A new lawsuit filed by Megan Thee Stallion’s former cameraman, Emilio Garcia, accuses the singer of a hostile work environment and harassment — including allegedly forcing him to watch her have sex with another woman while he was trapped in a moving vehicle.
Filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the complaint — which was obtained by the Cut — lists Megan Thee Stallion; her companies Hot Girl Touring LLC and Megan Thee Stallion Entertainment, Inc.; and Roc Nation as defendants.
According to the suit, Garcia began working with Stallion in 2018 as her personal cameraman and started working for the Grammy winner full time a year later.
In one alleged incident from June 2022, Garcia says that he traveled to Ibiza, Spain, with the singer.
After a night out, Garcia claims he, Stallion, and three other women were in an SUV together when Stallion and one of the women began having sex next to him.
At kind of just the overall audacity to do this right, right beside me,” Garcia told NBC News in an interview Tuesday.
“To hear someone who advocates about loving your body tell me these things,” Garcia told NBC.
On top of the harassment allegations, the lawsuit accuses Stallion and her companies of a number of wage and employment violations.
The singer is accused in a recent lawsuit of creating a hostile work environment and harassing Emilio Garcia, the former cameraman for Megan Thee Stallion, by making him watch her have sex with another woman while he was stranded in a moving car. Along with claiming that the plaintiff is owed over six figures in back pay, Garcia’s legal team released a press release alleging that the plaintiff was subjected to fat-shaming and “intolerable” working conditions that caused him to become physically ill and experience emotional distress.
The complaint, which was obtained by the Cut, was filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court and names Megan Thee Stallion along with her businesses, Megan Thee Stallion Entertainment, Inc. and Hot Girl Touring LLC. as defendants, and Roc Nation. The lawsuit claims that Garcia started off as Stallion’s personal cameraman in 2018 and joined the Grammy winner’s staff full-time the following year. Garcia claims to have gone to Ibiza, Spain, with the singer in one purported incident that occurred in June 2022. Garcia claims that after a night out, while he, Stallion, and three other women were in an SUV, Stallion and one of the women started having sex next to him. As they were in a moving car “in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country,” Garcia claimed in the complaint that he was “embarrassed, mortified, and offended throughout the whole ordeal” and that he was unable to flee the situation. “.
“I was uneasy. Surprisingly, I was really frozen. In an interview with NBC News on Tuesday, Garcia said, “At kind of just the overall audacity to do this right, right beside me.”.
Garcia says that Stallion told him not to talk about what he had seen the day after. In the lawsuit, Garcia alleges that on that same trip, Stallion told him to “spit your food out,” called him a “fat bitch,” and said, “You don’t need to be eating.”. According to the complaint, Garcia worked in a “hostile, abusive work environment” because the “harassment was so severe or pervasive.”. To hear someone who promotes body positivity tell me these things,” Garcia said to NBC. “I felt beneath them. After returning from Ibiza, Garcia further states that he noticed a decline in bookings from Stallion and her team and that his pay structure had shifted from a monthly flat rate to a task-by-task basis.
In addition to the claims of harassment, Stallion and her companies are accused of several wage and employment violations in the lawsuit. Garcia was allegedly working for the singer without having basic insurance coverage, according to the lawsuit. Garcia says that Stallion hired him until June 2023, at which point the night before a gig, Roc Nation informed him that “his services would no longer be required.”. “The former cameraman feels his firing was in direct retaliation for his complaints about the ongoing illegal behavior and failure to pay him properly,” Garcia’s legal firm stated in the release. “.
The lawsuit claims that Garcia suffered physical harm, physical illness, emotional distress, and lost earnings and other employment benefits as a result of the alleged behavior. In addition to the alleged back pay, Garcia told NBC that he is also requesting punitive damages to cover his expenses, including legal fees, interest on his unpaid wages, unpaid overtime wages, and “statutory penalties and wage penalties pursuant to California labor laws.”.
Ron Zambrano, Garcia’s lawyer who also defended the former dancers who sued Lizzo last year, stated in a press release that Megan “just needs to pay our client what he’s due, own up to her behavior and quit this sort of sexual harassment and fat shaming conduct.”. Emilio wasn’t supposed to have to ride in the car with her while she had sex with another woman. “Inappropriate” is an understatement. It is undoubtedly unlawful to expose this behavior to staff members. “.
Megan’s attorney Alex Spiro sent a statement to the Cut that read, “This is an employment claim for money—with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her.”. In court, we will address this. “.
Responding to Spiro’s remarks, Zambrano issued a second statement on Wednesday, saying, “We have to stop expecting that those who work for stars should just deal with this egregious and illegal behavior and suck it up and be thankful for their access.”. That is a surefire recipe for treatment abuse and underpayment. “.
Updates have been made to this post.
