The 'Judas and the Black Messiah' actor and his spouse Kasmere Trice are accused of failing to pay their nanny for her work in a lawsuit filed by the former employee.
- February 3, 2024
AceShowbiz - LaKeith Stanfield and his wife Kasmere Trice are slapped with lawsuit by their nanny over an alleged lack of pay. The couple - who confirmed in July 2023 they had married and welcomed their first child into the world - are the subject of legal action from a woman who was employed to take round-the-clock care of the little one during a recent trip to New York City after she claimed they have not paid her for her work.
Monica Sawyer has claimed in court documents, obtained by Entertainment Tonight, she was due to be paid $500 per day from October 31 through to November 7, whilst they attended several glamorous events like the WSJ Magazine 2023 Innovator Awards and CFDA Fashion Awards.
Monica claimed that she was "left alone for the entire time" with the infant, and that during the night she was "consistently woke up every two-and-a-half hours, remaining awake for approximately 45 minutes each time," which she said left her with little time to take care of herself.
On the last day of the trip, the nanny claimed the 29-year-old model "stated that the infant would be in [Sawyer's] care on the drive to the airport and during the return flight" but when she responded to the request by explaining "she was not comfortable holding the infant on her lap during the flight because it is a safety risk", the wife of the "Automatic" singer allegedly retaliated by canceling her flight and telling her to fund her own way back home.
Monica alleged since the fallout, she has received "not one dollar" from the couple and her lawyers argue that the couple can "clearly afford" to foot the bill.
Her attorney, Ron Zambrano, said, "This is a stunning case of elitism by two celebrities who can clearly afford to pay Ms. Sawyer. They could have just shown her even a modicum of respect and humanity and merely paid her for the time she worked and all this would be moot."
"But given their failure to pay and dismissive attitudes, we're now forced to seek legal remedies for Ms. Sawyer, and the case is clear. Pay her what she is owed now or we're very confident a jury will find in our favour, and they'll just pay more."
