Ricky Martin was sued by his former talent manager, Rebecca Drucker, on Wednesday.- Drucker claims Martin owes her upwards of $3 million in unpaid commissions.
Ricky Martin was sued on Wednesday by his former talent manager, Rebecca Drucker, who claims that the singer failed to pay her upwards of $3 million in commissions.
In the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Drucker also claimed to have once saved Martin's career from a "devastating" scandal, said he has substance abuse issues, and fostered a "toxic" work environment.
"For years, she protected Martin from the consequences of his reckless indiscretions. Rebecca did so not only because she was his manager, but also because she thought that Martin was her dear friend," according to the lawsuit.
Insider reached out to Drucker's attorney for more information on the alleged scandal Martin faced, but did not immediately receive a response on Thursday. An attorney for Martin also did not respond to Insider's request for comment on the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Drucker said she first befriended Martin in the early 2000s, and started working for him around 2013. But they initially parted ways in February 2018 "after a particularly ugly incident in Dubai involving Martin and his representative José Vega and other disputes," according to the lawsuit.
Drucker said that after she stopped working for Martin, his "career took a nosedive" and he "begged" her come back and work for him. She accepted in May 2020, initially coming to an agreement to receive a 5% commission, according to the lawsuit.
Drucker "resurrected" Martin's career "in every way," according to the lawsuit, thanks to her help with recording contracts, touring, and sponsorship deals.
And it wasn't just business dealings that Drucker helped Martin with. According to the lawsuit, Drucker was "forced to deal with a litany of Martin's personal issues, such as problems with the nanny he hired to take care of his children, Martin's nonpayment of taxes and his substance abuse, among other issues."
Drucker also recalled stepping up when Martin's career was threatened by a scandal.
"In one example among many, in or around September 2020, Martin received a letter from a highly-respected litigation attorney in Los Angeles, California. Rebecca stood next to Martin as they read the legal letter for the first time. In that letter, the attorney threatened to publicly file a legal complaint against Martin if he did not pay money to resolve a claim against him alleged by his attorney's client," the lawsuit states.
"After reading the legal letter, Martin collapsed. He expressed his extreme fear to Rebecca that if this threat were carried out, the consequences to Martin would be catastrophic."
Drucker "quickly brought in one of the top defense attorneys in Los Angeles" to work for Martin, and "needless to say, the claim ultimately never saw the light of day," according to the lawsuit.
"Martin emerged unscathed and proceeded with his professional resurgence. Once again, Rebecca saved Martin's career with the exceptional managerial and advisory services that she provided to him during this ordeal."
The lawsuit insinuated that Martin was far from grateful for Drucker's work. The lawsuit said Martin "fostered a toxic work environment wherein he constantly mistreated, manipulated, and lied to Rebecca."
After a "communication breakdown" in July 2021, Drucker resigned, but once again Martin "begged" her to stay, upping her commission to 10%, according to the lawsuit. She initially agreed, but later was forced to resign in April 2022, according to the lawsuit.
Drucker is now seeking millions of dollars of unpaid commissions from the deals she brokered for Martin.
According to the lawsuit, when Martin and his business entities realized that they owed Drucker millions "they outright refused to pay her anything," which Drucker called "the ultimate betrayal," in the lawsuit.