that have been following since all of this happened and been following filming that they witnessed Graham being reunited with James in Tahoe specifically, So I wonder how they're going to transition all of that, So it will be interesting to see. I'm just relieved that she's not running with that narrative. You know, some people still don't understand, like they say, oh, I should have just gone back to do the show. If I'm going to be commenting on it. You know, the only reason why I'm commenting on it is because they're talking about me and I'm not there, and I'm not gonna let them run with these fabricated lies that paint me in a horrible picture. And I'm glad I spoke up about the truth because it did change the trajectory of this season and how the Graham situation played out. I truly believe that I wanted to discuss some of the VPR headlines of this week because there have been many and with my iHeart producers, they have some questions and I have lots of thoughts, So let's get right into it.

So you're talking about mental health and you were talking about the idea that reality TV can be a really hard environment to thrive in. This week, we saw the topic of mental health come up on the episode where Lisa is asking Sheena and La La to kind of ease up on Tom and give him a little bit of grace. Now, what we saw play out was the weight of that on the other cast members. Ariana this week has come out to say she thinks that if Lisa notices someone is struggling, it is her job to provide mental support and she shouldn't be putting that ask on the cast members. Where do you stand on this?

I agree with Ariana. I think that Lisa should be the one to advocate for Tom Sandoval's mental health if she's concerned about it, and getting like serious attention would be a good thing, especially if you're concerned with somebody who has very dark thoughts. I think that putting that and having that scene on camera talking to Lala and Sena about it is like, Okay, now we're are we just using Tom's mental health as a storyline for the season and to get Tom Sandoval back in the group by talking some sense there quotes into Sina and Laala, because if that's the case. I just feel like, yeah, that's unfair to Sena and Lala to carry that burden if something were to happen. It feels icky, like it feels exploitative. If Lisa is actually concerned about Tom's mental health, then maybe she does have a responsibility to get him mental health care, especially with like the disclaimers that keep coming up at the end of the episodes providing a hotline, which is obviously new this season. It just feels icky. It feels like Lisa is kind of like using Tom's mental health as a story, putting some pressure on La La and Shina, And I think Ariana is right, Lisa should be getting Tom Sandabal some help.

Marianas also mentioned that she kind of felt similar to what you were saying where Tom was talking about her mental health on public platforms.

Yeah, I recognize that too, For every time that I've talked about Tom talking about my mental state and bringing that up on camera or on other people's podcast. I also recognized that Ariana has been in the same boat as me, and never ever is it okay for someone else to be talking about someone's mental state of mind if that has been shared with you in confidence, so it's just very icky that that is still being talked about for both me and Ariana.

So speaking of Ariana, Tom Sandabal has claimed that he loaned ninety thousand dollars to her, and he says that he cannot sell their shared home until she pays him back. So there's so much back and forth between the two of them. Do you think while they're sorting this out, they should still be living together?

No? I don't, but like I have no saying that their finances are between them, and I've asked Tom to move out, like I provided a apartment for him to stay at when I was at the Meadows, and I asked him to leave the house and find a new place by the time I got back, and he was like, no, that's not happening. So I don't know what's going on between them, because Tom has told me that their roommates, and there's still roommates. Even if they weren't quite just roommates before, they definitely are. No.

Tom sanderbal very much in the news this week. He was even mentioned on an episode of SNL. Did you see that episode or did you see the mention?

I saw the mention?

Yes, So previously you had talked about what it felt like to be on a cover of a magazine. Obviously not necessarily for the reason you would want to, but you said it was cool. Do you think Tom Sanderbal would think being mentioned on SNL would be cool regardless of the context.

Okay, first of all, when I said it was cool, it was definitely like my thought process in that moment when I received the magazine, So I just wanted to clear that up. I don't necessarily think it's cool now, but I don't know if Tom thinks it's cool. I mean, I think right now he's probably been advised to not speak, and it just seems like every time he opens his mouth he digs himself a little bit deeper.

Do you think that with all of these headlines and with all of this press he's getting, do you think this will be the thing that I'll make Hi take accountability?

Oh? Maybe maybe, I think. I mean, there's been many things that I feel like could be canceled worthy, for instance, going to Thailand taking photos with tigers and posting it, bragging about it, and not only getting hate for it, but then showing up to Nick File's podcast with a framed photo forty five minutes late, so that's one thing. No remorse there, and then he continues on to do the New York Times article, which was actually recorded before the Nick Vile podcast. I think, now that this has gotten so big, will he ever take accountability? I don't know.

Well, it's interesting too, because you know, when the whole thing first broke, your names were kind of lumped together in the same sentences. But now it seems like you've gone one way and he's gone another way. Do you see that and how does that feel?

Yes, well, we handled the situation very differently, and I think it's very interesting to see how the public has kind of reacted to the way that we've handled the situation. First of all, it was like I'm running away from my problems and Tom is actually going back and facing it and holding out to his filming obligation. But after the New York Times article, people are starting to see how toxic and dark reality TV is and how detrimental it can be to your mental health if you're not able to take time away to process through your life. I think it's important to have these conversations that we're having now, like what are the long term effects that reality TV? Can have on a person, How is it affecting their mental health? I think these are all questions to keep in the forefront of our mind as we continue watching Underpump Rules and other reality TV shows. Thank you so much for listening to Rachel Ghos Rogue. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok for exclusive video content at Rachel Ghos Rogue Podcast