Lawsuit
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A former nanny who performed services for Diddy is accusing the business mogul of wrongfully terminating their business arrangement, prompting a lawsuit in the process. According to new reports, Diddy is hoping to get the lawsuit dismissed in court.
As reported exclusively by Radar Online, Raven Wales-Walden, the nanny in question, filed the lawsuit last year after Diddy hired her to help care for his children with the late Kim Porter. The outlet adds that Wales-Walden claims she’s a relative of Porter, although that has yet to be confirmed.
Wales-Walden says in her lawsuit that the superstar born Sean Combs hired her in 2018 after Porter passed away to assist him with the twins they shared as parents. Wales-Walden says she moved into the home of Diddy to administer the care but became pregnant in 2020 and she requested maternity leave. According to Wales-Walden, the connection with the Combs family became strained and she was reportedly fired.
Adding to this, Wales-Walden says a third party allegedly told her that she was fired because of her being pregnant without being married and setting a bad example for his girls.
The amount of damages Raven Wales-Walden seeks has not been made available to the public.
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A former aide to Rudy Giuliani has filed a lawsuit alleging that he forced her into sexual acts while working for him, among other disturbing claims involving former President Donald Trump.
On Monday (May 15), former employee Noelle Dunphy filed a $10 million civil lawsuit against the former attorney to Donald Trump for sexual assault, wage theft and other misconduct including “alcohol-drenched rants that included sexist, racist, and antisemitic remarks,” according to the filing.
Dunphy went to work for Giuliani as director of business development with the former New York City mayor “abusing Ms. Dunphy almost immediately after she started” working with him in 2019 when he was still in service as a lawyer to the former President. “He made clear that satisfying his sexual demands-which came virtually anytime, anywhere-was an absolute requirement of her employment and of his legal representation,” the lawsuit states. The suit describes how Giuliani allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him soon after she began working for him.
The filing discloses further lurid details, such as requiring Dunphy to record her interactions with Giuliani “anytime, anywhere, as well as Giuliani’s interactions with others,” in addition to his failure to pay her a salary of $1 million that he had to defer because he was in the midst of a turbulent divorce from his ex-wife. The 70-page suit also alleges that Giuliani often demanded that she work naked, in short shorts emblazoned with the American flag or in a bikini. Dunphy states she was fired in January 2021.
Another shocking detail from the lawsuit alleges that Giuliani claimed that he had “immunity,” going on to tell “her that he was selling pardons for $2 million, which he and President Trump would split.” He also allegedly told her to funnel pardon requests outside of the Office of the Pardon Attorney so they wouldn’t be subject to Freedom of Information Act requests. That conversation wasn’t recorded, but Dunphy’s attorney Justin Kelton noted that another Giuliani associate, Lev Parnas, could corroborate the details as he was present for it.
Giuliani denied the claims in the lawsuit, with his spokesman Ted Goodman releasing a statement: “Mayor Rudy Giuliani unequivocally denies the allegations raised by Ms. Dunphy. Mayor Giuliani’s lifetime of public service speaks for itself and he will pursue all available remedies and counterclaims.”
A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday (May 9) dismissed much of Marilyn Manson’s defamation lawsuit against his ex-fiance, Evan Rachel Wood, ruling that many of his claims were barred under a California law aimed at protecting free speech.
Manson (real name Brian Warner) sued Wood last year, claiming her 2021 accusations of sexual abuse against him had been false and that she had “secretly recruited, coordinated, and pressured” other women to make similar allegations against him to destroy his career.
But Judge Teresa A. Beaudet ruled Tuesday that Manson had not sufficiently shown that he would ultimately be able to prove many of those accusations against Wood, including that she had been “pressuring multiple women to make false accusations,” as well as the allegation that she had forged a letter from the FBI.
