Nicki Minaj sued for assault by former tour employee

Nicki Minaj has been sued for assault, battery and “intentional infliction of emotional distress” by a man who was working for her at the time.

In the complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday (3 January), Brandon Garrett alleges he was working as a day-to-day manager for the Grammy-nominated rapper on her Pink Friday 2 tour, when she struck him multiple times.

The incident is said to have taken place backstage at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on 21 April after one of Minaj’s concerts.

In a statement to Variety, Minaj’s lawyer Judd Burstein denied the allegations and denounced an original report of the complaint by TMZ.

At this time, no complaint has been served upon Mrs Petty [Minaj’s husband is Kenneth Petty], and therefore we are unaware of the specific allegations,” Bernstein said.

“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 favour.”

In the lawsuit, Garrett claims he was called to Minaj’s (real name Onika Maraj) dressing room where she confronted him about having another tour employee, hospitality manager Luke Montgomery, collect her prescriptions in his place because he was occupied with other responsibilities.

Billboard cites the complaint as saying: “Ms [Deb] Antney [former manager] asked why Mr Montgomery was picking up prescriptions on behalf of Defendant Maraj.

Plaintiff responded that he had Mr Montgomery pick up a prescription in the past because Defendant Maraj wanted it immediately, but Plaintiff was occupied at the venue with Defendant Maraj in the quick change room during a performance because one of Plaintiff’s job duties was assisting Defendant Maraj with dressing during performances.”

The rapper’s lawyer called the complaint ‘completely false and frivolous