Faith Stowers is suing Bravo and NBC Universal, nearly six years after the former Vanderpump Rules cast member threatened to sue (at least one of) her former co-stars over racist actions.
According to Radar Online, Faith hit Bravo and NBC Universal with a lawsuit on Friday, alleging discrimination and retaliation. Documents in the lawsuit state that Faith “appeared on 51 episodes as the show’s only Black cast member before being driven out by a vicious campaign of racist harassment and retaliation.”
Faith’s lawsuit also details an incident in which she claims she was “violently assaulted” by cast member Lala Kent, who was allegedly wielding a knife at the time.
The lawsuit goes on to claim that Faith was “recruited” by show matriarch and restaurateur Lisa Vanderpump in order to “add more color to the cast.” Faith was reportedly “excited by the opportunity” and paid $5,000 for her first season on the Bravo series.
Documents allege that Faith quickly realized “she was getting more than she bargained for,” as she says she was ultimately subjected to racism, sexual harassment and physical assault during that first season.
Faith claims that, despite reporting the mistreatment to show producers and NBC, she was “warned in no uncertain terms to keep quiet and play nice.” Though she reluctantly did so, she later discovered that she had been demoted to an unpaid volunteer on the series “without any actual change in her employment status.”
“Over time, her treatment got even worse. Many cast members embarked on an overtly racists social media harassment campaign, accusing her of having gone AWOL from the military [false], of being a thief [false], and being a career criminal wanted by the LAPD [false],” the suit continues. “NBC [and producers], which tightly control the cast’s public statements and messaging, condoned, ratified and amplified these vicious lies, causing untold harm to [Faith]’s mental health and reputation.
“To make matters worse, NBC threatened her with ruinous legal action when she attempted to speak out.”
As The Ashley previously told you, Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute were fired from ‘Vanderpump Rules’ in June 2020 for racist actions against Faith–- most notably in 2018, when they called the police on Faith and tried to have her arrested for crimes she didn’t commit.
Jax Taylor–- who infamously cheated on then-girlfriend Brittany Cartwright with Faith on ‘Vanderpump Rules’–- went on to leave the show in December 2020, along with Brittany. While the couple maintains that they left on their own, they were allegedly booted from the series, presumably due to Jax’s own racist, homophobic and generally problematic comments.
Stassi has not returned to Bravo since her 2020 firing; however, Kristen and Jax each appeared on an episode of ‘Vanderpump Rules’– in Season 10 and Season 11, respectively– and both are currently starring on the ‘Vanderpump Rules’ spin-off, The Valley, along with Brittany.
‘The Valley’ was mentioned by name in Faith’s lawsuit, as she accused NBC and show producers of reverting to their old ways, “now that the racial reckoning of 2020 has receded.”
One of the most-interesting parts of Faith’s lawsuit details an alleged incident that occurred during Season 4, in which Faith claims she was threatened at knifepoint by Lala Kent.
The incident allegedly began when the two former SUR employees were in the dining room of the restaurant arguing over Faith disclosing something that Lala believed to have been said in confidence. At one point, Lala reportedly became “severely agitated, losing all self-control and hurling barbs” at Faith. The lawsuit claims that the two eventually retreated to a backroom at SUR, where Lala continued screaming.
“With the cameras rolling, [Lala] grabbed a knife from a nearby counter and began brandishing it at [Faith], holding it to her neck and threatening to ‘cut a b*tch,’” the lawsuit reads.
Faith claimed that as she looked into Lala’s eyes while she was allegedly wielding the knife, she could see that her cast mate “was deadly serious,” at which point she realized she was “in actual danger,” as she feared Lala would “stab, slice or disfigure her.”
Faith said she believed she’d be “stereotyped due to her race” or blamed if she attempted to disarm Lala during the incident, which had left her “deeply shaken.” Though she went on to report the alleged incident to NBC and ‘VPR’ production company Evolution, she claims both parties “began the cover-up almost immediately” once she expressed that she intended to involve law enforcement.
In her lawsuit, Faith alleges that ‘VPR’ executive producer Bill Langworthy contacted her to discourage her from involving police in the matter or “escalating the situation by speaking to the media.” In addition to downplaying the “significance” of the alleged event with Lala, Faith claims it was strongly implied that if she did speak out, it would result in “severe career ramifications.”
Faith said she was notified by Lisa Vanderpump the following day that she would be terminated from ‘VPR’ if she couldn’t find a way to “get along” with Lala.
Lala has yet to respond to Faith’s allegations.
