Usher may be singing the blues for a while after being slapped with a six-figure lawsuit by his children's ex-nanny.
TMZ is reporting that Cecelia Duncan signed on to work part time to care for the children of "The Voice" coach in 2010 but was expected to work many more hours -- sometimes over 40 per week -- without additional pay. Her lawsuit claims that after she complained to the revolutionary pop singer, he still refused to pay her for the extra time and a year later he fired her. She is suing for wrongful termination and unpaid overtime.
The 34-year-old actor, who will portray Sugar Ray Leonard in the upcoming movie "Hands of Stone," has primary custody of his two boys, Usher and Naviyd, and is frequently depicted in the media as a doting dad.
The lawsuit is just the latest in a string of controversies swirling around the 34-year-old multi-platinum recording artist in recent years.
Usher's custody battle
Just last summer, Usher fought for sole custody of his children after his divorce from stylist Tameka Foster. Though the "Moesha" actor won only primary custody (Foster retained some custodial rights), his reputation suffered a beating with accusations of sleeping with one of his wife's bridesmaids shortly after the wedding and doing drugs in front of his children (he denied the former and said the only drug he used was pot). His ex-wife's lawyer also accused him of being a party animal who was more interested in hanging out with his buddies than watching "Barney and Friends" with his kids.
During the custody hearing, Usher may not have helped his own image much when he accused Foster of throwing food at his car and spitting on his new girlfriend. "Of course I tried my hardest to prevent the situation from escalating," he said. "But she continued to swing, spit… It basically was an attack on [my girlfriend, Grace Miguel)."
Though perhaps not the most mature thing to do, many women may have secretly sided with Foster since Usher had brought his girlfriend over to her house. "It was not one of my more proud moments," Foster told a reporter. "I'm prone to human frailty. It was a one-time incident. I was angry."
Usher's sex tape
Two years ago news surfaced about a sex tape Usher made with his then-wife Foster. The video, which was allegedly stolen from Usher's car during a burglary in which he had over a million dollars' worth of jewelry and electronics stolen, reportedly included a scene with a sex toy that may have embarrassed the native Texan if it had gone public. Vivid Entertainment, the company that marketed Kim Kardashian's sex tape, offered to buy the video and keep it private.
Usher's history of cheating
In perhaps his first public cheating scandal, Usher stepped out on his girlfriend, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas and then wrote a song about the affair during which he allegedly fathered a child with the other woman. "These are my confessions/Just when I thought I said all I can say/My chick on the side said she got one on the way," he sang in "Confessions." Though Usher and the TLC singer broke up, he claimed his cheating had nothing to do with it.
So will Usher confess to underpaying his ex-nanny or is the nanny's claim a fairy tale? Share your thoughts below.