Megan Thee Stallion: Cameraman accuses rapper of ‘hostile’ workplace

BBC culture / By Riyah Collins,BBC Newsbeat

Megan Thee Stallion has been accused of fat-shaming her former cameraman – and having sex next to him in a car – in a new lawsuit.

The US rapper is alleged to have made an “intolerable” work environment by ex-employee Emilio Garcia.

In a claim filed in Los Angeles, Mr Garcia also claims a change to his contract left him with unpaid wages.

Megan’s lawyers said the claim was “an attempt to embarrass her” in a statement to the AP news agency.

“This is an employment claim for money with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations,” they said, adding that they will deal with the lawsuit in court.

‘Mortified’

Mr Garcia claims to have started working for the Savage rapper in 2018 as her personal cameraman, and remained in the role full-time until June 2023.

In the legal documents, his lawyers say that he was trapped in a moving car with Megan – real name Megan Pete – while she had sex “right beside” him.

It allegedly happened during a trip to Ibiza in 2022, when he says he was left “embarrassed, mortified and offended”.

Mr Garcia has also filed claims that during the same trip, he was taunted about his weight – being told to spit out his food and that he didn’t need to be eating.

The court documents say Megan’s behaviour “created a hostile work environment” for Mr Garcia, “making the conditions of his employment intolerable”.

The lawsuit also includes a number of allegations of breaches of employment law, for which Mr Garcia is seeking financial compensation.

The allegations include a change to his contract which saw him paid “per task” rather than a monthly rate, which he says meant he earned “significantly less”.

He also claims he missed out on healthcare benefits after his role was “misclassified” as an independent contractor.

Mr Garcia says that after the trip to Ibiza, he was booked for fewer photoshoots until June last year when he was told by Megan’s management, Roc Nation, that his services were no longer required.

He alleges this was “in retaliation for his complaints of wage and hour violations”.

Roc Nation, which is also named in the court documents alongside Megan, has not yet commented on the allegations.

BBC Newsbeat has contacted Mr Garcia’s lawyers, Megan Thee Stallion’s representatives and Roc Nation for comment.