A woman has revived her sexual harassment lawsuit against Jason Derulo, claiming the pop star’s behavior derailed her dreams.
Emaza Gibson, known as Emaza Dilan, first sued Derulo and Atlantic Records in Los Angeles in October 2023. A judge dismissed that case after ruling her contract required disputes to be handled in New York. Last week, she refiled in Manhattan, repeating allegations of discrimination, retaliation, and emotional distress.
“What began as a dream opportunity quickly descended into a nightmare,” her 49-page complaint states.
According to Gibson, 27, Derulo contacted her in August 2021 about signing to his joint venture with Atlantic. She says the “Talk Dirty” singer, 35, promised to mentor her and collaborate on albums, leaving her “over the moon.” But Gibson claims the relationship went left when Derulo allegedly pressured her to drink alcohol during late-night meetings and made sexually explicit comments.
On Nov. 2, 2021, she alleges he told her success required participating in “ritualistic sex acts.” After refusing, Gibson says Derulo became “aloof,” eventually withdrawing support for her music and terminating her contract. She also accuses him of physically intimidating her and sabotaging her career.
Derulo, who previously denied the claims as “completely false and hurtful,” has not responded to the new filing.
Emaza moved to Los Angeles in 2008 with her sisters to chase a dream. Together, they formed the musical group Ceraadi, building a YouTube following that swelled to more than 1.25 million subscribers. But while her sisters eventually stepped away from music, Emaza moved forward, creating viral dance videos and setting her sights on a solo career.
According to a lawsuit, that break seemed within reach in August 2021, when pop star Jason Derulo reached out with a proposed joint venture between his imprint, Future History, and Atlantic Records. The deal would give her just four months to deliver a mixtape and six months to produce a full album.