A former live-in nanny claims Mariah forced her to work 100 hours per weeks but refused to pay her any overtime and fired her for 'expressing too much affection for their children.'
- Jan 29, 2015
AceShowbiz - Mariah Carey and her estranged husband Nick Cannon have been sued by a former live-in nanny. Simonette DaCosta claims in new lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, January 29, that Mariah forced her to work 100 hours per week but refused to pay her any overtime.
The suit claimed Simonette "attended to [Mariah's children's] needs not only at home, but also during Ms. Carey's travels for her global concerts and appearances." Simonette's lawyer Eli Freedberg told New York Daily News, "[Simonette] was on call 24 hours a day. She was always at their beck and call."
According to the suit, Simonette "was always behind the scenes and often by Ms. Carey's side." The suit said, "Plaintiff was on duty during all hours of each 24 hour day with no entitlement for breaks, for meals, and even for sleep. Indeed, Ms. Carey would often call plaintiff at hours in the middle of the night and demand to be taken to her children or to be updated on the status of her children."
"Ms. Carey would not tolerate any delay when she called and plaintiff had to attend to her every demand, spontaneous or otherwise," the suit continued.
Simonette claimed Mariah fired her in January 2014 after the "All I Want for Christmas Is You" singer scolded her "for expressing too much affection for their children." Eli said Mariah was "jealous" of Simonette's relationship with her twin kids. He claimed, "[Simonette] was caring for the children too well. [Mariah] was worried they were getting confused who the mommy was."
The suit stated other nannies might join the case as Eli said Mariah "cycled through these nannies pretty quickly." He added, "My understanding is that Ms. Carey didn't want the children developing any lasting relationship with the women." Eli estimated that Mariah and Nick owe Simonette around $100,000 in damages.
Mariah's representative refused to comment on the issue, telling the site, "We don't comment on frivolous lawsuits."
