Nicki Minaj Sued for Assault and Battery by Former Tour Manager

Nicki Minaj is suing for assault, battery and “intentional infliction of emotional pain” by her former tour manager.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ and Diversitya man named Brandon Garrett filed a lawsuit against the 42-year-old Grammy nominee in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, January 3rd. Garrett claims that while working as a day manager during Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 tour, he had a confrontation with the rapper that ended with her scolding and punching him.

The alleged incident happened backstage at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on April 21, 2024, after Minaj’s concert ended, according to media reports.

Garrett’s lawyers claim in the complaint that the tour manager was on his way to the arena when Minaj’s security chief, Larry Dathan, texted him asking him to speak to Minaj (real name Onika Maraj) in her dressing room.

Garrett states that eight people from Minaj’s staff were present in the dressing room, including another employee named Luke Montgomery. He claims Minaj began complaining that some staff members “didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing and who answered to whom,” when she turned her attention to Montgomery, asking what his position was with the outlets, according to court documents.

Nicki Minaj in March 2024.

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“Mr. Montgomery explained that his duties included tasks such as setting up the dressing room at the venue, setting up the private jet, setting up the hotel room, quick refreshments in the changing room and setting up the tour bus,” the lawsuit states, according to Diversity. “Mr. Montgomery mentioned that these duties are in addition to any requests from the parties [Minaj] communicated by [Garrett]including food orders, drinks, personal items, baby items and, most importantly, prescriptions.”

Garrett claims he told Minaj he asked Montgomery to pick up the prescriptions because he was busy with tour commitments, including helping Minaj with costume changes during her concerts.

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In the complaint, Garrett alleges that Minaj then became “visibly upset” and “screamed angrily” at him, telling him, “Are you fucking crazy that he took my prescription? You lost your fucking… — – it also bothers me if my husband [Kenneth Petty] if he was here, he’d knock your f—— teeth out. You are a dead man walking. You just f—– your whole life, and you’ll never be nobody, I’ll take care of it.”

Minaj also allegedly yelled at Montgomery and asked him to look through his phone to find the exact medication he had taken for her, the media reported, citing the documents. Garrett claims that Minaj then turned her attention back to Garrett and “got very close to his face.”

“At this moment, [Minaj] hit with open hands [Garrett] on the right side of his face, causing his head to swing back as his cap flew off his head,” the complaint states, according to Diversity. Garrett’s lawyers also say he was hit in the right wrist, leaving it “throbbing.”

Nicki Minaj in March 2024.

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Garrett’s lawyers write in the complaint that the former manager locked himself in the bathroom several hours after the incident, and received a text message telling him that he was not invited to go with Minaj on the next stop of the tour.

The former manager eventually filed a formal police report in Detroit, and his lawyers are now seeking punitive and exemplary damages, as well as general damages.

Minaj’s attorney, Judd Burstein, told TMZ in a statement that she had not yet received the complaint, but denied the allegations reported by the paper.

“At this moment, no appeal has been filed [Minaj]therefore, we are not aware of the specific allegations,” the statement said. “However, if the lawsuit is what TMZ has reported, it is completely false and frivolous. We are confident that the matter brought by this former aide will be quickly resolved in Ms. Petty’s favor.”

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Source: HIS Education