Jason Derulo has been named in a lawsuit filed by 25-year-old Emaza Gibson in Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to an NBC News report from Thursday, October 5.
The report specifies, “Gibson alleges that Derulo, 34, the ‘Whatcha Say’ singer, turned cold after she rejected his sexual advances and repeated invitations to dine and drink alcohol and that he eventually dropped her deal altogether. She accuses Derulo of quid pro quo sexual harassment.”
The lawsuit also alleges sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, a failure to remedy workplace harassment, and violation of California’s civil rights act against Derulo, his Future History imprint, and Atlantic Records.
NBC News exclusively interviewed Gibson, who said she was approached by Derulo in August 2021 to sign as a solo artist to his imprint Future History’s joint venture with Atlantic Records. Gibson recalled several instances of Derulo allegedly pressuring her to drink with him — in both professional and social environments — in late 2021 despite her telling him that she “wasn’t a drinker.”
“The suit alleges Derulo responded by telling Gibson she might have to take part in ‘goat skin and fish scales,’” NBC News relays. “Gibson told NBC News that she was aware that ‘fish scales’ referred to a strain of cocaine but that she had to look up what Derulo meant by doing ‘goat skin.’”
The report continues, “Gibson said she learned from online articles about rituals involving sex, goat sacrifices and blood that appeared to be what Derulo was talking about. […] The lawsuit states that Gibson considered Derulo’s statement an ‘explicit demand for sex-in-exchange-for-success’ that was reinforced by other behavior, such as repeated pressure to go out with him and the scheduling of late-night studio sessions.”
The lengthy report additionally notes that Gibson last saw Derulo in June 2022, when he “charged at Gibson in front of her mother, [his] own staff, a videographer, and Gibson’s engineer,” which came after Derulo was allegedly neglecting to support Gibson with proper guidance and resources for her music and thus complicating her ability to meet her contract demands.
According to the lawsuit cited by NBC News, Gibson was dropped by Atlantic and Future History in September 2022. Gibson and her mother, Sandra Bales, stated that their attempts to contact Atlantic’s human resources department regarding Derulo’s “sexually, emotionally and physically inappropriate behavior” went unacknowledged.
NBC News had requested comment from representatives for Derulo and Altantic Records, but neither party responded by the time of this writing. Frank Harris, Derulo’s manager, is also a defendant in Gibson’s lawsuit.
Jason Derulo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.