The ruling came under California’s so-called anti-SLAPP statute — a law that aims to make it easier for judges to quickly dismiss cases that threaten free speech. Wood’s lawyers claimed Manson’s case was exactly that: a prominent musician using a lawsuit to try to silence someone who was speaking out publicly about years of alleged abuse.
Anti-SLAPP laws work by putting more burden than usual on defamation plaintiffs like Manson, forcing them to clearly show at the outset that their case is legitimate. In Tuesday’s decision, Judge Beaudet said Manson had failed to do so.
“The court does not find that plaintiff has demonstrated a probability of prevailing on his [intentional infliction of emotional distress] claim based on the FBI Letter,” the judge wrote, referring to one of Manson’s specific legal claims.
Importantly, the decision did not dismiss Manson’s case entirely, and several claims remain pending against Wood. Those claims will continue into discovery and toward an eventual trial. But the ruling was still a major victory for Wood.
In a statement to Billboard following the decision, Wood’s attorney, Michael Kump, said: “We are very pleased with the court’s ruling, which affirms and protects Evan’s exercise of her fundamental First Amendment rights. As the court correctly found, plaintiff failed to show that his claims against her have even minimal merit.”
Wood is one of several women to accuse Manson of serious sexual wrongdoing over the past two years. Manson has denied all of the allegations, and many of the lawsuits filed against him have since been dropped, dismissed or settled.
Manson filed the current lawsuit against Wood in March 2022, accusing her and a woman named Illma Gore of launching an “organized attack” that had derailed his career. His lawyer said the women had carried out “a campaign of malicious and unjustified attacks.”
But Wood quickly fought back, moving to strike Manson’s case under the anti-SLAPP law: “For years, plaintiff Brian Warner raped and tortured defendant Evan Rachel Wood and threatened retaliation if she told anyone about it,” her attorneys wrote. “Warner has now made good on those threats by filing the present lawsuit.”
Tuesday’s ruling came despite a bombshell recantation by Ashley Morgan Smithline, another woman who has accused Manson of wrongdoing. In a February filing submitted by Manson’s lawyers, Smithline said she had “succumbed to pressure” from Wood to make “untrue” accusations against Manson.
But Wood strongly denied those allegations, and Judge Beaudet ultimately refused to consider Smithline’s statements entirely, saying they had been filed far past a key deadline for submitting evidence. That means the statements about Wood’s “pressure” played no role in Tuesday’s decision.
In a statement to Billboard, Manson’s lawyer, Howard King, said the ruling was “disappointing but not unexpected.”
“The court telegraphed this outcome when it refused to consider the bombshell sworn declaration of former plaintiff Ashley Smithline, which detailed how women were systematically pressured by Evan Rachel Wood and Illma Gore to make false claims about Brian Warner,” King said.
“The failure to admit this critical evidence, along with the court’s decision to not consider Ms. Gore’s iPad, the contents of which demonstrated how she and Ms. Wood crafted a forged FBI letter, will be the subject of an immediate appeal to the California Court of Appeal,” King added.
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Kanye West has another unpaid tab to pay. A court has ordered him and his YEEZY brand to pay a freelancer 300K in unpaid wages.
As spotted on Hype Beast New York based creative got a favorable ruling earlier this week regarding her ongoing claim that the rapper’s label has failed to properly pay her. Back in December 2022 Katelyn Mooney filed a lawsuit against Kanye West and YEEZY claiming that she was informally contract to curate a product shoot for SHDZ sunglasses line. She says she was promised $110,000 for the job but was only paid $15,000 of that. While she did not have a binding contract in place she was able to provide text messages with YEEZY employees to back her allegations.
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Needless to say she was never paid the balance of the monies she was offered to which she says she was forced to “max out her credit cards” and take out loans to meet her personal financial commitments including her monthly rent. On Monday a judge made a default ruling since no one from YEEZY ever responded to the court documents or showed up to court to counter her claims. Kanye West has yet to formally respond to the allegations of nonpayment.
