Singer Jeffrey Osborne is being sued by two women who attended his concert last year and claim to have left feeling “embarrassed” and “humiliated” by his “discriminatory behavior.”
The Grammy-winning musician is named in a complaint filed in the Superior Court of California on Tuesday, February 27, by two women who accuse Osborne of intentionally inflicting emotional distress on them during his May 2023 concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, People reported. Danielle Buchanan and Maneva Currie said they were in the audience for Osborne’s concert on May 6, 2023, at the Greek Theater when the singer directed his team to find someone in the audience to help him sing his 1986 hit “You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song).”
Buchanan was selected to sing “Can you woo woo woo?” into the microphone and had the “camera directed” at her, according to the suit. She was “smiling and ready” to sing with her friend, Currie, recording the moment that was allegedly displayed on two large screens. However, the ladies claim that once Osborne saw who was selected to sing, he told the audience and his team “I want a white person.”
Buchanan claims she
tried to make light of the situation by announcing on the mic, “I’m White.” However, Osborne’s team took away the mic and found someone else to sing the song. She and her friend claim they were left feeling “shocked, embarrassed and humiliated” by Osborne’s “discriminatory behavior.”The lawsuit says the two friends were “even more emotionally disturbed,” by the incident and were unable to “enjoy” the rest of the concert.
“[Buchanan and Currie] left the concert emotionally disturbed,” the complaint states. “Based on the public humiliation, [they] were afraid to engage socially in their lives for months and eventually as a result of the pain and suffering, they had to seek psycho-therapy.”
Buchanan and Currie are suing Osborne and the Greek Theater, claiming the venue displayed negligence and violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which protects from discrimination by all business establishments in California. Buchanan claims to have contacted the Greek Theater about the incident after the concert and never received a response.
They are seeking punitive damages of over $2 million and a jury trial.
“As a result of Osborne’s negligent and discriminatory behavior, he has caused [the plaintiffs] damages,” the suit reads.
Jeffrey Osborne is a
singer, songwriter, and musician who got his start in 1970 serving as the drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D. He is best known for hits throughout the 70s and 80s including “Love Ballad,” “Back In Love Again,” “You Should Be Mine,” “On The Wings of Love,” and many more.RELATED CONTENT: 4-Year-Old ‘Coach CB’ Takes The Internet By Storm