Tom Sandoval has now apologized for comparing his Vaderpump Rules cheating scandal to. O.J. Simpson’s case and George Floyd’s murder. “My intentions behind the comments I made in New York Times Magazine were to explain the level of national media attention my affair received,†he said in a statement. “The comparison was inappropriate and ignorant. I’m incredibly sorry and embarrassed.†In the lengthy new profile, Sandoval was asked why he thought Scandoval became such a big deal. “I’m not a pop-culture historian really,†he said, “but I witnessed the O.J. Simpson thing and George Floyd and all these big things, which is really weird to compare this to that, I think, but do you think in a weird way it’s a little bit the same?†Elsewhere in the piece, he mused that it’s “kind of cool and crazy†how big the show has gotten because of the scandal, even though it’s “negative and at my expense.â€
For cheating on Ariana Madix with Raquel Leviss, Sandoval told the Times that he felt like he got more hate than convicted rapist Danny Masterson. He recalled his friends distancing themselves, and his own brother asking him to delete their Instagram photos together. While constantly getting calls after his phone number leaked, Sandoval said he started to feel like he was the main character of Uncut Gems. He explained that the affair was because he was in an “unhappy place†in his life, got caught up in his emotions, and “fully fell in love. Like, for real.†He assumed he was going to be in a relationship with Leviss, but claims that she hasn’t returned his calls since June and did not respond even when he reached out to her publicist. Still, now that he’s single, he sees an opportunity for a new Bravo story line. “I’m not saying I’m a favorite celebrity, but still just having some notoriety and being single,†he said, “it’s a cool muscle to flex.â€