The 38-year-old "reality TV aficionado" shares her thoughts on the 'Vanderpump Rules' drama in a new column.
Meghan McCain -- a self-proclaimed "reality TV aficionado" -- is offering her hot take on Vanderpump Rules' Scandoval fallout.
In her column for The Daily Mail, McCain speaks out on the vitriol hurled at Raquel Leviss by her castmates during a reunion episode of the show. The taping, which took place in March and aired earlier this month, marked the first time Leviss had come face to face with the group since news broke of her affair with Tom Sandoval. The secret romance occurred while Sandoval was still involved in a nearly decade-long relationship with co-star Ariana Madix.
"This was TV gold. It was the kind of real-life car crash that any connoisseur of unscripted slop relishes. But somewhere along the way -- something went terribly wrong. Tom and Raquel were smothered in hate -- real hate," McCain writes.
"As 'Scandoval' played out in the media for months," she continues, "I found myself feeling more compassion for Raquel than Ariana."
During the third and final part of the season 10 reunion, Leviss' co-stars held nothing back, with Madix unleashing an expletive-laced tirade against her. Lala Kent later admitted to feeling "dirty" over the situation, which McCain describes as "nothing short of a bloodbath."
"Reality television is meant to be escapism, not sadism. Yet that's what this became," McCain writes in her op-ed. "Raquel was shaking and crying. And it all may have taken a terrifying toll."
As ET previously revealed, Leviss entered a voluntary inpatient behavioral health and trauma facility upon the completion of filming the Vanderpump Rules reunion.
Then, last week, a source close to Leviss told ET, "She is a young woman that is and has been remorseful for her actions and has apologized repeatedly. Her treatment is helping her learn the basis of her decisions and to grow from her mistakes with the hope of making better choices and becoming a better person."
Adding, "Raquel looks forward to sharing her story with the unfiltered truth when she comes out."
While Madix is moving on with a new love, endorsement deals and a Glamour magazine cover, McCain implores Bravo not to "forget" about Leviss.
"Bravo shouldn't forget about Raquel – they should be thanking her," she opines. "'Scandoval' brought the show and the network a degree of cultural significance that they have never achieved before. And from here now on out, they should proceed with a level of sensitivity that this debacle deserves. I, for one, want to watch how her story plays out."
McCain's comments come as former Vanderpump Rules star Stassi Schroeder, who was fired from the show in 2020, spoke out against the online hate spewed at her past co-stars.
"It's like emotionally beheading people," Schroeder said in an interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast, while making clear that she never liked Sandoval and calling his most recent behavior "disgusting."
"Who's to decide what the punishment should be? Like, who makes someone the authority on that?" she continued. "What makes this person on their computer the authority on what they think is enough hate for him to receive? I don't get down with that. I really, I don't like it."
RELATED CONTENT:
