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Lawsuit

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Legendary hip-hop producer Madlib has filed a lawsuit against his former manager Eothen “Egon” Alapatt, alleging the executive abused his role to claim undue profits from Madlib’s music and merch companies, among other accusations.
In a complaint filed Thursday (Oct. 31) in Los Angeles court, attorneys for Madlib say Alapatt began managing Madlib’s business affairs around 2010 when the famed producer left his deal with Stones Throw Records — where Alapatt worked as an executive — in an effort to “own and control his music.” Around that time, the complaint alleges that Alapatt was fired from Stones Throw.

According to the lawsuit, Madlib trusted Alapatt to set up and manage two business entities (“Madicine Show” for his music interests and “Rapp Cats” for his merchandise) in Madlib’s name, with profits from the businesses to be shared between the two parties. However, Madlib allegedly discovered only recently that Alapatt was not only failing to properly run those businesses but was “also engaged in rank self-dealing, concealing information from and repeatedly breaching his duties to Madlib, and otherwise engaging in persistent and pervasive mismanagement.”

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The complaint further alleges Alapatt abused his position by taking “a fee off the top” of all income generated by Madlib’s label, Madicine Show, and that he “refused to account to Madlib” about his compensation and failed to provide any written agreements to the producer. Madlib’s lawyers additionally claim that Alapatt refused to allow an audit of his own business, Now-Again — which they say Alapatt inserted under false pretenses as a go-between for Madicine Show and its distributor, Ingrooves — to ascertain what proceeds it earned from Madicine Show.

Elsewhere, the complaint alleges that Alapatt “directed a single lawyer and single accountant to represent him” as well as Madlib, Madicine Show, Rapp Cats and Now-Again without Madlib’s “informed consent” and then “directed that lawyer and that accountant to refuse to cooperate with Madlib” and the new professional team Madlib had assembled after his relationship with Alapatt went south.

The complaint states that Madlib only discovered the extent of Alapatt’s alleged malfeasance in April 2023, when he finally managed, through “forensic accounting,” to learn more about the financials of Madicine Show and Rapp Cats during the period of 2018 to mid-2022. His lawyers claim this revealed “several accounting irregularities” and “a lack of any backup documentation” for several hundred thousand dollars in “‘consulting,’ ‘commissions,’ ‘fees’ or ‘reimbursements’” for Alapatt as well as a second named defendant, Jeffrey Carlson, a.k.a. Jeff Jank — an alleged associate of Alapatt’s who formerly worked as an art director at Stones Throw and is described in the complaint as “a member of Rapp Cats.”

The complaint further claims that Alapatt took “tens of thousands of dollars for personal expenses” from the two business entities, and that there was no documentation of employee payroll, inventory or artist royalty statements.

Alapatt also allegedly “captur[ed] half of Madlib’s producer royalties and advances for himself” while locking Madlib out of his Ingrooves, Apple Music, Bandcamp, YouTube and Facebook accounts; the complaint also claims he locked Madlib out of the Instagram account for his trademarked alter-ego Quasimoto, a cartoon character that the producer used throughout his career for merchandise and music.

“Madlib has since demanded that Madicine Show and Rapp Cats be wound up and dissolved and that any contractual relationship with those entities…be terminated,” the complaint reads. “[Alapatt] refuses to do so.” Instead, it claims, Alapatt told Madlib that he’s welcome to “‘buy him out’ of his interest in those entities or the underlying intellectual property.”

Thursday’s lawsuit is the second lawsuit to be filed against Alapatt over the past year. Last October, the manager was also sued by the estate of Madlib’s late collaborator MF DOOM for allegedly stealing the rapper’s notebooks full of lyrics. In response to that suit, attorneys for Alapatt called the case “baseless and libelous,” and characterized it as “the continuation of a year-long smear campaign.”

Madlib’s team is seeking a jury trial and a judicially supervised wind-up and dissolution for Madicine Show and Rapp Cats, “to include a full and complete accounting of the assets and liabilities of the entities [and] a determination of any unauthorized remuneration,” among other requests. Madlib is also seeking damages from Alapatt and Now-Again.

Alapatt and his attorney did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s requests for comment. Carlson also did not immediately return a request for comment.

A federal appeals court says Live Nation and Ticketmaster must face a class action claiming they charged “extraordinarily high” prices to thousands of ticket buyers, ruling that the concert giants cannot enforce “opaque and unfair” user agreements to scuttle the lawsuit.
Live Nation claimed fans had waived their right to sue in court when they bought their tickets, arguing they had signed agreements promising to litigate any legal disputes via private arbitration — a common requirement when purchasing event tickets and other services from many companies.

