The fallout from “Scandoval” continues, almost a year after the affair that started it all first made headlines last March. The Vanderpump Rules cheating scandal — which saw star Tom Sandoval engage in a months-long affair with castmate Raquel Leviss, behind the back of his longtime girlfriend Ariana Maddix — was *almost* beginning to die down, but it appears there’s no reprieve from reality TV’s most depraved waitstaff.
This week, The New York Times published a lengthy profile piece of Sandoval, dubbing him the “most hated man in America” and covering his reaction to the headline-making 2023 scandal. While a smarter public figure might’ve used the piece to kickstart some form of redemption arc, Sandoval instead compared the uproar about his affair to the attention around George Floyd and O.J. Simpson.
Why did Tom Sandoval compare himself to George Floyd?
When asked by NYT why he thought Scandoval became such a hot-button topic amongst the public, Tom Sandoval gave an answer that has since ignited a deserved level of backlash. The reality star said that while he is “not really a pop-culture” historian, he witnessed “big things” like “the O.J. Simpson thing and George Floyd.”
“[It’s] really weird to compare [Scandoval] to that,” Sandoval went on, “but do you think in a weird way it’s a little bit the same?” As if preempting the backlash, NYT interviewer Irina Aleksander wrote that she “knew what he meant,” contextualizing Sandoval’s comparison as being the “symbolic center of a nationwide discussion and a major news story.”
While she gave Sandoval some grace, Aleksander also wrote that the scandal had evidently “made him lose perspective.” According to NYT, multiple Bravo representatives and producers reached out to Aleksander “very concerned” following the interview, saying that Scandoval “wasn’t ready for this.” In any case, the story took off, and has since caught the ire of Sandoval’s fellow Bravolebrities.
Guerdy Abraira, who stars on The Real Housewives of Miami, took to social media to call out Sandoval, asking him to reflect on his “repulsive” comments and “take it back,” especially during Black History Month. Summer House castmate Jordan Emanuel, meanwhile, wrote that Sandoval’s behavior “is something I just don’t have words for.”
Sandoval’s Vanderpump Rules co-star Katie Maloney also expressed outrage. For his part, Sandoval issued a statement to People, apologizing for the “inappropriate and ignorant” comparison to Floyd, and saying he is “incredibly sorry and embarrassed.”
Bravo has yet to address the controversy, and it’s not yet known whether Sandoval’s comments will impact his future on Vanderpump Rules. The show is currently airing its eleventh season, and covering the fallout as the cast grapples with their post-Scandoval dynamics.