Reality TV star Tom Sandoval, still dealing with the fallout from his “Vanderpump Rules” affair, responded to backlash over another recent controversy: comparing himself to George Floyd.
Sandoval, speaking to the New York Times earlier this month, compared the media attention his cheating scandal (known among fans as “Scandoval”) garnered last year to the national coverage surrounding Floyd's murder in 2020.
Floyd, who was Black, was killed on May 25, 2020, when former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine minutes. His death was one of the catalysts for the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020. A year later, Chauvin was found guilty of murdering Floyd.
“I'm not really a pop culture historian,” Sandoval told the New York Times, “but I witnessed OJ Simpson and George Floyd and all these great things, which is really strange to compare this to that, I think. . , but do you think in some strange way it's a bit the same?
Sandoval's comments, posted on February 20, quickly went viral, prompting him to share an apology hours after the story was published. “My intentions behind the comments I made in the New York Times Magazine were to explain the level of national media attention my matter received,” he said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “The comparison was inappropriate and ignorant. “I am very sorry and very ashamed.”
More than a week later, Sandoval doubled down on his apology and addressed his comments in a new episode of his “Everybody Loves Tom” podcast released Thursday. “Hi everyone, before we get started on this podcast, I wanted to apologize again for the comments I made in the New York Times article.”
He continued: “I was stupidly trying to make a comparison to the absurd amount of national media my affair received and the comparison I made was stupid and ignorant and I'm really embarrassed and I'm really, really sorry.”
After the clip of Sandoval's apology fades to black, the episode continues as usual, as the TV star discusses the latest episode of “Vanderpump Rules” with her castmates.
In March 2023, it was revealed that Sandoval, 40, had cheated on his longtime girlfriend and “Vanderpump” co-star Ariana Madix, 38, with his co-star Rachel Leviss, 29. The cheating scandal generated headlines and a juicy story for “Vanderpump.” Rules.”
A year later, Scandoval tensions between the former “Vanderpump” trio still haven't eased. On Thursday, Leviss sued Sandoval and Madix, accusing the former couple of eavesdropping, revenge porn, invasion of privacy and “intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
Leviss' lawsuit described Sandoval and Madix as longtime romantic partners whose relationship and reality TV fame were in ruins. Wary of the prospects of cancellation, the former couple “had every incentive to exploit these salacious threads in the 'Vanderpump Rules' storyline that they so desperately needed,” Leviss' suit says.
Legal representatives for Sandoval and Madix did not immediately respond to separate Times requests for comment Thursday.
Sandoval did not publicly address Leviss' allegations, but hours after Leviss' lawsuit was filed, he shared a hiking video and a sneak peek of his band's upcoming tour on his Instagram Story.
