Nicki Minaj Faces Assault Charges From Ex-Employee in Newly-Filed Lawsuit

Photo Credit: Nicki Minaj by tamtam7683 / CC by 2.0

Nicki Minaj is being sued by a former employee who alleges the rapper hit him in the face during an argument.Nicki Minaj is facing assault charges from a man who says he was the star’s day-to-day manager during her Pink Friday 2 tour. The complaint, filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges Nicki hit him multiple times during a confrontation backstage after one of her concerts.

Minaj’s lawyer, Judd Burstein, broadly denied the allegations against his client, but said no complaint has been officially served. “Therefore, we are unaware of the specific allegations. However, if the lawsuit is as reported by TMZ, it is completely false and frivolous. We are confident that the matter brought by his ex assistant will be resolved swiftly in [Minaj’s] favor.”

According to the lawsuit in a report by TMZ, Brandon Garrett claims he was working as Nicki’s “day-to-day manager” during her Pink Friday 2 tour. He says after her show at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on April 21, he received a text message from her head of security, Larry Dathan. Dathan allegedly told Garrett that Minaj wanted to see him in her dressing room.

When he arrived, Garrett says eight members of Nicki’s staff were present — including Dathan, another employee named Luke Montgomery, and her former manager Deb Antney. Garrett says Minaj complained about the staff “not knowing what they are supposed to do, and who reports to who.”

During the confrontation, Garrett claims Minaj became “visibly upset” and “angrily screamed” at him. According to Garrett, she was upset that he had sent Montgomery to pick up prescriptions for the star. When neither he nor Montgomery could provide the information Nicki is said to have asked for, the complaint says she approached him and “got very close to his face.”“At this point, [Nicki] open-handedly struck [Garrett] on the right side of his face, causing his head to swing backwards as his hat flew off his head,” the filing reads. Garrett also alleges that his wrist was injured from the altercation and was “throbbing.”

When Minaj demanded Garrett leave the room, Garrett says he locked himself in a nearby restroom for multiple hours. He then says he received notice from Antney that he would not be joining them on the bus to Nicki’s next tour stop in Chicago.

Garrett says he took an Uber back to the Detroit airport and called the police department about filing a report about the incident. But the Detroit police allegedly told him he would need to appear in-person at the precinct to make a formal report. Since he had already booked a flight back to Chicago, he instead contacted the Chicago police for an escort back to his hotel, as he “feared for his safety.”

Eventually, he also filed an official report in Detroit. His filing seeks punitive and exemplary damages, as well as general damages.