According to NBC, the lawsuit was filed by Roseanna and Kevin Monk on Nov. 14. According to the couple’s lawyer, Samuel L. Davis, the incident occurred Nov. 11, 2010, between Roseanna and LaBelle in the lobby of a Manhattan apartment building where the singer was staying during her run on the Broadway musical Fela!
Samuels says that while Roseanna was in the lobby fumbling with luggage and a car seat, her 18-month-old daughter took some steps away from her. LaBelle, who was watching nearby, proceeded to chastise Roseanna for not watching her daughter. Roseanne picked up her daughter and told LaBelle that it was none of her business, prompting the singer to allegedly throw water on the mother and daughter from a bottle she was carrying, before launching into an expletive-filled tirade.
As the child began crying, Roseanna shot off a remark at LaBelle, who then charged at her and tried to hit her.
A police complaint was filed by the Monks, but no arrests were made in the case.
The Monks are now seeking unspecified damages from LaBelle for the incident. The couple also asked for an apology and a donation to a children’s cancer center from the singer but were denied.
Davis says that the Monks believe “someone’s got to teach her even a diva can’t attack and frighten and assault regular people …”
The lawsuit comes just five months after LaBelle was sued by a West Point cadet, Richard King, who was beaten by the singer’s bodyguards at a Houston airport in March 2010. King claimed that LaBelle’s bodyguard’s attacked him for no reason, while LaBelle countersued, claiming King was drunk, hurled racial and sexual slurs at her and tried to get into her limousine.
LaBelle’s legal drama is shocking but she’s not the only celeb who’s been accused of having a temper tantrum. Here are five other celebs who’ve let their words, fists and phone fly in public.
–nicholas robinson
