Ex-bodyguard sues Justin Bieber for assault, wages
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A former bodyguard for Justin Bieber sued the pop superstar Thursday seeking more than $420,000 in overtime and other wages and claims he was repeatedly struck by the singer during an October confrontation.
Moshe Benabou's lawsuit claims Bieber berated him and repeatedly punched him in the chest after a disagreement about how to handle a member of the Grammy-nominated singer's entourage. After he walked away, Bieber fired him, Benabou's lawsuit claims.
Benabou claims he was mistakenly told that he wasn't entitled to receive overtime despite working 14 to 18 hour days between March 2011 and October 2012.
An email message sent to Bieber's publicist was not immediately returned.
Benabou is seeking unspecified damages on the assault and battery claims and $421,261 in unpaid overtime, vacation and other wage benefits.
"For nearly two years Mr. Benabou devoted himself completely to ensuring Mr. Bieber's personal safety," Benabou's attorney, Ilan Heimanson, wrote in a statement. "Mr. Benabou deserved, as does any employee, to be treated with respect, dignity and in accordance with the law. Unfortunately, he was not. "
Bieber's album "Believe" ranked No. 6 in 2012 sales with more than 1.3 million units sold.
Moshe Benabou's lawsuit claims Bieber berated him and repeatedly punched him in the chest after a disagreement about how to handle a member of the Grammy-nominated singer's entourage. After he walked away, Bieber fired him, Benabou's lawsuit claims.
Benabou claims he was mistakenly told that he wasn't entitled to receive overtime despite working 14 to 18 hour days between March 2011 and October 2012.
An email message sent to Bieber's publicist was not immediately returned.
Benabou is seeking unspecified damages on the assault and battery claims and $421,261 in unpaid overtime, vacation and other wage benefits.
"For nearly two years Mr. Benabou devoted himself completely to ensuring Mr. Bieber's personal safety," Benabou's attorney, Ilan Heimanson, wrote in a statement. "Mr. Benabou deserved, as does any employee, to be treated with respect, dignity and in accordance with the law. Unfortunately, he was not. "
Bieber's album "Believe" ranked No. 6 in 2012 sales with more than 1.3 million units sold.
Wait, is he claiming 421 grand for a year and a half of unpaid OT&benefits, for an 18 month period? WOW I am in the wrong racket! I will defend the little weasel from the adoring assaults of throngs of tweenage girls, and even take a few hits from the beebster himself, just for the overtime pay! I would use part of it to invest in top quality riot gear!Â
Hahaha...
'Body guard beat by teen heart throb'.
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Someone pass the oxygen!
I would be far too ashamed to admit I was hit by Justin Beiber. Good Lord.
Whoa. That chick is hot.Â
My 12 year old daughter could hit harder than that wuss!
Oh come on bodyguard. You can't handle a hit from a girly man? Okay I get the wages, but man, Beiber can only fight like a girl... oh, wait! Nevermind!
Just can't imagine this metrosexual assualting anyone other than another metrosexual.
Oh come on JB is a lover not a beater. Wages, well maybe.
It would be like getting punched by a kitten, would it not? Â However, assault is still illegal as is withholding earned wages. Â My husband met a driver in Dallas who said this kid is the most arrogant, disrespectful, foul-mouthed little punk you would never want to meet.
So a BODY GUARD is admitting that he got hit by Justin Bieber? Good luck getting work as a body guard ever again. As a man, I would never admit to that.
 @Hachee_Bungwhy But of course you wouldn't, because you've failed to realize this is the year 2013, where macho attitudes like that are, frankly, out of place, and time.
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I agree with @Table9Â that his not hitting back shows a lot of restraint. Additionally, abuse is abuse.
Actually, the opposite is likely true. If a man hit the person he was paid to protect then he would probably not be able to find work as a body guard again. But it sounds like he didn't hit Beiber back which shows respectful restraint. Are you implying that if he were capable of protecting Bieber then he shouldn't be capable of getting hit? What was he supposed to do in that position? Run away from his boss? Restrain his boss? Hit his boss? All of those options would result in a discharge from duty and possibly never getting work in that field again. Everybody's making cracks about how this guy should be too embarrassed to complain about getting hit by Bieber since he's a weakling. But a hit's a hit. My one-year-old caught me by surprise the other day and clocked me in the face. It still stings...
At first I thought it said "ex-boyfriend"...Biebers a boob.
He may have a claim for the unpaid overtime, but who is going to believe that a bodyguard was assulted by Bieber?
Must have hit him with "his" purse?
I'd be embarrassed to claim I was assaulted by a little girl.
 @JusticeSeeker Why? Is it because you feel a need to project an image of toughness?
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I'd be more embarrassed if I were the girl, or in this case, Bieber - having my laundry aired in public, knowing that everyone (as if they didn't know before) now knows what a brat he is.
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