Emaza Gibson has reportedly accused singer Jason Derulo (pictured) of demanding “sex in exchange for success”. Photo / Getty Images
Emaza Gibson has reportedly accused singer Jason Derulo (pictured) of demanding “sex in exchange for success”. Photo / Getty Images
Warning: Mention of sexual harrassment
A new bombshell lawsuit alleges Jason Derulo left an aspiring pop star “traumatised” after she signed a record deal with him and realised afterwards that the singer allegedly expected sex in return.
Emaza Gibson, now 25, revealed she was so excited when the Whatcha Say musician offered her a record deal back in 2021 — until it became clear the agreement had strings attached, according to a suit filed in LA County Court, reports NBC.
“I’m at this point in my life right now, it’s very heartbreaking,” Gibson shared in an interview with NBC.
“I have anxiety; I’m traumatised. I’ve dealt with inhumane work situations. I’m at this point where I’m back to zero and I have nothing.”
Gibson claims Derulo, 34, axed her record deal after she declined to go out for drinks with him. She also accused the pop star of demanding “sex in exchange for success”, reports Daily Mail.
At the time of the alleged offence, Derulo had been dating Jena Frumes, who is the mother of his young son. The pair welcomed a baby boy, Jason King, on May 8 back in 2021.
The couple broke up a few months later, in September 2021 — just a month after Derulo approached Gibson, who was in a band with her sisters called Ceraadi at the time.
Frumes later slammed Derulo, accusing the Wiggle singer of cheating on her around that time.
In 2008, Gibson and her sisters moved to LA and launched a YouTube channel for their music, now boasting 1.25 million subscribers.
However, Gibson’s sisters quit the music industry while she stayed on, producing dance videos and trying to catch a break as a solo artist.
Saiyr, Zeuie and Emaza Gibson of Ceraadi pictured in 2017. Photo / Getty Images
In August 2021, Derulo sent out a request to start a joint venture, at the time with Ceraadi, his brand Future History and Atlantic Records.
According to the lawsuit, Gibson said yes to the deal, which would see her make a mixtape in four months and produce an album over six months.
Gibson spoke to NBC that September — the same month that Derulo parted ways with his girlfriend — claiming he agreed to have a drink with him at the studio.
In the lawsuit, she claims she was bombarded with “inappropriately large amounts of alcohol”. Gibson took a sip of a drink before informing Derulo it was too strong.
“I told him that I wasn’t a drinker … so it’s like, you know, you’re not listening to that the first time I tell you, and you’re still pushing on me,” Gibson shared in the interview. “It’s, like, pressure at this point.”
Derulo reportedly then told Gibson she might have to embrace “goat skin and fish scales” — which she claimed is slang for a type of cocaine and rituals involving sex.
The legal filing says that, along with his perceived predatory behaviour, Gibson believed the statement was an “explicit demand for sex in exchange for success”.
Jason Derulo and his son Jason King. Photo / Instagram
Gibson claimed that by November 2021, she was fed up with Derulo’s advances and informed him she was not willing to compromise her morals to climb the ladder within the music industry.
In June this year, Gibson confessed she had “looked up to” Derulo and was deeply upset by the way he had treated her.
Reflecting on the “toxic work environment” Derulo created while chatting to DJ Mad Max, Gibson explained: “It’s unfortunate.
“I really looked up to him, I was a big fan of his music, you know, seeing a black man in the pop space, not doing the regular music like the rap ...
“But it is what it is. Imma talk my talk and we can always have a discussion.”
Daily Mail has reached out to Derulo’s agents for comment.
