What the lawsuit is about
A photographer is suing the R&B singer for personal injury, claiming that a bodyguard for Brown assaulted him when he photographed the star during a pickup basketball game at a Los Angeles fitness club on March 13, 2009.
Photographer Robert Rosen filed a lawsuit against Brown and LA Fitness International Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging that Brown's bodyguards and a gym employee chased down and assaulted him after he was caught taking photos of the singer playing basketball at LA Fitness in Universal City.
When some of Brown’s bodyguards noticed him and yelled at him, Rosen says, he attempted to flee the premises to avoid confrontation. The suit cliams that a gym employee grabbed at Rosen and his clothes to try to stop him. After Rosen fell down the stairs, Brown’s bodyguard caught up with him, picked him up by his shorts and began physically assaulting him.
Rosen alleges he was "severely injured and disabled, both internally and externally," and he cried out for the LA Fitness employees to call the police or 911 because he was injured. Rosen claims he “suffered extreme emotional distress”.
LA Fitness also named in the lawsuit
In his lawsuit, the paparazzo also named LA Fitness as a defendant, alleging its employees did not adequately protect him. He is suing the centre for negligence, premises liability and false imprisonment, among other claims.
Rosen is asking for medical expenses and other unspecified damages.
Meanwhile, in response to Rosen’s lawsuit, Brown's lawyer Mark Geragos issued a statement, saying: "This is a specious and frivolous lawsuit by one of the paparazzi seeking publicity and a payday. He’s done this before and lost. We will vigorously defend against this."
Brown’s video message
Rosen’s lawsuit comes on the same day the 20-year-old rapper defended himself in a video posted on YouTube. The video circulated online on Wednesday shows Brown leaning in and speaking directly into the camera. In the footage, Brown first talks about his new album called "Graffiti", and a single expected this summer, and then tells his fans that he’s not a monster.
Brown says: "Everybody that's haters, they just been haters. All my real fans, I love you. I ain't a monster."
Brown’s video message comes ahead of a court hearing over a criminal charge that he beat his former girlfriend, pop singer Rihanna, leaving her bruised and bloodied. The hearing is set for Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
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