But in a ruling Monday (Oct. 28), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Live Nation’s agreements were “unconscionable and unenforceable” since they would make it “impossible” for fans to fairly pursue claims against the company.

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“Forced to accept terms that can be changed without notice, a plaintiff then must arbitrate under … opaque and unfair rules,” the appeals court wrote. “The rules and the terms are so overly harsh or one-sided as to unequivocally represent a systematic effort to impose arbitration as an inferior forum.”

The ruling described Live Nation’s agreements in scathing terms, calling them “so dense, convoluted and internally contradictory to be borderline unintelligible” and “poorly drafted and riddled with typos.” The terms were so confusing, the court said, that Live Nation’s own attorneys “struggled to explain the rules” during a court hearing.

A spokesperson for Live Nation did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday (Oct. 31).

The ruling came as Live Nation is facing a sweeping antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice, seeking to break up the company over allegations that it illegally maintained a monopoly in the live entertainment industry. That separate action, which could take years to resolve, remains pending.

The class action against Live Nation, filed in 2022, accuses the company of violating antitrust laws by monopolizing the market for concert tickets and engaging in “predatory” behavior. Filed on behalf of  “hundreds of thousands if not millions” of ticket buyers, the case claims Live Nation and Ticketmaster abused their dominance to charge “extraordinarily high” prices to consumers.

The lawsuit was something of a sequel to an earlier class action, in which the same legal team (from the law firm Quinn Emanuel) made highly-similar claims against Live Nation. That earlier case was dismissed after a federal judge ruled that such accusations must be handled via private litigation because of agreements that the plaintiffs had signed when they purchased their tickets.

In Monday’s ruling, the Ninth Circuit said that earlier victory had been both a gift and a curse for Live Nation. Though it had allowed the company to avoid a class-action lawsuit, the ruling raised the troubling prospect of facing thousands of individual arbitration cases all at once.

“Defendants foresaw that if their motion to compel [arbitration] in that case were granted, they would be faced with a large number of parallel individual claims by ticket purchasers,” the appeals court wrote. “In anticipation of such claims, defendants sought to gain in arbitration some of the advantages of class-wide litigation while suffering few of its disadvantages.”

According to the ruling, doing so involved amending its terms of use to require fans to submit to “novel and unusual” procedures for “mass arbitration” offered by a new arbitration company called New Era ADR.

It was this new arbitration agreement that the appeals court declared unenforceable in Monday’s ruling. The court roundly criticized the rules, saying they had placed unfair terms on any consumers who wanted to litigate a dispute with Live Nation. And, citing the company’s market share, the court said fans had almost no choice but to sign the agreement.

“Because Ticketmaster is the exclusive ticket seller for almost all live concerts in large venues, prospective ticket buyers in most instances are faced with a choice,” the court wrote. “They can either use Ticketmaster’s website and accept its terms, or refuse to use the website and be entirely foreclosed from purchasing tickets on the primary market.”

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Metro Boomin is currently facing a lawsuit from a woman who claims that the producer allegedly raped and impregnated her in 2016 after meeting him on a chance meeting in Las Vegas. According to the attorney for Metro Boomin, this is nothing more than a money grab for the accuser.
TMZ first reported about the lawsuit filed against Metro Boomin and the details are as follows. According to the filing, the woman says that she met Metro in Las Vegas while on a getaway vacation following the passing of her 9-month-old son.

According to the documents, a woman named Vanessa LeMaistre claims that she hung out with Metro at his recording studio in Los Angeles and said she allegedly saw the producer downing codeine. From what we understand of the report, LeMaistre says she was at the studio in September 2016 and took Xanax and a shot of alcohol but later said she lost consciousness.
LeMaistre added in her claim that when she awoke, she was in a bed with Metro allegedly raping her along with performing other sexual acts. LeMaistre says she passed out once more and was inside a Beverly Hills hotel room but didn’t remember how she managed to get inside the establishment. LeMaistre says she discovered that she was pregnant after the assault and said that Metro was the father but terminated the pregnancy in November 2016.
In an update to TMZ’s initial report, Metro Boomin’s attorney offered a statement on the lawsuit.
From TMZ:
According to Metro Boomin’s (real name Leland Wayne) lawyer Lawrence Hinkle II of Sanders Roberts LLP tells TMZ … “This is a pure shakedown. These are false accusations. Mr. Wayne refused to pay her months ago, and he refuses to pay her now. Mr. Wayne will defend himself in court. He will file a claim for malicious prosecution once he prevails.”
Metro Boomin has yet to respond publicly beyond this statement.

