Nicki Minaj was named in a lawsuit filed by a former employee, who accused the rapper of assault and battery.
Brandon Garrett, who professed to be Nicki Minaj’s manager during her 2024 tour, took legal action against Minaj, 42, as per court documents dated Friday, January 3, obtained by TMZ. In his lawsuit, Garrett asserted that Minaj called him to her dressing room following a Detroit concert in April 2024, where she supposedly became upset upon learning that he had assigned someone else to pick up a prescription.
During the incident, it was stated in the documents that “[Another employee, Luke Montgomery] clarified that his responsibilities included tasks such as setting up dressing rooms at venues, arranging private jet accommodations, setting up hotel rooms, refreshing quick change rooms, and organizing the tour bus,” The documents also mentioned that “Mr. Montgomery noted that these duties were in addition to any requests from [Minaj] conveyed by [Garrett], which included food orders, beverages, personal items, baby supplies, and notably, prescriptions.”
Garrett supposedly justified to Minaj that he was occupied with another duty during the concert and required the assistance of another employee to handle the errand. Following his explanation, Minaj allegedly became visibly upset and yelled at him in anger. She is said to have exclaimed, “Are you crazy to have him pick up my prescription?” and “If my husband [Kenneth Petty] was here, he would knock out your teeth.”
Garrett further claimed that Minaj then “open-handly struck” him on the right side of his face and subsequently on his right wrist. Several hours later, Garrett claimed that another staffer on Minaj’s team told him that he’d no longer be joining her team for her tour stop in Chicago.
Minaj has denied Garrett’s allegations through her attorney. Us Weekly has reached out for comment.
“At this time, no complaint has been served upon Mrs. Petty, and therefore, we are unaware of the specific allegations,” Minaj’s lawyer Judd Burstein told Variety in a statement. “However, if the lawsuit is as reported by TMZ, it is completely false and frivolous. We are confident that the matter brought by this ex-assistant will be resolved swiftly in Mrs. Petty’s favor.”
Minaj is a rapper who broke into the music industry with the release of her 2010 album Pink Friday. She has had several ups and downs throughout her career, including a 2024 arrest in Amsterdam.
During the international leg of her tour, Minaj claimed that she was stopped by police after marijuana pre-rolls were apparently found in her luggage.
“They’ve been trying to stop me from coming to every show,” Minaj wrote via Instagram in May 2024. “They took my bags before I could see them. Put it on the plane. Now they’re waiting on customs. This is what it looks like when ppl are paid big money to try to sabotage a tour after all else failed. Everything they’ve done is illegal.”
Minaj claimed that the drugs had belonged to her security guards and she was released several hours later.
“We have just released a 41-year-old American woman who we arrested this afternoon at Schiphol on suspicion of exporting soft drugs,” Royal Netherlands Marechaussee said in an X statement, presumably referring to Minaj. “After consultation with the Public Prosecution Service, the suspect was fined and can continue her journey.”