Interestingly, Faith is being legally represented by attorneys Bryan Freedman and Marc Geragos, who have a long history of working with Bravo stars who are speaking out against the network. They have previously represented Bethenny Frankel, as well as Brandi Glanville and Rachel Leviss, all of whom have publicly stated that they were treated poorly by Bravo.
“NBC and Evolution clearly believe that workplace safety rules, employment laws, and basic decency do not apply to those in reality TV,” the attorneys said in a statement to Variety on Friday. “Vicious assaults, racist harassment, and impugning the service of veterans are apparently acceptable to NBC and Evolution for the sake of ratings. Faith did not know what kind of cesspool she had found herself in and reported this unlawful behavior to her superiors. In response, she was demoted to ‘volunteer’ and stripped of her already meager compensation.”
After her time on ‘VPR’ ended, Faith went on to appear on MTV’s Ex on the Beach in 2018, as well as The Challenge: Final Reckoning. She also had a role in the 2022 film “Wire Room,” coincidentally produced by Lala’s ex and baby daddy, Randall Emmett.
As fans know, Randall and Lala split in October 2021 following allegations that Randall had been unfaithful. In 2022, Randall– who shares daughter Ocean with Lala– was hit with a bevy of accusations in an exposé published by the Los Angeles Times, including that he has a history of offering women acting jobs in exchange for sex.
Despite the criticism surrounding Randall, Faith told Variety this week that she has accepted a role in the upcoming film Cash Out 2: High Rollers, which is being directed by Randall. She also spoke highly of her on-set interactions with the controversial producer/director.
“I think he’s awesome,” she said. “His direction is very direct–- if he tells you he wants you to do anther take, you better go up there and do it right. I think a lot of actors don’t get to hear that from directors very much, so that was nice to get encouraging feedback.
“I think Randall was a good guy with me; I’ve never seen him do anything crazy or weird,” she continued. “He’s always talking about his kids. He loves his kids.”
This weekend, Faith is launching a podcast called The Frequency, co-hosted by her “creative partner,” entrepreneur Marcus Millions.
On the podcast, the duo will give their respective insights on living in L.A., while also welcoming special guests for certain episodes to speak on different topics. Faith said the podcast will also provide her with a platform where she can open up about her time on ‘Vanderpump Rules’ and the treatment she was subjected to.
“I’m going to be saying everything I didn’t say to be politically correct,” Faith said. “I wanted to be a voice for my Black community. I wanted to make sure that people who were going through what I was going through had a blueprint so they didn’t make the same mistakes I made or feel powerful enough to speak out immediately instead of having to be scared like I was.”
The Frequency launches Sunday YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Patreon and other major platforms.
(Photos: Bravo; Instagram)
Lala has admitted multiple times she’s all bark and no bite and has never even hit a person because she’s scared of jail. To accuse her of attacking/holding Faith at knife point is wildly unhinged.
OMG just stop. You are playing a game with adults that you can’t actually win. It would appear her or her publicist rented a bot army for a week or two until this podcast launches and she can frame her life narrative on that platform. There is an unprecedented amount of interest on these articles and social media shares. Lol rent bots with a statistically relevant envelope next time and not the Groupon shit on darkweb…
Faith, just stop you look and sound ridiculous. Everyone has secondhand embarrassment for you . Jealousy isn’t becoming. Kristen, just tell her you’re a giant liberal so you can’t be racist. Isn’t that what her and that entire idiot cast said on the valley ?
LOL this bitch needs a Gatorade.
This girl is so thirsty. Please go away already and get a real job instead of suing everyone. The cast originally made $1000 per episode when they started.
How does one get fired for being racist towards another cast member but then gets rehired a few years later??
The things Faith had to endure on this show speaks volumes about the other people working on it. They’re all absolutely horrible.
For someone who wants to be on the show so bad, I don’t think this is the way you go about it 😑
I hope she takes them for all they are worth, even though they are not worth anything in my opinion. That whole show both of them should be off the air. All trash people.
She’s so ridiculous.
She’s now suing bc she’s not on the valley…
So was Kristen and Peter who were both asked to film for free, also being “picked on”?
No of course not.
Faith was worked out bc she slept with her friends bfs and that doesn’t exactly allow you to be friends and filming reality if it’s not reality for them to hang out with you.
So someone threatened to kill you, but you didn’t call the police? Um, OK!
Absolutely ridiculous! Go away.
Wtf!! I’m not too familiar with Faith, but these are serious accusations. Yikes! I could see Lala doing that though, she seems quite unhinged.
Girl give it up you’re never gonna be on the show🙄