HOLLYWOOD—On Monday, March 28, singer Elton John is being sued for sexual harassment by former personal security guard, Jeffrey Wenninger. Wenninger is a decorated police captain of the Los Angeles Police Department having received LAPD’s Medal of Honor in 1996, according to CBS.
Wenninger worked as a personal security guard for John from 2002 until September 2014. During this time, Wenninger claims in the suit that John sexually harassed him both physically and verbally. This resulted in ongoing physical and emotional damage, according to Wenninger.
John is being sued on charges of battery, sexual battery and sexual harassment. Wenninger said that the harassment happened throughout his employment, escalating in frequency and intensity in 2010, but the case states three specific incidents that occurred in 2014. Once in March and twice in April 2014, Wenninger claims that John touched him inappropriately while saying inappropriate things to him during a car ride.
He claimed that he never consented and tried to resist and deter John both physically and verbally. In the suit, he claims that John had the intent to insult and induce fear, and carried it out with malice, fraud and oppression.
According to CBS, Orin Snyder, an attorney for John’s Rocket Entertainment Group, said that the lawsuit is from a disgruntled former employee, the claims are untrue, and Wenninger is just trying to extract an undeserved payment.
