“Vanderpump Rules” producer Evolution Media wants an arbitrator rather than a jury to decide a former recurring cast member’s claims against the company in her lawsuit alleging that she endured racial remarks and other abuses while on the Bravo show.
Among the allegations in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, Faith Stowers contends that fellow cast member Lala Kent brandished a knife at her during an argument in Season 4 and placed it at the plaintiff’s neck. Stowers also alleges that the executive producer of the series discouraged her from reporting Kent to the police and that Lisa Vanderpump, the show’s creator and star, warned her that she would be fired if the plaintiff could not make amends with Kent.
“Vanderpump Rules” is an Emmy-nominated unscripted television series produced by Evolution that has aired on Bravo since 2013. The program focuses around television personality and restaurateur Lisa Vanderpump and showcases the real lives, dramas and romances of some of the servers in her restaurants.
Stowers also is suing NBCUniversal Media LLC and Bravo.
“When racial inequities rocketed into the public consciousness following George Floyd’s murder, NBC and Evolution started facing backlash for their mistreatment of Stowers,” the suit filed April 5 states. “In an astonishingly cynical act of performative allyship, they belatedly terminated several cast members for behavior they had long known about. At no point did they ever reach out to Stowers herself.”
On Friday, Evolution Media lawyers filed court papers with Judge Thomas D. Long seeking to compel arbitration of the plaintiff’s claims against Evolution. A hearing is scheduled Jan. 23.
Nine years ago, plaintiff Faith Stowers voluntarily appeared on “Vanderpump Rules” and as both a recurring cast member in 2015 and a guest in 2016-17, she signed three arbitration agreements involving all three defendants, according to the Evolution Media attorneys’ court papers.
“Plaintiff’s complaint alleges no invalidity in the arbitration clause and offers no reason why it does not apply,” the Evolution attorneys’ argue in their court papers. The court should compel Stowers to arbitrate her claims and stay this action pending the conclusion of arbitration.”
Stowers, a server, appeared on the show in Season 4, but was not invited back for Season 5, the Evolution attorneys state in their court papers. However, shortly before the start of Season 6, rumors circulated that Stowers had an affair with another cast member, Jax Taylor, while he was dating someone else and she was invited to appear on the show for two episodes to give her side of the story, the Evolution lawyers further state in their court papers.