Jason Derulo and Atlantic Recording Corp. are seeking dismissal as defendants in a lawsuit filed by an aspiring singer who alleges the singer signed her to his record company, then later threatened and fired her after she resisted his sexual advances.
Emaza Gibson claims in her Los Angeles Superior Court suit that Derulo hired her in 2021 and “promised to make multiple music albums” with her as part of a joint venture with Atlantic Recording Corp. and his label, Future History, which were named as co-defendants.
On Friday, lawyers for Derulo, 34, and Atlantic filed court papers with Judge Kerry Bensinger stating that the lawsuit’s claims against those defendants should be tossed out.
The attorneys note that Gibson alleges Derulo told her that in order to be successful in the music industry, an artist needs to partake in “goat skin and fish scales.” Both are slang phrases in which “goat skin” means to drink alcohol and “fish scales” refers to cocaine, according to the Derulo-Atlantic attorneys’ court papers.
“Ignoring the actual meanings of the words, plaintiff offers only the conclusory assertion that `goat skin’ instead refers to a sexual ritual involving goat’s blood and that she understood that Mr. Derulo was propositioning her for sex,” the defense attorneys further state in their court papers. “Her false allegation as to the meaning of two specifically defined phrases is ridiculous on its face and does not need to be accepted by the court.”
Further, there are no allegations that anyone at Atlantic mistreated Gibson, nor does she allege that Derulo was Atlantic’s employee or agent, the Derulo-Atlantic lawyers maintain in their court papers.
“In the end, none of the alleged conduct constitutes sexual harassment, violence or intimidation…,” the defense attorneys argue in their court papers.
According to Gibson’s lawsuit, “goat skin and fish scales” is a Haitian reference referring to conducting sex rituals, sacrificing a goat, goat blood and doing cocaine.
The lawsuit contends that “the manner and timing of such a statement meant that Derulo was demanding sexual acts from plaintiff in order for Derulo to fulfill his role as her mentor, supervisor and musical collaborator. This explicit demand for sex-in-exchange-for-success was reinforced through Derulo’s subsequent behavior.”
Derulo later began regularly inviting Gibson to have drinks or dinner, requests she declined in an effort to keep their relationship professional, according to the lawsuit filed Oct. 5, which further states she eventually insisted that her mother/manager be present during all of their future meetings or recording sessions, allegedly angering Derulo and causing him to stop answering her texts.
Gibson was fired in September 2022, the suit states, and she was never able to get a response from Atlantic executives about her allegations of “sexually, emotionally and physically inappropriate behavior.”
Gibson allegedly suffered breakdowns, weight loss, mood swings, hopelessness , loss of motivation and feelings of betrayal and deception and had to seek mental health treatment, leading to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.
A hearing on the dismissal motion is scheduled April 16.