8 Celebrities Who Were Sued By Their Employees

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Some celebrities have really bad luck with their personal employees – either that or they just don’t treat them very well. When you’re a celebrity it can feel as though you have a bullseye on your back and you’re an easy target for lawsuits, but there is the off-chance that these celebrities might actually deserve it! Here are 8 celebrities who were sued by their employees:

8. Lady Gaga

In 2011, Lady Gaga’s former personal assistant, Jennifer O’Neill, sued the singer for cheating her out of overtime wages when she worked Gaga for 13 months from 2009 until February 2010. The “Telephone” singer and O’Neill had been friends and roommates prior to their working relationship. According to O’Neill, 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 7 days a week. The case went to go to trial in 2013, but they settled a month before they were due in court.

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7. Britney Spears

One of Britney Spears’ bodyguards sued her back in 2010, alleging that she sexually harassed him. According to Fernando Flores’ lawsuit, the pop star made “repeated unwanted sexual advances” toward him and even exposed her genitals to him in one instance. He also claimed that she summoned him to her room where she was standing naked and engaged in numerous sex acts in front of him and with her children present. In 2012, Spears ended her two-year legal battle and struck a settlement with Flores.

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6. Sarah Shahi and Steve Howey

The L Word actress Sarah Shahi and Shameless star Steve Howie were sued by their nanny in 2016 for harassment and wrongful termination. According to Sarah Alaseri, they shamelessly harassed her. They berated for practicing her Muslim customs; Shahi reportedly told her to get into shape so that she could run off with Howey; and Shahi also reportedly shared pictures of lover’s private parts with her. This lawsuit has yet to be resolved.

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5. Sharon Stone

Sharon Stone’s former nanny sued her in 2012, accusing her or violating labor laws and making derogatory comments about her ethnicity. Although the actress called the lawsuit “absurd,” she reached a settlement with Erlinda Elemen; however, in 2013, Stone filed a lawsuit against Elemen, claiming that she loaned her nanny $12,500 in 2010, but was only repaid $3,000. She was seeking the remaining $9,500 that she was owed. No word yet on whether that lawsuit was successful.

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4. LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian

LeAnn Rimes found herself in a legal mess in 2014 when her former housekeeper, Gloria Cevallos, sued her and Eddie Cibrian, alleging the couple’s home was a hostile work environment where she encountered ageism, racism and was subjected to discrimination and verbal abuse by the couple’s other employees and family members. Although Rimes and Cibrian called the lawsuit a shameless money grab, they ended up settling with Cevallos in 2016.

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3. Alanis Morissette

In 2013, Alanis Morisette was served with a lawsuit by her former nanny, Bianca Cambiero.  According to Cambiero’s lawsuit, the ‘90s singer held her hostage in her baby’s bedroom during her 12 hour shifts while he slept and ordered her not leave under any circumstances, not even to take a snack break. She also claims that she wasn’t paid overtime. In total, she was seeing $130,000, but no word yet on what happened with this lawsuit.

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2. Abigail Breslin

This year, Abigail Breslin was sued by her former assistant after she fired him of nowhere she then stiffed him on his last paycheck. Michael Helms then filed suit because her legal team had promised they’d be in touch with an offer and then blew him off. He is asking for $3,500, a month’s salary.

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1. Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey’s former assistant, Ylser Oliver, sued her in 2014, demanding more than 4,000 hours of overtime pay. Oliver 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, Carey settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.

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Cate

Cate

Cate has a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature and has been the Managing Editor of Fame10 for more than 6 years. Despite having a love for the works of Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy and Lord Byron, she also has an intense fascination with pop culture. When she isn’t writing for Fame10, she’s planning her next big adventure in Southeast Asia.

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