Megan Thee Stallion has been sued by a former employee who alleges she withheld payment and created an “abusive work environment”, including having sex with a woman next to him in a moving car.
Cameraman Emilio Garcia alleges “severe” and “pervasive” harassment by the chart-topping rapper following the incident, including sexual comments and fat-shaming insults, as well as a loss of earnings. He is seeking unpaid wages and interest on them, as well as damages, and wage penalties under California labour laws.
A lawyer for Megan, real name Megan Pete, responded to the allegations by saying: “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 began working with Megan full-time in 2019. He alleges that during a trip to Ibiza, Megan began having sex in an SUV they were travelling in together. “I felt uncomfortable. I was kind of frozen, and I was shocked. At kind of just be the overall audacity to do this right, right beside me,” he told NBC News. Garcia claims Megan told him the following day: “Don’t ever discuss what you saw.”
Garcia’s lawyer said: “Emilio should never have been put in a position of having to be in the vehicle with her while she had sex with another woman. ‘Inappropriate’ is putting it lightly. Exposing this behaviour to employees is definitely illegal.”
He claims that Megan subsequently took him off a monthly salary and on to a more ad hoc payment system, giving him fewer bookings and treating him differently than before, while prohibiting him from taking employment with others.
He also alleges Megan called him a “fat bitch” and told him “spit your food out … you don’t need to be eating”. Garcia told NBC: “To hear someone who advocates about loving your body tell me these things, I felt degraded.” He says he suffered emotional distress and unspecified physical injuries as a result of Megan’s alleged behaviour.
Since her mainstream breakthrough in 2019 with the much-memed single Hot Girl Summer, Megan Thee Stallion has become one of the most successful rap artists in the US. In 2020 she topped the singles chart with Savage, aided by a guest spot from Beyoncé, and again earlier this year with Hiss, a track released amid a high-profile spat with rival Nicki Minaj. In the wake of Savage, she won three awards at the 2021 Grammys, including best new artist.
In 2020 she was shot in the foot by rapper and singer Tory Lanez in an incident in Los Angeles. In August 2023, Lanez, real name Daystar Peterson, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the shooting.
Also in 2020, Megan sued her label, 1501 Entertainment, disputing terms of her recording contract. The two parties settled out of court in October 2023 and ended their working relationship.