Nicki Minaj allegedly struck a former-employee on his face, causing his head to swing backwards as his hat flew off his head.
Image: Supplied
The 42-year-old musician has been accused of hitting and berating her former tour manager, Brandon Garrett, who has filed a lawsuits against her in Los Angeles Superior Court, in which he also alleged she subjected him to the "intentional infliction of emotional distress" during her 'Pink Friday 2' tour last year.
According to documents obtained by TMZ and Variety, the lawsuit stems from an alleged incident after Minaj's show at Detroit's Little Caesars Arena on April 21, 2025.
Brandon's lawyers claim he received a text from the 'Starships' hitmaker's head of security, Larry Dathan, asking him to speak with the singer in her dressing room when he was on his way to the arena.
When he got there, the manager alleged around eight other staff members were there, and Minaj - who has a four-year-old son with husband Kenneth Petty - began complaining that some didn't know "what they are supposed to do, and who reports to who" before asking a man named Luke Montgomery his purpose on the tour.
The documents added: "Mr. Montgomery explained that his duties entailed tasks like venue dressing room set-up, private jet set-up, hotel room set-up, quick change room refreshments and tour bus set-up.
"Mr. Montgomery mentioned these duties were in addition to any requests from Minaj communicated by Garrett, including food orders, drinks, personal items, baby items, and, most notably, prescriptions."
Brandon explained he told his famous boss he had asked his colleague to collect prescriptions because he was busy with tour responsibilities, including assisting Minaj with her costume changes, but he alleged the star then became "visibly upset" and "angrily screamed" at him.
She allegedly fumed: "Are you f****** crazy having him pick up my prescription? You have lost your f****** mind and if my husband were here, he would knock out your f****** teeth. You're a dead man walking. You just f****** up your whole life, and you will never be anyone, I'll make sure of it."
She is then accused of yelling at Luke and demanding he look through his phone to find out which medications he had picked up from her, before turning her attention back to Brandon and allegedly getting "very close to his face".
The complaint added: "At this point, Minaj open-handedly struck Garrett on the right side of his face, causing his head to swing backwards as his hat flew off his head."
The tour manager - who allegedly was also left with a "throbbing" right wrist after being stuck on the arm" - then locked himself in a bathroom for several hours and received a text message telling him he wasn't being asked to join the next stop on the tour.
The complaint states, per Variety. Attorneys for Garrett also state that he was hit in his right wrist, leaving it "throbbing."
Brandon eventually filed a complaint with Detroit police and is seeking punitive and exemplary damages as well as general damages.
Nicki's lawyer has branded the lawsuit "frivolous" and denied the allegations, but stressed she hadn't yet received the complaint.
Judd Burstein told TMZ: "At this time, no complaint has been served upon Minaj, and therefore, we are unaware of the specific allegations.
"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 favour."
Bang Showbiz
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