Mariah Carey's former personal assistant is hitting back against allegations that she tried to extort the singer by claiming in a lawsuit that she was subjected to verbal and physical abuse, including being peed on, while on the job.
Included in the allegations filed by Lianna Shakhnazaryan, who also goes by Lianna Azarian, is that Carey’s manager would often yell things at her like "Get that Armenian bitch!" and "Move your fat Armenian ass!" Carey’s then-manager Stella Bulochnikov also allegedly slapped Shakhnazaryan's breast and on multiple times pushed her to the ground and sat and peed on her.
Shakhnazaryan said Carey was aware of the conduct and also joined in committing physical, emotional, and psychological attacks. She is suing for sexual battery, discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination.
Carey filed her own lawsuit this week accusing Shakhnazaryan of trying to blackmail her by threatening to release “personally embarrassing and professionally damaging” videos unless the singer paid her $8 million.
According to her 32-page complaint, Shakhnazaryan said she was hired Sept. 21, 2015, to work as Carey’s personal assistant. The job required her to meet constant demands and work around the clock, she said, and she received $328,500 a year in compensation. Shakhnazaryan claims she was also tasked with assisting Bulochnikov.
During that time, Shakhnazaryan alleges Bulochnikov also repeatedly ridiculed her about her breasts and would put iPhones, remote controls, and utensils under them.
An attorney for Bulochnikov did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shakhnazaryan's attorney, Mark Quigley, said Carey’s lawsuit against is just an attempt to attack his client's character and deflect attention away from her workplace harassment and wrongful termination claims.
“My client never did anything she wasn’t specifically asked to do while working in the course and scope of her job as a personal assistant,” Quigley said. “Her lawsuit is about holding her employer accountable for severely inappropriate behavior that caused tremendous stress and emotional turmoil.”
Shakhnazaryan is seeking lost wages and damages.