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Soulja Boy has been ordered to pay his ex-girlfriend $235,900 stemming from an assault and kidnapping lawsuit she filed against the rapper in 2020.
In court documents obtained by Billboard, the rapper, born DeAndre Way, must pay Kayla Myers $1,800 for “mental health expenses,” while the remaining $234,100 is for “physical and mental pain and suffering.”
According to Myers’ original complaint, the alleged assault and kidnapping occurred at the rapper’s Malibu home after a party in February 2019 and reportedly lasted six hours. Myers claimed she tried to leave but that one of Soulja Boy’s assistants prevented her from her doing so. She also alleged that Soulja held a gun to her head, issued numerous threats against her and at one point struck her with the firearm.
“Way held the gun to Ms. Myers’ head and told her she was going to die that night and she would not make it home,” the complaint read. “Way next instructed his assistant to take her in the garage and tie her up with duct tape.”
Billboard reached out to attorneys for Soulja Boy and Myers for comment but did not hear back by press time.
This isn’t the only legal hot water Soulja Boy has found himself in over the past few years. In March 2019, the rapper was arrested for violating his probation stemming from a 2014 weapons conviction. The following month, he received a sentence of 240 days behind bars and 265 hours of community service.
In March, the “Crank That” star was one of several celebrities charged by the Securities and Exchange Comission for promoting cryptocurrencies “without disclosing that they were compensated for doing so and the amount of their compensation,” according to an SEC announcement.
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Charlamagne Tha God has made a request for a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from a sexual assault case, claiming that there is a lack of evidence.
According to reports, The Breakfast Club host and his legal team filed a motion requesting the dismissal of a lawsuit against him by alleged victim Jessica Reid. The lawsuit, filed last year, accused Charlamagne of “willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously engage in penile/vaginal intercourse with a fifteen-year-old female child” when he was 22 in Charleston, South Carolina. Reid stated that the host spread “false, insulting” claims about her when he came forward about the 2001 incident, including calling her a “groupie.”
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“[Alleged victim Jessica Reid] has persisted in broadly disseminating her unsubstantiated claims, ignoring that the South Carolina Solicitor in 2018 declined her request to re-open the case due to a lack of evidence while confirming that no basis existed to bring sexual assault charges against Charlamagne,” the motion reads. “Witnesses had attested to the fact that Charlamagne had already left the party when the alleged assault occurred.”
The 37-year-old pointed to him telling his side of the story in his book, Black Privilege, calling his depiction of the incident “wrong, hurtful and defaming.” She is seeking unspecified damages and a full retraction of his statements. In the lawsuit, Reid alleged that she met the shock jock through a mutual friend, and attended a birthday party thrown for him at the Short Stay Naval Recreation Center on June 8th, 2001. She would allege that she imbibed a drink given to her by Charlamagne, which left her dizzy to the point of collapse. It was at that moment two other men had taken her upstairs, where she was assaulted. She alleges that Charlamagne also assaulted her afterward. Reid previously claimed that her mother actively blocked her from cooperating with law enforcement officials who were investigating the incident.
Charlamagne Tha God would be indicted on the charges of “contributing to the delinquency of a minor” and criminal sexual conduct with a minor in 2001 but would go on to accept a plea deal the next year that was offered by prosecutors due to lack of evidence. He would eventually be sentenced to three years probation.
Running a school is no walk in the park — a lesson Kanye West is learning the hard way.
Former Donda Academy teachers Cecilia Hailey and her daughter, Chekarey Byers, are suing West (now known as Ye) and his Simi Valley private school for wrongful termination, discrimination and unlawful withholding of wages, among other allegations, according to a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday (April 5).
According to a press release put out by the plaintiffs’ law firm, West Coast Employment Lawyers, the Christian school allegedly “violated education, health and safety codes, terminated educators based on race and retaliation, and failed to fully pay teachers.” Donda Academy directors Brianne Campbell, Allison Tidwell and Chris Julian are also named as defendants.
