Rapper Megan Thee Stallion has denied the sexual harassment allegations leveled against her by her former photographer, Emilio Garcia. Garcia filed a lawsuit against the rapper in Los Angeles on Tuesday, claiming that she forced him to watch her have sex with another woman in a moving car during work. According to a report by Variety, Megan’s lawyers say this was merely an “attempt to embarrass her.”
Megan Thee Stallion’s real name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, and Garcia’s lawsuit names her as well as her management company, Roc Nation. It accuses Megan of wage and hour violations, harassment about Garcia’s physique, and one obscene incident in Ibiza in June of 2022. It claims that after a night out, Garcia was riding in an SUV with Megan and three other women when Megan began to have sex with a woman in the seat next to him. Afterward, Megan allegedly ordered Garcia to never “discuss what you saw.”
According to Garcia, this was also when Megan decided to change how he was compensated. Instead of a “monthly flat-rate,” she would now pay him “per-task.” However, he was still not allowed to work for anyone else, and he was no longer guaranteed breaks or overtime while working with Megan.
Megan’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, told reporters: “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 attorney, Ron Zambrano, gave a follow-up statement saying that the sexual harassment allegation is central to the case, and was not added for dramatic effect.
“It is an utter lie that we have not alleged a hostile work environment based on the sex claim,” Zambrano said. “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. 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.”
The case has been compared to a similar story about pop singer Lizzo, who was accused of sexually harassing dancers on her tour in a variety of ways and also creating a hostile work environment. The comparison has led to all kinds of discourse on social media, but there is no new information outside of the lawsuit that can be reliably reported. It’s unclear when the case will move forward.