Celebrity Buzz

Ken Todd sued by TomTom employees for wrongful termination, retaliation and defamation

Lisa Vanderpump and husband Ken Todd are facing a lawsuit from their former restaurant employees. According to the legal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, the bartenders claim they were wrongfully terminated from TomTom, a restaurant and bar that Vanderpump and Todd own with Vanderpump Rules stars Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz.

The complaint alleges that the two former employees worked at TomTom between May 2022 and December 2022. During their employment, the workers claim they experienced “rampant violations of California labor laws, harassment and unsafe working conditions.” The complaint specifically lists late paychecks and sewage in the employee break room as some examples.

Per the complaint, the employees allege they were not given shifts in December 2022 “constructively terminating them.” One of the bartenders also claims that Vanderpump and Todd “blacklisted” him by allegedly “defaming him to future employers.”

A representative for Vanderpump and Todd did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum has several upcoming projects for 2024, both in her restaurants and on television. Her new Hulu series Vanderpump Villa will explore the drama-filled escapades of the staff at Vanderpump’s French countryside estate, Chateau Rosabelle. A trailer for the reality show aired earlier this month and shows the Bravo star detailing her expectations of the newly hired hospitality crew.

“I know you know how to serve. But this is France, so let’s talk expectations,” she says in the trailer. Much like Vanderpump’s Bravo reality series, the new show promises “decadence and debauchery,” according to a press release, as the staff fulfill their professional duties — curating luxury experiences and catering to the whims of their clientele — while navigating their own interpersonal rivalries and yes, romances. The Hulu series is set to premiere this spring but does not yet have a premiere date.

This summer, the mother of two is opening a new restaurant, her third venue in Vegas, called Pinky’s by Vanderpump at Flamingo Las Vegas.

The news was also shared in a press release from Caesars Entertainment that revealed the restaurant’s name was coined after Vanderpump’s nickname “Pinky.” The release added that Vanderpump will bring her “signature dishes, cocktails and aesthetic,” to the concept, which is set to open in summer 2024. This is the third venue for the restauranteur in Vegas following the opening of Vanderpump à Paris at Paris Las Vegas in April 2022 and Vanderpump Cocktail Garden at Caesars Palace in March 2019.

In other news – Mia Goth sued for kicking background actor

“Pearl” star Mia Goth is reportedly being sued by a background actor who is accusing the actor of intentionally kicking him in the head while filming a scene from her upcoming “X” trilogy installment, “MaXXXine.” The performer, James Hunter, filed the lawsuit, in which he accuses Goth, 30, of battery, in Los Angeles Superior Court this week, according to Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Rolling Stone. The film’s distributor, A24, and director Ti West are also defendants; Hunter alleges he was wrongfully terminated from the project.

In the complaint, Hunter says he was hired to play a “dead parishioner” lying in a pool of fake blood, and during one of the takes last April, Goth nearly stepped on his head while running past him, according to Variety. After he reported this, in a following take Goth “intentionally kicked plaintiff in the head with her boot,” which caused him to “immediately experience headache and stiffness in his neck,” Rolling Stone reports. Read More

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