The complaint, obtained by Billboard and filed by attorneys Ronald L. Zambrano and Melineh Jingozian, claims the pre-K through 12th-grade school boasted a number of unusual rules and restrictions, allegedly demanded by West. They include not allowing common items such as crossword puzzles, coloring sheets, eating utensils, colorful clothing, dinnerware, jewelry, chairs and Nike or Adidas branded clothing. Students were also allegedly not allowed on the second floor of the school because West was “reportedly afraid of stairs” and also not allowed outside, instead forced to spend their lunch/recess time indoors.
The complaint further alleges that the only meal available to students was sushi and that they were not allowed to bring food from home. Byers and Hailey additionally accuse the school of turning a blind eye to “severe bullying,” including physical violence.
In the complaint, Hailey and Byers are identified as the only female African-American teachers at the school — something they say led to stereotyping and coded language from Donda Academy administrators. “I’m just tired of the rhetoric being that Black women who are competent are seen as aggressive,” Hailey said in a statement.
The complaint goes on to state that when Hailey expressed interest in reaching out to West, she was told not to. Both teachers also claim that their paychecks were “untimely or inaccurate,” with some never arriving and others reportedly short by up to $2,700.
“No action was taken to remedy plaintiffs’ complaints regarding sanitation, health, safety or education standard pursuant to local and state law, which plaintiffs made throughout the entirety of their employment,” the complaint reads. Hailey and Byers were ultimately terminated from the school in March, allegedly without explanation.
Hailey and Byers are asking for damages including unpaid wages, loss of earnings, deferred compensation and other employment benefits; general damages, including for “emotional distress”; other special damages, including “reasonable medical expenses”; punitive damages; prejudgment interest on lost wages and benefits; and costs of bringing the suit.
“We’re standing up because it’s the right thing to do,” Hailey continued in her statement. “This is not about trying to defame a celebrity. This is about the right thing to do for these children.”
“While his vision for the school sounds great on paper, it’s just pure chaos and mutiny,” Byers added.
Representatives for West and Donda Academy did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s requests for comment.
Donda Academy — named after West’s late mother, Donda West — was founded last year. In October, there were reports of the school shutting down, but it is now accepting applications for the 2023-24 school year.
The rapper Afroman is facing a civil lawsuit from several Ohio police officers who say he caused them “emotional distress” by using their images on social media and merchandise after they raided his home last year.
In a complaint filed March 13, seven members of the sheriff’s department in Adams County accused the rapper (real name Joseph Forman) of violating their rights by posting the images, which were snapped by surveillance cameras while they executed a search warrant with guns drawn on his home last August.
The deputies (Shawn D. Cooley, Justin Cooley, Michael D. Estep, Shawn S. Grooms, Brian Newland, Lisa Phillips and Randolph L. Walters, Jr.) claim they have been “subjected to threats, including death threats” because of Afroman’s posts.
“As a result of defendants’ actions, plaintiffs have been subjected to ridicule, even in the further performance of their official duties, by members of the public,” a lawyer for the officers wrote. “It has made it more difficult and even more dangerous for plaintiffs to carry out their official duties.”
In a response statement posted to Instagram on Thursday (March 23), the rapper said the officers were “criminals caught in the act of vandalizing and stealing money” who had “lost their right of privacy.”
“My video footage is my property,” he said. “I used it to identify criminals, who broke into my house, stole my money and disconnected my home security system. I use my footage of my property to raise money to pay for the damages they done and to identify the criminals operating inside of the sheriff department.”
Later in the same statement, an attorney for the rapper said she was “planning to counter sue for the unlawful raid, money being stolen, and for the undeniable damage this had on my clients family, career and property.”
According to a report by the Cincinnati Enquirer, deputies raided Afroman’s Winchester, Ohio home on Aug. 21, seizing $5,031 in cash and other evidence while executing a search warrant linked to suspicions of drug trafficking. No charges were ever filed and the money was later returned. At the time, the rapper publicly claimed that $400 was missing from the amount returned, but a state investigation eventually found that the discrepancy was due to a miscount, not missing cash.
