Nicki Minaj is being sued by her former "wig master" Terrence Davidson to the amount of $30 million. In his lawsuit, Davidson claims that Ms. Minaj stole, licensed and sold his personal designs without sharing the profits.
Davidson and Minaj started working together in 2010. At that time Minaj was making her mark in the hip hop music niche under the recording label Young Money Entertainment. To go mainstream and become a pop sensation, she wanted to restyle herself and turned to Davidson for funky wigs as part of her new brand image.
Davidson's wig creations are described in the lawsuit as "fresh, unique and highly distinguishable". They ranged from black to blonde to any kind of cotton-candy color and carry names such as "Pink Upper Bun Wig," the "SuperBass Wig" and the "Half Blonde-Half Pink Wig". According to the lawsuit, Davidson’s wig creations “significantly contributed to Minaj’s unsurpassed notoriety for her wigs.”
After hitting it big with her debut record album Pink Friday (which went platinum), their business relationship slowly deteriorated. Minaj went on to become a major sensation and was even an America Idol judge in 2013. Their business relationship dissolved in 2012.
According to Davidson, Minaj started selling her own wig line via her website MyPinkFriday.com. He also claims that her management discouraged him from signing a multi-million-dollar deal for a reality show, implying that it would harm their cooperation.
Davidson hired prominent lawyer Christopher Chestnut which does not bode well for Ms. Minaj. Chestnut stated: “Her lawyers may complicate it, but we don’t need to get into intellectual-property law. This is basic American morality. Nicki Minaj lied to this man and cheated him. . . It’s a classic David versus Goliath situation."
Read the full complaint below.
(Image courtesy of Neil Mockford / FilmMagic / Getty Images)
