Any real love that existed between superstar singer Mary J. Blige and her longtime friend and stylist Misa Hylton appears lost now that the two are facing off in an explosive legal battle over the music and management of Harlem rapper Vado.
In new filings obtained by Rolling Stone, Blige is blasting Hylton’s contract interference claims against her, calling them “blatantly frivolous” and even “stunning.” Blige’s new paperwork, filed late Monday, is asking a judge to not only dismiss Hylton’s lawsuit outright but also impose financial sanctions on Hylton and her lawyer for pursuing the “meritless” litigation.
According to Blige and her lawyers, Hylton’s company, M.I.S.A. Management, isn’t a real corporation, and Hylton isn’t a licensed talent agent, as required by law. They say Hylton, who shares son Justin Combs with Bad Boy Records founder Sean Combs, filed her lawsuit with the “sole purpose of harassing and causing malicious injury to [Blige] based on Hylton’s personal animus towards Ms. Blige.”
Hylton, who dated Combs in 1992 when they all worked together on promotion of Blige’s hit album What’s the 411?, filed her underlying lawsuit in April. In the 18-page complaint, she accused Blige of “attempting to coerce” Vado into terminating his talent and management contract with Hylton so he could “jump ship” to Blige and her company, Beautiful Life Productions, where he also had a recording agreement.
Hylton alleged Blige and her representatives “intentionally excluded” her from meetings with Vado that were held in “intimate and inappropriate” settings such as “late night yacht outings” and hotel rooms. She said the defendants “purposefully sabotaged” her relationship with the rapper.
Vado, named in the lawsuit as Teeyon Winfree, also is suing Blige for allegedly refusing to release his music. He claims the Grammy winner and her company owe him at least $5 million for breach of contract and $5 million for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
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Shortly after Hylton and Winfree sued, Blige’s lawyers, including high-profile music industry litigator Lisa Moore, sent a letter to plaintiffs demanding “immediate withdrawal” of the claims. The lawyers said a review of government websites found that Hylton’s company is not a “duly organized New York Corporation.”
“[M.I.S.A. Management] will not be able to prove that it has a valid agreement sufficient to satisfy the first element of tortious interference with contract claim, and you and plaintiffs were aware, or should have been aware, of this before filing this baseless claim,” they wrote.
The letter also said Winfree’s own actions caused delay in the release of his music. They alleged the artist failed to deliver marketable music because “none of the consents and clearances were delivered despite multiple requests.” They further claimed Hylton already has been paid more than she was owed because she allegedly took a commission on more than $300,000 already paid to Winfree that was recoupable under his recording contract. The letter further included a text messaged allegedly sent by Winfree in which he purportedly mentioned he was considering “firing” Hylton of his own accord.
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Hylton, Winfree and their lawyer did not respond to requests for comment. Blige and her lawyers asked for an Aug. 18 hearing on the dismissal motion.
Winfree, who formed the hip-hop duo U.N. with fellow artist Cam’ron in 2009, previously posted some of his musical collaborations with Blige on his Instagram.
