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Singer Mariah Carey sues former executive assistant

Singer Mariah Carey sues former executive assistant
January 17, 2019
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singer Mariah Carey on Wednesday sued her former assistant for breaking a nondisclosure agreement, negligence and theft, according to court documents. Carey, one of the world’s best-selling singers with 200 million records sold and hits including “We Belong Together,” is seeking at least $3 million in damages from Lianna Azarian and a restraining order to keep her former assistant from further breaking the nondisclosure agreement, according to papers filed in New York State Supreme Court. Azarian worked for Carey from March 2015 through November 2017 as an executive assistant, court documents showed. Lawyers for Carey did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Azarian did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Entertainment website TMZ.com reported on Wednesday that Azarian had secretly recorded Carey and threatened to release “embarrassing” videos unless the pop star paid up to $8 million. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm those details. Mariah Carey further describes the videos as “intimate moments” that were filmed inside her home. She also says that Shakhnazarian “blackmailed Mariah by threatening to ‘go public’ with the videos she surreptitiously took of Mariah without her consent unless Mariah paid her $8,000,000.” Mariah also claims that Shakhnazarian told a co-worker if the singer ever fired her, she “would sell the video for profit and buy herself a home.” Speaking of buying things … Mariah also claims that Shakhnazarian “regularly made purchases for her personal benefit on credit cards provided to her by Mariah exclusively for business purposes.” Mariah Carey is suing for breach of contract, extortion and invasion of privacy. She is seeking damages in excess of $3,000,000 and she wants a judge to rule that any goods Shakhnazarian purchased with Mariah’s money be declared hers.