Posted on May 9th, 2023
Find a complete transcript of this video below.
What’s up fellow entrepreneurs. Today I want to cover a lighter topic than usual. I want to talk about celebrities that were sued by employees.
Now, I say lighter topic because usually I’m covering oppressive laws in California that stunt, oppress and drive away California businesses that would otherwise employ hardworking citizens and expand the middle class.
But celebrities are people too, and it’s interesting to note that they have the same problems with employment laws in California, as does the average business owner. So here are several celebrities who were sued by their employees.
Let’s start with Lady Gaga. In 2011, lady Gaga’s former personal assistant sued claiming that she was not paid overtime wages, when she worked for Gaga for 13 months from 2009 until February, 2010.
It was reported that Gaga and her former assistant were friends and roommates prior to their working relationship. According to the plaintiff, Gaga paid her a flat rate of 50,000 annually when she was first hired and then upped it to 75,000 annually the second year.
But she wasn’t paid any overtime despite the fact that she worked on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Okay? So remember, fellow entrepreneurs overtime must be paid. And unless an employee is exempt, the employee must have a position that can be classified exempt, and they must earn at least double the minimum wage to qualify even if and otherwise, if they’re otherwise in an exempted position.
So the case was reportedly settled prior to trial. And the second celebrity I want to talk about is Britney Spears. One of Britney Spears’ bodyguards guards sued her back in 2010 alleging that she sexually harassed him.
According to the bodyguard’s lawsuit, the pop star made repeated unwanted sexual advances towards him and even exposed her genitals to him in one instance. I think we’ve all seen her genitals at this point. So anyway, he also claims that she summoned him to a room where she was standing naked and engaged in numerous sex acts in front of him and with her children present.
That’s an odd one. I’m not sure if I believe that. All right. So remember, sex does not belong in the workplace in modern times. So even if consensual is just not work worth risking what you have built, and to all the boss babes out there, sexual harassment claims are no longer a men problem. I have seen a considerable increase in men suing female bosses for unwanted sexual advances in the last decade.
It’s reported that Spears and Flores settled the claim in in 2012. So good for him. Sounds like he made out. All right. Now, Sarah Shai and Steve Howie, the L word actress, Sarah Shai, and the shameless star Steve Howie, were sued by their nanny in 2016 for harassment and wrongful termination.
According to the plaintiff the two stars harassed her, berated her for practicing her Muslim customs, reportedly told her to get into shape so that she could run off with Howie, and also reportedly shared pictures of lover’s private parts with her.
All right, so my advice, keep employees as employees and play jokes with friends you don’t employ. So everyone wants to be the cool boss, but what is, what is fun? Teasing at the workplace one day could be used to claim harassment against you on a different day. So keep it separate.
All right, next star. Sharon Stone’s, former nanny sued her in 2012 accusing her, of violating labor laws and making derogatory comments about her ethnicity. So, although Sharon Stone called the lawsuit absurd, she, she reached a settlement with the plaintiff.
However, in 2013, Stone filed her own lawsuit against the, the plaintiff claiming that she loaned her former nanny 12,520 10, but was only repaid 3000. She was seeking the remaining 9,500 that she was owed. So my advice, number one is never lend money or give advances prior to payday to employees.
That’s just a no-go. If you ask me, employees that have trouble living within their means, typically don’t like it when you ask them to pay to, to be paid back. I mean, it’s just one of those things where your kindness will cost you considerably as Ms. Stone found out the hard way.
All right, the next star, Leanne Rimes and her husband Eddie Sipion. Leanne Rimes found herself in a lawsuit in 2014 when her four former housekeeper, Gloria Savalo, sued her and her husband, alleging the couple’s home, was a hostile work environment where she encountered ageism, racism, and was subjected to discrimination and verbal abuse.
She claims that the verbal abuse was by the couple, but also by other employees and the couple’s family members. So, although Rhymes and Siam denied the claims and called the lawsuit, a shameless money grab the suit was settled in 2016.
So I have no real advice on this one except hire better assuming and without any evidence to make such assumption that Leanne Rimes was not abusing her housekeeper. Some employees are just frauds and others are, you know, sensitive tulips that refuse any form of correction or constructive criticism, and I don’t know that to be the case.
I’m just putting that out there. All right, next star, Alanis Morissette. So, Alanis Morse was served with a lawsuit by her former nanny. According to the lawsuit, the 90 singer had her was holding her nanny hostage in her baby’s bedroom during her 12 hour shift while she slept and ordered her not to leave under any circumstances, not even to take a snack break.
She also claimed that she wasn’t paid overtime. Okay, so this sounds like an odd one, but I’ll give the same advice as the previous. I’m going to assume without any evidence that the nanny could have quit the first incident if the facts she claimed were true.
Hire better. All right, next one, Abigail Breslin. I don’t know who this person is, but she was sued by her former assistant who claimed that she was unexpectedly fired and then stiffed out of the last paycheck.
So the plaintiff filed suit because the star’s legal team had promised they’d be in touch with an offer and then blew him off. All right, so even if labor claims are bogus or seemingly small, it’s important to resolve them as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, the laws are written in a way that the penalties and fines are so severe that even small labor claims are fat and juicy enough targets for attorneys to entertain.
All right, last one. Mariah Carey’s former assistant sued her claiming more than 4,000 hours of overtime pay. That’s a lot of hours. The plaintiff claimed that she was forced to work seven days a week and up to 16 hours a day without receiving any overtime pay.
She also alleged that she wasn’t given meal breaks during her seven years working for the singer and waited on her hand and foot. In 2015, Carrie settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount. So who knows? Could be real, maybe not.
So unless it’s absolutely established that an employee is exempt, document all hours, all breaks, and all pay, that’s the only way to, well, I don’t even wanna say prove, but it’s the only way to defend yourself against losses like this.
All right. So I hope this is more enjoyable than the usual breakdown of boring laws. Until next time, be productive.
