Nicki Minaj has been accused of assault by a former employee. In a lawsuit obtained by TMZ and Billboard, plaintiff Brandon Garrett alleges that Minaj hit him backstage at a Detroit venue while he was working as a day-to-day manager for her Pink Friday 2 tour. According to Garrett, Minaj summoned him to her dressing room after learning that he had sent another tour employee in his place to go pick up prescriptions for her. Allegedly, the rapper “angrily screamed” that if her husband were there, he would’ve knocked Garrett’s teeth out. She allegedly also called Garrett a “dead man walking,” telling him that he “just f—ed up [his] whole life,” and that she would “make sure” that would “never be anyone.” Garrett alleges that Minaj eventually “open-handedly struck” him on the face with enough force that his head swung back and his hat flew off his head. He further claims that after her security team “swarmed in close,” she struck him on his wrist, knocking documents in his hand to the floor.
After Minaj allegedly ordered him out of the room, Garrett recalls locking himself in a restroom at the venue and staying there for hours because he “feared for his safety.” According to Garrett, a “bus mate on the tour” informed him via an early-morning text that he wouldn’t be riding the tour bus to Chicago, which left him stranded in Detroit. Garrett is asking for damages and suing for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Nicki’s lawyer, Judd Burstein, broadly denied Garrett’s claims in a January 3 statement to TMZ. “At this time, no complaint has been served upon Mrs. Petty, and therefore, we are unaware of the specific allegations,” Burstein said. “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.”