Emaza Gibson moved to Los Angeles in 2008 with her sisters in hopes of breaking into the music business. Their group, Ceraadi, had a successful YouTube channel before Gibson’s sisters dropped out and left her to pursue a solo career.
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Finally, Jason Derulo reached out to Gibson offering her a record deal. What seemed like a dream come true turned into a nightmare, according to a lawsuit the singer filed against Derulo this week.
According to an NBC News report, Derulo offered Gibson a deal with his imprint, Future History and Atlantic Records. The deal stipulated that she would produce a mixtape in four months and an album in six months. Additionally, the contract stipulated that she would have a single featuring the “Whatcha Say” singer.
“I’m like, OK, well, Jason is a great artist — big, international, powered with Atlantic — this should be a no-brainer,” Gibson said of the deal in an interview with NBC News. She added that she had always hoped to sign with Atlantic Records.
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Soon after signing the deal, Gibson began working with Derulo to make music to present to Atlantic executives. In the lawsuit, the singer states that Derulo often invited her for drinks and dinner at a members-only lounge. Gibson declined, wanting to keep their relationship professional. Later, he began offering her alcohol during studio sessions, which she refused. However, her allegations don’t stop with peer-pressuring her into drinking.
The suit further alleges that Derulo told Gibson she may have to take part in “goat skin and fish scales.” After researching, Gibson believes that Derulo wanted her to do cocaine (fish scales) and participate in rituals involving sex, goat sacrifices, and blood. The lawsuit states that Gibson took this as “an explicit demand for sex-in-exchange-for-success.”
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Derulo became aggressive with Gibson on multiple occasions. Once, he got in her face and screamed at her in front of studio staff as well as Gibson’s mother and manager, Sandra Bales.
Not long after that incident, Gibson learned that Atlantic and Future History had dropped her. Later, she and Bales tried to contact the HR department at Atlantic Records about Derulo’s inappropriate behavior. However, they never heard anything from Atlantic on the topic.
Gibson’s lawsuit names Derulo, Future History, and Atlantic Records as defendants. The suit accuses them of sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, a failure to remedy workplace harassment, and violation of California’s Civil Rights Act. The suit seeks unpaid wages, loss of earnings, damages for emotional distress, deferred compensation, and other employment benefits.
Ron Zambrano, Gibson’s attorney, spoke about the suit. He said that Derulo “not only broke promises and breached contracts, but his threats of physical harm and unconscionable sexual advances toward this young woman who is just trying to break into the music industry were outrageous and illegal.”
About the suit, Gibson said she only wants to do what is right. She added that she wouldn’t want anyone else to go through the things she went through. She went on to say that she was told to “Forget the contract.” However, she stated, “If I wasn’t doing my part according to the contract, I would be in trouble. I would be held accountable.”
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