Photo: Getty

Superstar producer Metro Boomin is facing a civil lawsuit over allegations that he raped and impregnated a woman in 2016, then referenced the incident in one of his songs.

In a complaint filed Tuesday (Oct. 29) in Los Angeles court, attorneys for Vanessa LeMaistre say she blacked out after ingesting a Xanax and a shot of alcohol in his recording studio during the September 2016 session, then awoke to find herself being sexually assaulted by Metro (Leland Wayne).

“The next thing Ms. LeMaistre can recall is waking up on a bed in a different location with Wayne raping her and being completely unable to move or make a sound,” her lawyers write. “At no point during this encounter was Ms. LeMaistre able to consent to any sexual activity, and Wayne’s conduct without question constituted rape and sexual assault.”

In a response statement, Metro Boomin’s attorney Lawrence Hinkle II called the lawsuit “a pure shakedown” against his client: “These are false accusations. Mr. Wayne refused to pay her months ago, and he refuses to pay her now. Mr. Wayne will defend himself in court. He will file a claim for malicious prosecution once he prevails.”

The lawsuit claims Metro exploited the death of LeMaistre’s infant son to gain her trust, and that she believed they had “bonded over the ability of music to help people in their darkest moments.” But it says that belief was “shattered” after he invited her to the studio for the September 2016 session.

“Meeting Wayne resulted in Ms. LeMaistre suffering from the second worst thing that ever happened to her — being raped by someone who pretended to be her friend for months,” her lawyers write. “Ms. LeMaistre is still working to put herself back together after experiencing such an extraordinary amount of trauma at the hands of Wayne — someone she truly believed to be her friend but turned out to be her worst nightmare.”

Weeks after the alleged assault, LeMaistre says she learned she was pregnant. She says she did not have sex with anyone else other than Metro and that the pregnancy was the result of the alleged rape. Due to the “recent loss of her son and the traumatic cause of her pregnancy,” her lawyers say she could not continue the pregnancy and had an abortion in November 2016.

Notably, the lawsuit claims the alleged attack is referenced in the 2017 song “Rap Saved Me,” released by 21 Savage, Offset and Metro on their collaborative studio album Without Warning. The lyrics in question are: “She took a Xanny, then she fainted/ I’m from the gutter, ain’t no changing/ From the gutter, rap saved me/ She drive me crazy, have my baby.”

“The lyrics were horrifying for Ms. LeMaistre to hear over and over again, as they recounted the situation that happened to her and caused further trauma,” her lawyers write.

LeMaistre is represented by lawyers from Wigdor, the same law firm that filed a high-profile civil lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs last year on behalf of his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura — a case that was then followed by a flood of other allegations and eventual federal criminal charges.

In a statement, the Wigdor attorneys referenced the alleged connection between the lyrics to “Rap Saved Me” and LeMaistre’s accusations.

“Metro Boomin has built a successful career with lyrics and social media that are not only offensive but also explicitly outline his intentions to harm women,” the firm wrote in a joint statement with LeMaistre’s co-counsel from the law firm Gerard Bengali. “These are more than mere words, and it’s time for him to be held accountable for his manipulative tactics and unacceptable behavior.”

Read the entire lawsuit against Metro here:

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Source: Jonathan Leibson / Getty
The once successful partnership between Kanye West and adidas has reportedly been fully dissolved. The two parties have settled their legal battle.

As spotted on Sneaker News the apparel giant has confirmed that they no longer have any business ties to the rapper. During an third-quarter earnings call a reporter asked for an update regarding the brand’s current ties to Kanye West to which CEO Bjorn Gulden responded “There (aren’t) any more open issues and there is no… money going either way.” The Norwegian businessman went on to add “there were tensions on many issues (but) … both parties said we don’t need to fight any more.”

Kanye West and adidas originally announced their partnership back in 2014 after the “Stronger” performer claimed Nike failed to limited him to only creating sneakers. In 2015 YEEZY Season 1 debuted along his first adidas signature shoe. The Yeezy Boost 350 was a huge success with this model selling over 9,000 pairs in over 10 minutes. His line would go on to produce several iconic sneaker releases including the YEEZY 700, 300, Foam Runner and Slides.

