Nicki Minaj has been sued for assault, battery and “intentional infliction of emotional distress” by her former tour manager.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ and Variety, a man named Brandon Garrett filed a lawsuit against the 42-year-old Grammy nominee in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, Jan. 3. Garrett alleges that while working as a day-to-day manager during Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 tour, he had a confrontation with the rapper that ended with her berating him and hitting him.
The alleged incident took place backstage at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on April 21, 2024, after Minaj’s concert had ended, the outlets report.
Attorneys for Garrett claim in the complaint that the tour manager was on his way to the arena when Minaj’s head of security, Larry Dathan, texted him, asking him to speak with Minaj (real name Onika Maraj) in her dressing room.
Garrett alleges that eight people from Minaj’s staff were present in the dressing room, including another employee named Luke Montgomery. He claims Minaj began to complain about some of the staff members “not knowing what they are supposed to do, and who reports to who,” when she turned her attention to Montgomery, asking what his position was, according to the court documents, per the outlets.
Christopher Victorio/Shutterstock
“Mr. Montgomery explained that his duties entailed tasks like venue dressing room set-up, private jet set-up, hotel room set-up, quick change room refreshments and tour bus set-up,” the suit states, per Variety. “Mr. Montgomery mentioned these duties were in addition to any requests from [Minaj] communicated by [Garrett], including food orders, drinks, personal items, baby items, and, most notably, prescriptions.”
Garrett claims that he told Minaj that he asked Montgomery to pick up the prescriptions because he was busy with tour responsibilities, including assisting Minaj with costume changes during her concerts.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
In the complaint, Garrett alleges that Minaj then became “visibly upset” and “angrily screamed” at him, telling him: “Are you f—— crazy having him pick up my prescription? You have lost your f—— mind and if my husband [Kenneth Petty] were here, he would knock out your f—— teeth. You’re a dead man walking. You just f—– up your whole life, and you will never be anyone, I’ll make sure of it.”
Minaj also allegedly yelled at Montgomery, and asked him to look through his phone to find the exact medications that he had picked up for her, the outlets reported, citing the documents. Garrett claims that Minaj then turned her attention back to Garrett and “got very close to his face.”
“At this point, [Minaj] open-handedly struck [Garrett] on the right side of his face, causing his head to swing backwards as his hat flew off his head,” the complaint states, per Variety. Attorneys for Garrett also state that he was hit in his right wrist, leaving it “throbbing.”
Kevin Mazur/Getty
Attorneys for Garrett write in the complaint that the former manager locked himself in a bathroom for several hours after the incident, and he received a text message telling him he was not being asked to come with Minaj on the next tour stop.
The former manager eventually filed an official police report in Detroit, and his attorneys are now asking for punitive and exemplary damages as well as general damages.
Minaj’s lawyer Judd Burstein told TMZ in a statement that she had not yet received the complaint, but denied the allegations reported by the outlet.
“At this time, no complaint has been served upon [Minaj], and therefore, we are unaware of the specific allegations,” the statement reads. “However, if the lawsuit is as reported by TMZ, it is completely false and frivolous. We are confident that the matter brought by this ex-assistant will be resolved swiftly in Mrs. Petty’s favor.”
Read the full article here
