The legal case involving Megan Thee Stallion and her former cameraman Emilio Garcia is officially moving forward. A judge has ruled that Garcia’s claims have enough substance to proceed in court, pushing the lawsuit into its next phase despite heavy pushback from Megan’s legal team.
Garcia first filed the suit in April 2024, claiming he was subjected to inappropriate conduct while working with Megan. According to the filing, he alleges that Megan engaged in a sexual act with another woman in front of him while they were in an SUV. He further accuses her of body shaming him and throwing a remote at his head during the incident. In the wake of these accusations, Megan’s camp responded swiftly and strongly, labeling Garcia a “con artist.”
As expected, her team has dismissed the lawsuit as being “entirely of falsehoods, misrepresentations of fact, and outlandish claims that have no basis in fact or law and no merit.” Despite those assertions, Judge Woods believes there is enough in Garcia’s allegations to warrant legal review.
What’s more, Judge Woods found that Garcia, who is gay, “plausibly pleads that the alleged sexual encounter in the SUV in Ibiza created a hostile work environment based on plaintiff’s sexual orientation.” The judge continued, “Plaintiff asks the court to draw the inference that ‘Pete would not have engaged in group sex with other women in front of a heterosexual male’ that ‘Pete felt comfortable engaging in group sex with other women in front of plaintiff because of plaintiff’s sexuality and gender.’ This is not an unreasonable inference to draw from the facts alleged. Therefore, plaintiff has plausibly pleaded that he experienced the alleged inferior conditions of his employment on account of his sexual orientation.”
Beyond the alleged Ibiza incident, Garcia also claims he suffered retaliation after speaking out. According to the lawsuit, he was stripped of work hours and payments shortly after making his concerns known. He further alleges he was later terminated and blackballed from working in the industry. Judge Woods addressed this in his ruling, saying, “These facts raise a reasonable inference that material terms and conditions of plaintiff’s employment were altered in retaliation for speaking up about the Ibiza incident.”
As it stands, the case will move forward against both Megan Thee Stallion and Roc Nation. While the outcome remains to be seen, the judge’s decision ensures that Garcia’s claims will be heard in court.