Who is Brandon Garrett? Former tour employee sues Nicki Minaj alleging physical assault

A former tour employee is accusing rapper Nicki Minaj of assault, battering, and “intentional infliction of emotional distress." Brandon Garrett claims Minaj hit him several times after a Detroit concert in April 2023.

According to documents obtained by Billboard and filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, Garrett claims to have worked as the manager on Minaj's Pink Friday 2 tour last year. However, on April 21, Minaj allegedly physically violently attacked him following a backstage altercation at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

It remains to be confirmed if Brandon Garrett was Nicki Minaj's day-to-day manager during the tour, as the latter's legal team claims he was her assistant. At this time, no other information is available about him.

All we know about the alleged altercation between Nicki Minaj and Brandon Garrett as the latter claims he was "traumatized"

Per the Hollywood Reporter, Garett claims to have been called to Nicki Minaj's dressing room backstage on the altercation day. He claims that when he arrived, he was confronted by Minaj and eight of her staff. It was then that Nicki Minaj allegedly began complaining about the staff “not knowing what they are supposed to do, and who reports to who."

Upon turning to hospitality manager Luke Montgomery for some answers about his position on her team, the complaint goes on to state that

"Mr. Montgomery explained that his duties entailed tasks like venue dressing room set-up, private jet set-up, hotel room set-up, quick change room refreshments, and tour bus set-up. Mr. Montgomery mentioned these duties were in addition to any requests from [Minaj] communicated by [Garrett], including food orders, drinks, personal items, baby items, and, most notably, prescriptions.”

Furthermore, the complaint states, per Billboard:

"Ms. [Deb] Antney [former manager] asked why Mr. Montgomery was picking up prescriptions on behalf of Defendant Maraj. Plaintiff responded that he had Mr. Montgomery pick up a prescription in the past because Defendant Maraj wanted it immediately, but Plaintiff was occupied at the venue with Defendant Maraj in the quick change room during a performance because one of Plaintiff’s job duties was assisting Defendant Maraj with dressing during performances.”

Garret claims that Nicki Minaj then became “visibly upset” and “angrily screamed” at him for not picking up the prescriptions himself, and sending someone else to do it instead:

“Are you f****** crazy having him pick up my prescription? You have lost your fucking mind and if my husband was here, he would knock out your f***** teeth. You’re a dead man walking. You just f***** up your whole life and you will never be anyone, I’ll make sure of it.”

The complaint then states that Nicki Minaj allegedly “started yelling” at Montgomery, and when no one could respond to her questions, Minaj “open-handedly struck Plaintiff on the right side of his face, causing his head to swing backward as his hat flew off his head.”

Per the complaint, Minaj's bodyguards “swarmed in close” to them, just before the rapper purportedly “struck Plaintiff on his right wrist, knocking the documents in Plaintiff’s hand onto the floor.” Garrett also claims his right wrist began "throbbing" and his face was sore because of the incident.

Following the altercation, Nicki Minaj allegedly demanded that Garrett leave the room. He then went into a nearby washroom and locked himself in for hours, "because he was terrified and feared for his safety,” the complaint reads. The next day, Garrett was notified that he “would not be riding the bus from Detroit to Chicago.”

Per the lawsuit, Garrett was forced to fly back to Chicago, and it was then that he contacted the cops to file a complaint. He also reportedly asked to be escorted back to his hotel room “because he feared for his safety and did not know if his belongings had been removed or tampered with.”

Upon reaching his hotel room, Garrett allegedly stayed there “for the next couple days…because he was fearful and traumatized” over the alleged incident. He eventually went to Detroit and filed a complaint there.

In a statement issued to Variety, Minaj's lawyer, Judd Burstein, refuted all the allegations, noting:

"At this time, no complaint has been served upon Mrs. Petty [Minaj’s husband is Kenneth Petty], and therefore, we are unaware of the specific allegations. However, if the lawsuit is as reported by TMZ, it is completely false and frivolous. We are confident that the matter brought by this ex assistant will be resolved swiftly in Mrs. Petty’s favor.”

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As reported by Variety, Brandon Garrett is seeking restitution in the form of punitive and exemplary damages and other general damages.

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