Tom Sandoval slammed by 'Vanderpump Rules' co-stars for posing with captive tiger
Tom Sandoval has once again drawn criticism from his "Vanderpump Rules" co-stars and fans, this time for a video taken at a tiger zoo in Thailand.
In an Instagram Story Tuesday, which was reposted on a fan account for the Bravo show, Sandoval, 40, is seen interacting with tigers at the Thai zoo.
In one video, Sandoval sits cross-legged on the grass as a tiger is commanded to place its front paws on his shoulders, and in another, he feeds a tiger through a fence.
USA TODAY has reached out to Sandoval's reps for comment.
"I would never go to a place like this. Let them all run free," wrote his "VPR" co-star James Kennedy, 31, in the fan account's comments Wednesday, "always found this cruel and so sad."
A second "VPR" co-star also slammed the video. Lala Kent, in a text post on her Instagram Story Wednesday, voiced her concern for the tigers in captivity.
"I am appalled by the photo my cast member took with a tiger in captivity. This topic has been close to my heart for many years," wrote the PETA advocate, 33. "What is disguised as 'fun' and 'cool' is, in fact, animal abuse. It's heartbreaking. I've made noise about educating yourselves, & here I am to tell you again… Do not support places like this."
Kent previously starred in a "Free the Orcas" ad for PETA, alongside Sandoval's ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix and fellow cast member Scheana Shay. In June, PETA praised Kent for going after SeaWorld and pushing the theme park to release a long-captive orca named Corky to a seaside sanctuary.
Sandoval was already in hot water before his visit to Thailand.
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In November, Sandoval entered to overwhelming boos from "VPR" fans at BravoCon 2023 for his role in what was infamously dubbed "Scandoval," skyrocketing the cast into the larger pop culture zeitgeist.
In March, a scandal involving Sandoval cheating on Madix, his girlfriend of nine years, with her former close friend, Rachel "Raquel" Leviss, rocked the Bravo cast. Leviss did not appear at BravoCon.
"It's to be expected," Madix told People of the reaction Sandoval received.
Sandoval took the crowd's anger toward him in stride, telling moderator Karamo Brown, "It feels good to be here in Vegas. It's BravoCon. It's crazy. The fans are amazing."
When asked why he still chose to attend, the TomTom restaurant co-owner said, "I'd rather stand here and face it."
Contributing: Naledi Ushe
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tom Sandoval slammed for tiger videos by 'Vanderpump Rules' cast, fans
