Ex-Vanderpump Guidelines star Religion Stowers slapped Bravo and NBCUniversal with a bombshell lawsuit over alleged discrimination and retaliation.
In accordance with courtroom paperwork obtained by RadarOnline.com, Stowers’ powerhouse legal professionals Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman mentioned, “This case considerations Religion Stowers, a former solid member on Bravo’s common actuality TV present Vanderpump Guidelines, who appeared on 51 episodes because the present’s solely black solid member earlier than being pushed out by a vicious marketing campaign of racist harassment and retaliation.”
“Stowers was recruited to the present” by Lisa Vanderpump to “add extra “shade to the solid.” the lawsuit mentioned, “Though she had by no means got down to be a actuality star, Stowers was excited by the chance and accepted the supply. She was paid a complete of $5,000 for her first season.”
“In a short time, nonetheless, Stowers realized that she was getting greater than she bargained for,” the swimsuit learn. “Stowers was subjected to racism, sexual harassment, and bodily assault in her first season.”
Stowers claimed after she reported the mistreatment to NBC and present producers, she was “warned in no unsure phrases to maintain quiet and play good. Pushed by concern for her profession and worry about how she may in any other case be portrayed on air, Stowers reluctantly did so, solely to find that she had been nominally demoted to an unpaid “volunteer” with none precise change in her employment standing.”
“Over time, her remedy acquired even worse. Many solid members launched into an overtly racist social media harassment marketing campaign, accusing her of getting gone AWOL from the army [false], of being a thief [false], and being a profession felony wished by the LAPD [false],” the swimsuit learn. “NBC [ and producers], which tightly management the solid’s public statements and messaging, condoned, ratified and amplified these vicious lies, inflicting untold hurt to Stower’s psychological well being and repute. To make issues worse, NBC threatened her with ruinous authorized motion when she tried to talk out.”
In her swimsuit, Stowers mentioned, “Now that the racial reckoning of 2020 has receded, NBC and [show producers] have reverted to their outdated methods. A Vanderpump Guidelines spin-off entitled The Valley debuted in March 2024, beginning a who’s who of the 2020 chopping block.
Doute was introduced again to star in The Valley.
Stowers’ legal professionals Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman inform RadarOnline.com, “NBC and Evolution clearly imagine that office security guidelines, employment legal guidelines, and fundamental decency don’t apply to these in actuality TV. Vicious assaults, racist harassment, and impugning the service of veterans are apparently acceptable to NBC and Evolution for the sake of rankings. Religion didn’t know what sort of cesspool she had discovered herself in and reported this illegal conduct to her superiors. In response, she was demoted to ‘volunteer’ and stripped of her already meager compensation.”
Stowers’ lawsuit demanded unspecified damages.