The rapper’s lawyers allege that her former cameraman’s harassment lawsuit is “fabricated” and an attempt to “tarnish” her “career and reputation” in a new court filing
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Megan Thee Stallion attends the “Mean Girls” premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater in January 2024 in New York City
Megan Thee Stallion’s legal team is calling recent harassment claims made by the rapper’s former cameraman, Emilio Garcia, “fabricated” in a new court filing.
In late April, the personal photographer filed a lawsuit against Megan (real name Megan Pete), 29, claiming that she created an “unbearable hostile work environment” while he was employed by her between 2018 and 2023, during which she allegedly “subjected him to sexual harassment,” per a press release and documents obtained by PEOPLE. Garcia also claimed the rapper “fat-shamed” him and “failed to pay him properly in violation of numerous labor codes.”
Related: Megan Thee Stallion Sued by Cameraman Who Claims He Was Forced to Watch Her Have Sex with Another Woman
According to a May 29 response filed by Megan’s attorneys, Mari Henderson and Alex Spiro, they claim Garcia’s complaint “consists almost entirely of falsehoods, misrepresentations of fact, and outlandish claims that have no basis in fact or law and no merit.”
The lawyers’ filing alleges that the cameraman is a “con artist” who is “manipulating the judicial system to act as his publicist and bullhorn” in an attempt to “boost” his singing career “while trying to tear down the successful career of Megan Thee Stallion.”
Megan Thee Stallion arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in March 2023 in Beverly Hills
“Throughout his tenure as an independently contracted photographer and videographer for Ms. Pete and her production companies, Defendants [Hot Girl Touring, LLC] and [Megan Thee Stallion Entertainment, Inc.], Plaintiff repeatedly falsified his invoices and overcharged Ms. Pete for services he never completed and sought reimbursements for money he never spent,” the filing claims. “Plaintiff’s pattern of misrepresentations was so prevalent that Ms. Pete was forced to terminate Plaintiff in June 2023.”
“Plaintiff took a run of the mill wage and labor dispute and trumped up his frivolous claims with sensationalist false allegations of sex, debauchery, and workplace harassment for the sole purpose of creating a media firestorm to tarnish the career and reputation of Ms. Pete,” it continues. “As evidence of his true intent to get media attention, and to use this sham Complaint as a vehicle for his press campaign, this Complaint should never have even been filed in California state court because his independent contractor contract requires litigation in New York and because he, and all properly joined defendants, are not California citizens.”
Along with the response filing, Megan’s legal team also petitioned to move Garcia’s complaint from the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, where the photographer originally filed his lawsuit, to federal court, claiming it has “absolutely no connection to California state court.”
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Megan Thee Stallion performs on Day 1 of BottleRock Napa Valley at Napa Valley Expo on May 24, 2024 in Napa, California
In Garcia’s April lawsuit, the cameraman claimed that after a night out in Ibiza, Spain, “in or around June 2022,” he, Megan and three other women were riding in an SUV together when, “suddenly,” the rapper and one of the other women started “having sex right beside” him.
“Plaintiff could not get out of the car as it was both moving and he was in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country. Plaintiff was embarrassed, mortified and offended throughout the whole ordeal,” the filing alleged. “The following day, Stallion inquired whether the plaintiff was in the SUV the previous night. Plaintiff confirmed that he was in the SUV. Subsequently, Stallion instructed, ‘Don’t ever discuss what you saw.’”
According to court documents, Garcia is seeking damages for unpaid wages, interest on the amount of unpaid wages and other employee benefits at the prevailing legal rate, unpaid wages at overtime wage rates, restitution and legal fees.
Shortly after the photographer’s lawsuit, attorney Spiro issued a statement to PEOPLE on behalf of Megan, 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.”
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Megan Thee Stallion attends the 2024 Planned Parenthood Of Greater New York Gala on April 16, 2024 in New York City
In response to Megan’s lawyers’ latest comments, attorney Ron Zambrano, who represents Garcia, shared a statement with PEOPLE that reads, “This is just another attempt by another celebrity to shame the victim and shift blame from their own abhorrent behavior.”
“In this case, Megan Thee Stallion never brought up any issues with Emilio accusing him of falsifying his invoices and overcharging that supposedly forced her to fire him until after he sued,” he continued. “Her attorneys are correct, our client is angry, but not by being so-called exiled ‘from the inner circles of stardom.’ He’s angry because of how he was treated. Megan Thee Stallion broke the law. Period. No one is lying here but her.”
Megan’s latest legal developments come amid her first-ever headlining Hot Girl Summer tour, where she’s joined by special guest GloRilla for her U.S. dates. The pair released a remix of their “Wanna Be” single on May 31 featuring Cardi B, which they first teased during the trio’s performance at Megan’s sold-out Madison Square Garden concert in N.Y.C. on May 22.