On Oct. 7, 2022 adidas announced they would be ending the line after Kanye West made several antisemitic remarks. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness” a press statement read. Following the split adidas moved to exhaust all remaining YEEZY inventory via their CONFIRMED app and at adidas outlet stores.

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Source: Christopher Polk / Getty
The lawsuits against Diddy continue to come in. A new claim says he assaulted two underaged boys back in the 2000’s.

Huffington Post is reporting that the disgraced business mogul is facing yet another vile accusation. On Monday, Oct. 28 a man filed a claim stating that Diddy took advantage of a 10-year-old boy in 2005. According to the paperwork the child, an inspiring performer at the time, travelled from California to New York City with his parents in hopes of securing a record contract. He says during an informal audition for the Bad Boy Entertainment founder the boy was allegedly given a soda laced with some type of drug. After consuming the beverage he says he lost consciousness and would later wake up to Combs threatening his parents if they reported the incident to authorities.

A separate man says that Diddy assaulted him when he 17-year-old youth tried out for Combs’ Making The Band reality show competition. The unidentified male says he was forced into sexual acts by the mogul and bodyguard during the three day audition. The man says he was later eliminated from the competition and believes he was blackballed from the music industry for seven years for his unwillingness “to do anything necessary to succeed in the music industry.” The plaintiffs are represented by Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee and his peer, Andrew Van Arsdale
Diddy’s representatives have responded to the lawsuits in an exclusive statement to Rolling Stone Magazine. “The lawyer behind this lawsuit is interested in media attention rather than the truth, as is obvious from his constant press appearances and 1-800 number,” Combs’ media team wrote in an email. “As we’ve said before, Mr. Combs cannot respond to every new publicity stunt, even in response to claims that are facially ridiculous or demonstrably false. Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail:  that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor.”
Diddy’s trial is set to commence in 2025.

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Source: Bad Boy Records / Bad Boy
Diddy is facing yet another horrid accusation. A personal trainer says he drugged him and was passed around to his celebrity friends for their enjoyment.

As spotted on Page Six, there is another individual claiming he was abused at the hands of the business mogul. According to court documents obtained by the celebrity gossip website, the alleged victim says back in 2022 he was working with a fashion designer. His client happened to show Diddy some of the workout video and in turn the man labeled “John Doe” was invited to an afterparty following an awards show. The invite-only event took place at Combs’ Los Angeles estate where the victim claims he was made to sign a nondisclosure agreement prior to even entering the house.

Once inside the trainer says he was offered a tequila cocktail. “Eventually, a business associate of Combs guided [the] plaintiff from a large room illuminated with red lights into a smaller room,” the lawsuit says. “Their Plaintiff observed approximately a dozen individuals, including several well-known figures, who were engaging in group-sex activities.” Shortly after, the victim says he started to feel disoriented and assumed he was drugged. Things got even more concerning as the document states, “Combs approached Plaintiff, removed his pants and began performing non-consensual oral sex onto him.” John Doe also alleges that after the act he was forced to do the same to other a-listers who were in attendance. “These individuals, including Combs, essentially passed plaintiff’s drugged body around like a party favor for their sexual enjoyment.”
Diddy’s lawyers have denied the allegations in an exclusive statement to Page Six saying, “the lawyer behind this lawsuit is interested in media attention rather than the truth, as is obvious from his constant press appearances and 1-800 number.” Furthermore they added, “in court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor.”

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Source: Fulton County Jail / Fulton County Jail Sheriff’s Office
Rudy Giuliani was ordered by a court to surrender his New York City apartment to two Georgia poll workers he defamed, and social media erupted with joy over it.
On Tuesday (October 22), Rudy Giuliani was ordered to surrender his Manhattan luxury penthouse to Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, the two Black Georgia poll workers he attacked and defamed while trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman directed that the two women also receive the apartment, valued at $5 million, along with the lawyer’s interest in $2 million, which he claims is that Trump’s presidential campaign owed him for his services in seven days. The court order also allows Freeman and Moss to sell the apartment and other items to “ensure that the liquidation of the transferred assets is accomplished quickly.”
The federal order is the latest development after Freeman and Moss won their defamation lawsuit against Giuliani, securing a judgment of $148 million. The former New York City mayor had attempted to stay the order by declaring bankruptcy. The other items listed in the order include a 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL 500 previously owned by famed movie actress Lauren Bacall; a shirt and picture signed, respectively, by Yankees legends Joe DiMaggio and Reggie Jackson; a signed picture of Yankee Stadium; jewelry including items bestowed upon him by European dignitaries after 9/11; 26 watches including a Rolex, five Shinolas, two Bulovas, and one from Tiffany & Co. According to the Associated Press, Giuliani had requested to keep one of the watches because it was a family heirloom but Judge Liman denied it, stating that he could’ve filed an exemption to prove if it was under $1,000 but failed to do so.
Judge Liman did exclude Giuliani’s three New York Yankees World Series rings and his Florida condominium, noting that they were tied up in other litigation. In a statement, Giuliani’s lawyers Kenneth Caruso and David Labkowski said, “Stay tuned. When the judgment is reversed in the Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., these Plaintiffs will be required to return all this property to Mr. Giuliani. We repeat, stay tuned.” The news was greeted with joy for Freeman and Moss’ win and also filled with jokes over the predicament of Giuliani. “That’s what you get when you love up on Trump. Elon next!,” wrote user Joseph Balogun in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

