What did Jason Derulo do?
Emaza Gibson claims Jason Derulo reached out to her with the promise of a record deal. “’I’m like, OK, well, Jason is a great artist—big, international, powered with Atlantic—this should be a no-brainer’, and I should be able to, you know, start my solo career,” Gibson said in an interview with NBC News, who first broke the story of the lawsuit.
Gibson filed seven complaints against the defendants including quid pro quo sexual harassment, sexual harassment, failure to prevent and/or remedy harassment, retaliation, intimidation and violence, breach of contract and breach of good faith. She is also suing Frank Harris (Derulo’s manager), Atlantic Records, Future History, and RCA Records for allegedly ignoring her complaints.
After they started working together, Derulo often invited her to drinks and dinner at a members-only lounge, which she declined in order to keep their relationship professional. He later began inviting her to drink during their studio sessions, according to the suit which described events taking place from November 2021 to June 2022.
“I told him that I wasn’t a drinker … so it’s like, you know, you’re not listening to that the first time I tell you, and you’re still pushing on me,” Gibson said in the NBC News interview. “It’s, like, pressure at this point.” He is said to have turned cold after she repeatedly rejected his advances.
“I’m at this point in my life right now, it’s very heartbreaking,” Gibson said. “I have anxiety; I’m traumatized. I’ve dealt with inhumane work situations. … I’m at this point where I’m back to zero and I have nothing.” She was eventually dropped by Atlantic altogether and she is accusing Derulo of quid pro quo sexual harassment.
In one section, the complaint reads, “After this session, where [Gibson] declined to drink and have sex with Derulo, the offer to arrange for [Gibson] to get to and from Derulo’s studio ceased.”
Per Variety, Gibson is suing for general, special and punitive damages, as well as prejudgement interest on lost wages and benefits and attorney fees. She described to Rolling Stone that the lawsuit was “devastating” as she had always looked up to Derulo and held deep aspirations to become a successful musician. “This is something I always wanted to do since I was a little girl. Jason was one of my favorite artists on the pop scene. I accept this amazing offer only to find out the person I looked up to would put me through such a traumatic situation,” she said. She claims that she’s now suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“She’s been working for this contract since she was in middle school. She gets a chance, and all of a sudden, it comes with strings attached,” added her lawyer, Ronald Zambrano. “She’s traumatized, trying to cope with everything. It’s devastating for her. She wanted to record music based on things that were promised.”
