Megan Thee Stallion's former cameraman, Emilio Garcia, has filed a lawsuit claiming he faced harassment and a hostile work environment during his time with the rapper.
Garcia alleges that Megan Thee Stallion had sex with a woman while he was trapped in a moving vehicle with her and three other women. He officially filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday.
He was traveling in an SUV with Megan in Ibiza, Spain in June 2022 when the incident allegedly occurred.
"I felt uncomfortable. I was kind of frozen, and I was shocked. At kind of just the overall audacity to do this right, right beside me," said Garcia in an interview. The next day, the rapper reportedly told him, "Don't ever discuss what you saw" after Garcia confirmed that he was in the car with the "Body" rapper the previous night.
The suit does not end there. He further alleges that Megan attacked him with cruel, body-shaming insults, including calling him a "fat bitch." She allegedly told Garcia to spit his food out and that he didn't "need to be eating."
Garcia said he "felt degraded" by Megan's actions and comments, touching on the irony of hearing such insults from "someone who advocates about loving your body." In the public eye, Megan has been vocal about the importance of accepting and loving one's body.
"But I love my body.... If you love your body, let me hear you make some noise," said the "Hiss" artist at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in 2022.
Garcia's suit claims that the "harassment was so severe or pervasive" that it created a "hostile, abusive work environment" that made his "working conditions intolerable." He began working with the rapper in 2018.
Following the Ibiza trip, Garcia claims that his compensation structure was altered from its initial monthly flat-rate. The photographer was then informed in June 2023 that "his services would no longer be required." Garcia's suit also points to alleged employment and wage violations concerning his classification as an independent contractor.
Despite Megan allegedly preventing him from working for other people and denying overtime pay and breaks, he was still considered an independent contractor. This classification prevented him from receiving healthcare benefits, preventing him from getting the treatment he needed. Per Garcia's suit, he "grapples with mounting anxiety, depression, and physical distress stemming from the toxic work environment."
The suit claims that Garcia "endured a barrage of relentless sexual and fat-shaming comments plunging him into profound emotional distress" during his time working for Megan.
Garcia's attorney, Ron Zambrano, stated that "Megan just needs to pay our client what he's due, own up to her behavior and quit this sort of sexual harassment and fat shaming conduct."
Garcia is aiming for a six figure payout, including unpaid wages, interest on unpaid wages, unpaid overtime wages and other employee benefits. He also seeks statutory penalties and wage penalties pursuant to California labor laws, punitive damages according to proof and costs he incurred.
Megan Thee Stallion has yet to respond to the allegations.