1. Jeffrey Wright

2. Lara Gabrielle

3. Boston Jerry

4. Charlotte Alter

5. Cyrus M McQueen

6. o2bnobx

7. Tim Williams

8. TrivWorks

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Source: Jason Mendez / Getty
Donald Trump has yet another legal issue at hand. Charlamagne Tha God has filed a cease-and-desist against the Republican nominee.

As spotted on Blavity, the media personality has taken issue with the convicted felon. A recent political advertisement features a clip from The Breakfast Club where he and DJ Envy discuss Kamala Harris’ advocacy for offering transgender prisoners sex change procedures. According to Vibe, he has since sent Trump’s office a cease-and-desist notification requesting his image and likeness be removed from the advertisement. “Cease-and-desist been sent,” Charlamagne announced adding, “Since when does Trump care about what’s legal!?”

While it appears the Moncks Corner, S.C., native isn’t in favor of her support, he would go on to clarify that Harris’ stance makes sense to him. “I’ll tell you what, that ad they was running during the football games this weekend claiming the vice president supports funding gender transition surgeries for all prison inmates and migrants in the U.S., that was nuts,” he explained at the time. “That ad was effective,” he added. “It literally said that Kamala supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners, and it talks about how, you know, she supports funding gender transition surgeries for all prison inmates and migrants in the United States. That ad was impactful.”
This is not the first time Donald Trump has been accused of using unauthorized material. Back in 2018, he was using Rihanna’s music during his rallies to which the singer sent him a cease-and-desist. In August 2024, he played “Hold On, I’m Coming” by Isaac Hayes at his rally. Soon after, the estate filed a lawsuit against him, and a federal judge has ordered that his campaign stop playing the song.
You can view the Donald Trump advertisement below.

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Source: Kevin Winter / Getty
The Exonerated Five have filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump for defamation related to his comments about them during the September presidential debate.
The Exonerated Five, formerly known as the Central Park Five, have filed a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump for defamation of character. The filing, made by Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown, and Korey Wise, points to his remarks made about them and their case in the Sept. 10 presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. 

Specifically, the filing addresses Trump’s false claim that the men “killed an individual and pled guilty to the crime. These statements are demonstrably false. “Plaintiffs never pled guilty to any crime and were subsequently cleared of all wrongdoing. Further, the victims of the Central Park assaults were not killed.” The 1989 case began when all five, who were teenagers at the time, were arrested and convicted of the rape of a woman jogger in Central Park. Trump took out a full-page ad in May of that year demanding the city send a message and “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY AND BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” The five would have their convictions vacated in 2002 after police DNA testing found another prisoner had committed the rape, with New York City paying them $41 million in damages.
The lawsuit also includes other statements Trump has made about the case, including a 2013 tweet blasting the Ken Burns documentary on the case as a “one-sided piece of garbage that didn’t explain the horrific [sic] crimes of these young men while in park [sic].” It also details an interaction between Yusuf Salaam, now a New York City Councilman, and Trump after the debate in the spin room, where Trump rebuffed an attempt to dialogue about his remarks. Salaam and other members of the Exonerated Five have been campaigning for Vice President Harris and were onstage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with Reverend Al Sharpton in August.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung blasted the lawsuit in a statement, writing: “This is just another frivolous, Election Interference lawsuit, filed by desperate left-wing activists, in an attempt to distract the American people from Kamala Harris’ dangerously liberal agenda and failing campaign.” Defamation lawsuits have been a thorn in Trump’s side – in January, a jury awarded columnist E. Jean Carroll $88.3 million for social media attacks against her, followed by a $5 million judgment in May after he was found liable for sexual abuse.