Queen Latifah always seemed like the type of woman who has a good head on her shoulders. There’s just something about her energy I really liked. Unfortunately I might have been off – it seems the Queen has some financial issues. Specifically in terms of paying her employees their salaries. According to two lawsuits that have been filed, Latifah owes her stylist $300,000 and her cosmetologist $700,000 in back pay.
The people who kept Queen Latifah pretty are making some ugly accusations about the CoverGirl spokeswoman. Cosmetologist Roxanna Floyd and stylist Susan Moses say they’ve been stiffed out of $1 million for their work on Queen Latifah’s CoverGirl ad campaign, as well as the star’s “Curvations” line of intimate apparel.
The Brooklyn women filed separate breach of contract suits yesterday in Manhattan Federal Court against the “Bringing Down the House” star, whose real name is Dana Owens. Moses says Latifah promised her a $50,000-a-year salary when she went to work on the Curvations line in 2005, and is due $300,000.
“Despite such demands and assurances as well as expressions of remorse for having stiffed plaintiff … defendants have completely failed to pay plaintiff for her services and …. expenses relating to Curvations,” Moses’ lawyer Carmen Giordano wrote.
Latifah spokeswoman Amanda Silverman called the suits “without merit,” but declined to discuss them further.
Floyd, known as Roxie, has used her powder puff to touch up the likes of Angela Bassett, Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige. She says she’s owed $700,000. Until last year, she was a consultant for the CoverGirl line of cosmetic products known as the “Queen Collection,” the suit says.
[From the Daily News]
This case actually seems relatively straight-forward to me. If Queen Latifah did in fact pay her employees, she’d have records of that. If the claims are “without merit,” show the records and it’ll all be dismissed. Easy, right? I suppose the only defense the Queen can take is that the women never worked for her. Though presumably both Roxanna Floyd and Susan Moses have some sort of evidence of work product.
Somehow I’m disappointed in Queen Latifah. I know we haven’t heard her side of things, but it seems unlikely that two employees would both file lawsuits saying they didn’t get paid when they did. I know she’s a busy woman, but that’s a lot of money to a non-celeb, and they deserve to get paid.
Here’s Queen Latifah (performing with ‘Yoyo’ Yolanda Whitaker) at her birthday Party at SIR in Los Angeles on Saturday. Images thanks to WENN .
Something doesn’t sound right here… Moses is on a $50,000 pa salary but it owed $300K. What? She worked without pay for 6 years? Am I missing something. Surely if the other one worked on the Cover Girl campaign she’d be an employee of Cover Girl not Latifah?
“but it seems unlikely that two employees would both file lawsuits saying they didn’t get paid when they did.” Really? There are people who would do anything to get their hands undeservedly on some extra cash, filing a lawsuit is one of the easiest things to do. Not saying that the above mentioned women fall in that category, but generally speaking, there have been lawsuits filed based on next to nothing when it comes to money.
Agree FeeBee – if both ladies worked on the CG campaign, surely CG owes them and not Queen Latifah.
No i dont believe this… ill wait to see wat they think on the UpAllNite.TV site…
This woman was ‘promised’ 50k a year? Errrrr don’t you get a written employment contract too?!
My assessment; they probably are owed money, perhaps not that much, by the respective companies they work for (cover girl and curvations) so they’ve decided, rightly, to go to court over it and somehow Latifah’s name has been dragged into it cos she is involved, to differing extents, with both companies.
If you pay someone you can prove it throught your bank. People don’t go around counting coins into people’s hands.
If they paid them and didn’t make a paper-trail of proof, that would make them a mental deficient whose business didn’t have a chance in hell. 🙂
So yes, this should be very cut and dried and easy to prove either way. Both parties would have clear documentation.
Agreed – even though she was the spokesperson for CG – she is not responsible for the payment of the services for the makeup done for CG ad’s/promotional items.
seems odd for there not to be proof or a contact stating the terms of payment esp. for such a big job.
Latifah is not the employer. she was contracted to use her celebrity status and face to market a product (or 2). The 2 people bringing on the lawsuit are indictive of an America ideal: make some easy money, sue your neighbour for whatever you can. They were employees of CG & Curvations and they are the companies whose payroll and documentation should be checked. I would like to see the ‘Record of Employment’ on these 2 women then fry them in the media when it is proven that Latifah is NOT their employer.