Mariah Carey Is Getting Sued Again: ‘Slave-Driving’ Diva Doesn’t Pay Staff
Mariah Carey is being sued by her former employee for failing to pay overtime and requiring her to work seven days a week without meal breaks.
Ysler Oliver, 49, worked for Carey from March 2007, often working 16 hour days for the demanding self-style pop princess. Over a period of seven years of loyal service, Oliver claims that she was worked to the bone cleaning Mariah’s Tribeca New York home, packing her suitcases and taking care of her personal needs.
The suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, claims that Oliver would travel with Carey on business trips, taking her calls, carrying out shopping tasks, and caring for Mariah’s friends and family. She quit in June 2014, after becoming disgruntled with the long, arduous working hours and lack of overtime pay.
Seriously. @MariahCarey could punch a kitten in the throat but I would still defend her for “all I want for Christmas.”
— Steve Marmel (@Marmel) December 19, 2014
Ysler Oliver’s lawyer, Matthew Blit, said that his client “put her family’s life on hold while tending to Mariah Carey’s family and Mariah repaid her by underpaying her.”
“My client is a very hard-working woman who treated Mariah and her family like her own, working all hours of the day and night. Even celebrities are required to abide by the law.”
The lawsuit claims that she was entitled to at least time-and-a-half pay when working over 40 hours a week for Carey. But despite her hard work and personal sacrifice, it appears that Oliver never got a dime from the multimillionaire star. Blit refused to be drawn on exact figures, but confirmed that they were seeking “a significant amount of money.”
Mariah Carey has developed a reputation as one of the industry’s most difficult divas over the course of her music career. In October, she was accused of pulling the opening act of her Perth show, Australian singer Natalia, simply because she was female.
I wish I had enough money to pay Mariah Carey to take all of her Christmas music off of all the radio stations. I can only hear it so much.
— Emily Kondrk (@Kondrk_lamar) December 14, 2014
In another recent lawsuit brought against the singer, a photographer is claiming he prepared a photo shoot for the singer’s album cover, only for it to be cancelled for no reason.
The photographer is suing for his $150,000 fee, which is the amount that TMZ claims it takes to get Mariah pretty enough to be snapped.
When asked about the new lawsuit, Mariah’s spokesperson, Cindi Berger, said she was unaware of the details.
“I can’t comment on anything that I’m not aware of and we haven’t heard anything about this lawsuit.”
After splitting from her husband of six years, Nick Cannon, earlier this year, 2014 has proved to be rather trying for Mariah Carey.
[Photo: Getty Images]
