Mariah Carey’s apparently a diva at home, too.
A former live-in nanny for the superstar says the “Hero” singer forced
her to work 100-hour weeks — and then refused to pay her any overtime.
In papers filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, Simonette DaCosta
says she went to work for Carey and her now estranged husband Nick Cannon in
October of 2013.
“As such, she attended to their needs not only at home, but also during
Ms. Carey’s travels for her global concerts and appearances,” the suit says.
“She was on call 24 hours a day. She was always at their beck and
call,” said DaCosta's lawyer, Eli Freedberg.
The suit says DaCosta “was always behind the scenes and often by Ms.
Carey’s side.”
She was paid $6,000- to $7,200-a-month for taking care of fraternal
twins Moroccan and Monroe — but didn’t get any overtime, and there was plenty
of it.
“Plaintiff was on duty during all hours of each 24 hour day with no
entitlement for breaks, for meals, and even for sleep. Indeed, Ms. Carey would
often call plaintiff at hours in the middle of the night and demand to be taken
to her children or to be updated on the status of her children,” the suit says.
“Ms. Carey would not tolerate any delay when she called and plaintiff
had to attend to her every demand, spontaneous or otherwise.”
DaCosta says she was fired in January of last year after Carey berated
her “for expressing too much affection for their children.”
Freedberg said Carey was “jealous” of the nanny’s relationship with her
kids.
“She was caring for the children too well. (Carey) was worried they
were getting confused who the mommy was,” he said.
The suit says other caretakers may
join in on the case. Carey “cycled through these nannies pretty quickly,” he
said.
“My understanding is that Ms. Carey didn’t want the children developing
any lasting relationship with the women.”
He estimated that the former power couple owe his client about $100,000
in damages.
A rep for Carey said, “We don’t comment on frivolous lawsuits.”
The suit is the second in over a month to charge that Carey was a
tyrannical boss who’d stiff her help. She was sued in December for allegedly
cheating her longtime staffer, Ylser Oliver, out of overtime for a whopping
seven years.
Oliver said she worked 10 to 16 hours a day, six to seven days a week,
cleaning Carey’s home and tending to her needs. That case is pending.
The 44-year-old songstress isn’t exactly hurting for cash — she
announced earlier this month that she’d be doing a residency at Caesar’s Palace
in Las Vegas for a reported $30 million.
Carey is worth an estimated $250 million, according to the website,
celebritynetworth.com.
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