Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines April 23
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Megan Thee Stallion was sued by a former employee, Emilio Garcia, who accused the rapper of creating an unbearable hostile work environment and subjecting him to sexual harassment, in documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Megan's attorney, Alex Spiro, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital, "This is an employment claim for money – with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her. We will deal with this in court."
Garcia's lawyer, Ron Zambrano, fired back in a statement provided to Fox News Digital, saying, "Unfortunately, it is not a surprise that the defendant, through her attorney, is denying the allegations. It is an utter lie that we have not alleged a hostile work environment based on the sex claim. It is literally the first claim listed in the lawsuit. None of this is intended to embarrass her but merely an attempt to hold her accountable for her illegal actions just as anyone else should be, celebrity or not."
Garcia, who previously served as Stallion's personal camera operator for five years, claimed he witnessed Stallion having sex with another woman while she was "right beside" him in an SUV while on tour in Ibiza, Spain, in June 2022.
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Megan Thee Stallion was sued by a former employee for sexual harassment and unpaid wages. (Getty Images)
The following day, Stallion allegedly asked Garcia if he was in the SUV the previous night. Once he confirmed, Stallion instructed Garcia, "Don't ever discuss what you saw," according to court documents.
Zambrano added, "The reaction that my client should not have been offended or somehow thankful for being in a car while she had sex with another woman is an absolute double standard. If our client was a woman and was forced to watch a man have sex in the vehicle with her, there would be no outrage if she was offended. Employees who work for celebrities should be afforded the same sort of workplace free of harassment that any other worker in any other industry is legally obligated to have.
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"We have to stop expecting that those who work for stars should just deal with this egregious and illegal behavior and suck it up and be thankful for their access. That is a recipe for the abuse in treatment and underpayment, not only in this lawsuit, but in many other stories that are yet to be told."
During the same trip, Garcia claimed that Stallion, whose full name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, also "berated and directed her fat-shaming comments towards" him.
Emilio Garcia claimed Megan Thee Stallion purposefully misclassified him as an independent contractor to skirt labor laws. (Emilio Garcia)
The "Hot Girl Summer" singer allegedly called him a "fat b----" and told him to "spit your food out," and that "you don't need to be eating," docs stated. Garcia had been working with Stallion since 2018. He claimed he was "purposefully misclassified" as an independent contractor, and hours of employment were not properly recorded.
"As a result of misclassification, Plaintiff was not permitted to take rest and meal breaks," docs stated. "Many times, Plaintiff worked over five consecutive hours without a thirty-minute meal break." In addition, Garcia was "not paid meal or rest break premiums," which were in violation of California Labor Codes.
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Garcia said his responsibilities as a personal cameramen forced him to "take on a myriad of duties and work much longer hours." He specifically worked "in excess of 50 hours under the close scrutiny and explicit discretion of Stallion, who continuously contacted Plaintiff at all hours, directing him to brainstorm TikTok videos, to edit content that Plaintiff had not captured, and complete various assignments," according to the suit.
Megan Thee Stallion allegedly didn't pay her cameraman for overtime hours. (Emma McIntyre)
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His pay structure changed from a flat, $4,000 monthly rate to a "pay-per-task" system invoiced per assignment, and Garcia "saw a decrease in the number of bookings he received," the docs stated. After he confided to a makeup artist about quitting, Garcia was terminated in July 2023.
"Plaintiff grapples with mounting anxiety, depression, and physical distress stemming from the toxic work environment, compounded by the trauma of unpaid work," according to the complaint.
"Megan just needs to pay our client what he’s due, own up to her behavior and quit this sort of sexual harassment and fat-shaming conduct," Zambrano, partner and Employment Litigation Chair at West Coast Employment Lawyers, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
"Emilio should never have been put in a position of having to be in the vehicle with her while she had sex with another woman. 'Inappropriate’ is putting it lightly. Exposing this behavior to employees is definitely illegal."
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