Megan Thee Stallion’s legal team calls recent harassment claims made by the rapper’s former recording artist, Emilio Garcia, “fictitious” in a new court filing.
In late April, the personal photographer filed a lawsuit against Megan (real name Megan Pete), 29, alleging she created an “intolerable hostile work environment” while he was employed by her between 2018 and 2023, during which she allegedly “subjected him to sexual harassment,” according to a press release and documents obtained by PEOPLE, alleging that the rapper “fatally embarrassed” him and “failed to pay him properly in violation of numerous labor laws.”
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According to a May 29 response filed by Megan’s attorneys, Mari Henderson and Alex Spiro, they claim that Garcia’s lawsuit “consists almost entirely of untruths, misrepresentations of fact, and outlandish claims that have no basis in fact or law and no merit. ”
The lawyer’s filing said the recording artist is a “fraudster” who is “manipulating the justice system to act as his publicist and megaphone” in an attempt to “boost” his singing career “while trying to destroy the successful career of Megan Ti Stallion.”
Megan Thee Stallion arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in March 2023 in Beverly Hills.
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
“During his tenure as a freelance photographer and videographer for Ms. Pete and her production company, the defendants [Hot Girl Touring, LLC] and [Megan Thee Stallion Entertainment, Inc.], plaintiff repeatedly falsified his invoices and overcharged Ms. Pete for services he never performed and sought reimbursement for money he did not spend,” the filing alleges. “Plaintiff’s pattern of misrepresentation was so widespread that Ms. Pete was forced to terminate Plaintiff in June 2023.”
The court filing goes on to say that Garcia was so “angry about losing this high-profile gig and his exile from the stars’ inner circles” that he “filed a factually and legally frivolous lawsuit.”
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“Plaintiff initiated a wage and labor dispute at the factory and supported his frivolous claims with sensationalized false allegations of sex, lewdness and workplace harassment for the sole purpose of creating a media frenzy to tarnish Ms. Pete’s career and reputation,” it continued. “As evidence of his true intent to gain media attention and to use this bogus lawsuit as a vehicle for his press campaign, this lawsuit should never have been filed in California state court because his contract with the independent contractor requires litigation in New York and because he and all properly joined defendants are not citizens of California.”
Along with filing a response, Megan’s legal team also filed a petition to move Garcia’s lawsuit from Los Angeles County Superior Court, where the photographer originally filed the suit, to federal court, arguing it has “absolutely nothing to do with California state court.”
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Megan Thee Stallion performs on Day 1 of BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 24, 2024 in Napa, California.
Dana Jacobs/FilmMagic
In Garcia’s April lawsuit, the videographer claimed that after a night out in Ibiza, Spain, “in or around June 2022,” he, Megan and three other women were driving together in an SUV when “all of a sudden” the rapper and a from the second woman they started “having sex right next to” him.
“The plaintiff could not get out of the car because it was moving, and he was in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country. The prosecutor was embarrassed, humiliated and insulted during the entire ordeal,” the submission states. “The next day, Stallion asked if the plaintiff had been in the SUV the night before. The prosecutor confirmed that he was in the SUV. After that, Stallion said, ‘Never discuss what you have seen.'”
According to court documents, Garcia is seeking damages for unpaid wages, interest on the amount of unpaid wages and other employee benefits at the applicable statutory rate, unpaid wages at overtime rates, back pay and legal fees.
Shortly after the photographer’s lawsuit, attorney Spiro issued a statement to PEOPLE on Megan’s behalf, saying, “This is a lawsuit for money — with no sexual harassment lawsuit filed and with vile allegations to try to embarrass her. We will take this up in court.”
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Megan Thee Stallion attends the 2024 Planned Parenthood Of Greater New York Gala on April 16, 2024 in New York City.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty
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In response to the latest comments from Megan’s attorneys, attorney Ron Zambrano, who represents Garcia, shared a statement with PEOPLE that read, “This is just another attempt by another celebrity to shame the victim and shift the blame from their own heinous behavior.”
“In this case, Megan Thee Stallion never mentioned any issues with Emilio accusing him of falsifying his invoices and overcharging, which allegedly caused her to fire him until his lawsuit,” he continued. “Her lawyers are right, our client is angry, but not because of the so-called banishment ‘from the innermost circle of stars.’ He is angry about how they treated him. Megan Thee Stallion broke the law. Period. Nobody lies here but her.”
Megan’s latest legal development comes in the midst of her first headlining tour, Hot Girl Summer, which saw her joined on US dates by special guest GloRilla. On May 31, the pair released a remix of their single “Wanna Be” featuring Cardi B, which they first teased during the trio’s performance at Megan’s sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden in NYC on May 22.
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Source: HIS Education