After the search, Afroman repeatedly posted video and images of the raid on social media, using them to express outrage at alleged damage done to his property and at what he viewed as excessive use of force. One video showed officers searching his home under the title “watch cops steal money.” He later used some of those images on t-shirts and other merchandise, including one that compared one of the officers to an obese character from the animated sitcom Family Guy.
In the complaint filed last week, the officers claimed those posts and merchandise amounted to an unauthorized commercial exploitation of their likeness, as well as an invasion of their privacy.
“Some of defendants’ postings … gave publicity to matters concerning the private lives of Plaintiffs which were not of legitimate concern to the public,” the officers wrote. “As a result of defendants’ unreasonable publicity of the private lives of plaintiffs, they have suffered embarrassment, ridicule, emotional distress, humiliation, and loss of reputation.”
Read the entire complaint here:
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Tasha K, one of the biggest celebrity bloggers in the game, apologized to Cardi B after a $4 million defamation lawsuit verdict was upheld this week. Taking to Twitter, the media figure promised that the snafu leading to the lawsuit will never happen again but seemingly deleted the tweet although it was shared via Instagram.
Tasha K, birth name LaTasha Kebe, filed an appeal to the $4 million defamation lawsuit filed by Cardi B after Kebe made a post in 2018 accusing the rapper and social media star of having sexually transmitted diseases. The court sided with Cardi B, ordering Kebe to pay just under $4 million in damages. Tasha K was, at first, defiant after the ruling and kept the posts up until she was presented with further legal action that would have led to her imprisonment.
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An appeal against the defamation lawsuit was appealed by Kebe last September and she was ordered the next month to pay the outstanding damages until a hearing in court transpired.
“Damn Winos!” We lost the appeal against Cardi B sad day. But I’m gonna be alright. I appreciate all your love & support. Throughout this fight. Today we throw in the white flag. What happened will never happen again. To Cardi & her team, I apologize sincere. We live and learn,” Kebe’s tweet read.
She followed that tweet with, “Please Do NOT Donate to Any GoFundMe’s in my name at all! If you get scammed, it ain’t on me! Just FYI.”
Leaning into the results of the verdict, Tasha K shared a photo of herself in a McDonad’s uniform with the caption reading, “#TashaKGetsAJOB I will let y’all what Part-Time gig I get so I can pay off this damn debt. #iaintgotit but I’m gonna get it” and tagging fast food brands Wendy’s and Burger King along with the aforementioned McDonald’s.
Cardi B has yet to make a public comment about the defamation lawsuit verdict being upheld.
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It seems French Montana has to lawyer up. He has been sued for his role in a recent shooting during a music video.
As spotted on TMZ the South Bronx native has been served with paperwork. According to the celebrity gossip website he has been charged with his role of allegedly putting folks in harms way during shooting the music video for “Igloo” with associate Rob49 back in January. Plaintiff Carl Leon claims that he was asked to be an extra in the project. Originally the crew was supposed to capture footage across the street from The Licking in Miami Gardens but French had asked that the set be moved to the seafood eatery after some of the crew members were robbed at the original location.
Leon’s legal team that says an “unknown individual caused severe injury to multiple people, including the Plaintiff.” Leon also goes to say that the Miami Police Department investigated the matter and found French at fault for not working with local authorities to get the needed permits so the shoot could be monitored for safety.
French Montana’s representative Ted Anastasiou has shared a statement with TMZ and denied Leon’s claims. “Carl Leon was never invited to the restaurant at the night of the incident. His interest in litigation is solely to exploit and benefit financially from it, and his re-imagining of his invitation and current statements are simply an egregious profit play and publicity stunt.”
Leon is seeking 50,000 dollars in damages in claims that French Montana and company were negligent.
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