Mariah Carey's former assistant is firing back.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the legendary singer had filed a lawsuit against Lianna Azarian, an ex-employee who allegedly violated a non-disclosure agreement. Carey claims Azarian, who worked for the artist from 2015 to 2017, attempted to blackmail her with illicitly filmed videos.
"Azarian, without Mariah’s knowledge or permission, secretly filmed Mariah engaged in personal activities which, if revealed, Azarian knew would be personally embarrassing and professionally damaging to Mariah," the lawsuit claims, according to USA Today. "[...] Azarian threatened to release the videos, and other sensitive, private information, unless Mariah provided her $8,000,000. This is blackmail."
Azarian has responded to Carey's allegations with a lawsuit of her own. The woman is now suing her former boss over alleged verbal, sexual, and physical abuse. According to the suit obtained by Variety, Azarian claims she was tormented by Carey's ex-manager Stella Bulochnikov. She also says Carey not only witnessed the misconduct, she also condoned it.
Azarian accuses Bulochnikov of calling her derogatory terms, like the N-word and "whore." She also says the manager would slap her buttocks and breasts, and would hold her down to urinate on her. The plaintiff claims she was ultimately fired in 2017, after she reported Bulochnikov's misconduct to Carey. Azarian is suing for sexual harassment and battery, racial discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. Carey and Bulochnikov are listed as co-defendants.
Carey and Bulochnikov ended their professional relationship over a year ago. The two recently settled a lawsuit in which Bulochnikov accused Carey of sexual harassment.
