News
Tom Sandoval Hits Back at Claims He ‘Groomed’ Rachel Leviss
![Tom Sandoval Hits Back at Claims He ‘Groomed’ Rachel Leviss Tom Sandoval Hits Back at Claims He ‘Groomed’ Rachel Leviss](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/15/16by9/2024/05/15/15da006e331742a2b72922ee718e1d6e_xl.jpg)
![Tom Sandoval Hits Back at Claims He ‘Groomed’ Rachel Leviss Tom Sandoval Hits Back at Claims He ‘Groomed’ Rachel Leviss](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/15/16by9/2024/05/15/15da006e331742a2b72922ee718e1d6e_xl.jpg)
Bravo
Tom Sandoval is sounding off on claims he “groomed” ex Rachel Leviss … pointing the finger at Lala Kent for hitting him with the damning label in the first place.
The reality star addressed the allegations during Tuesday’s part 1 reunion episode for “Vanderpump Rules” … where Sandoval and his castmates broke down the season’s biggest drama.
Of course, it didn’t take long for the grooming allegations to surface … which Sandoval slammed as “beyond f***ing slander” since Rachel wasn’t underage when they had their affair. You can see he’s pissed here, as he says that word “implies pedophilia.”
Sandoval mainly took issue with Lala … claiming Rachel only started using the word groomed when the LK dropped the term on ‘VPR.’
![](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/9e/16by9/2024/03/06/9e4127ee4ccd46578724c5aa91699a51_md.jpg)
3/5/24
Bravo
Lala doubled down on her use of the term, saying … “It is taking someone who is younger than you and more impressionable than you and someone who is at a higher level of power than the other person.”
TS didn’t see his affair in the same way though … claiming Rachel pursued him as much as he pursued her. Rachel is currently suing Sandoval for allegedly recording sexually explicit videos without her consent … slamming his behavior as “predatory” in the suit.
She’s also suing Ariana Madix for allegedly distributing the footage … blasting it as revenge porn.
Now, Lala did admit during the sit-down that she may have been projecting after her own experience with ex-fiancé Randall Emmett.
Lala added … “Only Raquel and Tom know what was going on. He is going to see it differently. I tend to lean toward the chick a little more.”
That’s not an outright walk back … but hey, it’s something.
![](https://entertainment-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/eww.png)