Los Angeles police captain Jeffrey Wenninger has sued Sir Elton John for sexual harassment. On Monday, March 28, Wenninger filed a lawsuit claiming he was repeatedly groped by the “Crocodile Rock†crooner while working off-duty as his bodyguard in September 2014.
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John, 69, is fighting his former employee’s claims. Orin Snyder, an attorney for the Grammy winner’s Rocket Entertainment Group, released a statement on Tuesday denying the allegations against the musician.
"This baseless lawsuit is brought by a disgruntled former security officer seeking to extract an undeserved payment," Snyder’s statement (via the Associated Press) reads. "These claims are patently untrue and contradicted by numerous previous statements made by this plaintiff."
Wenninger, who stopped working for John in 2014, alleges that the singer touched him inappropriately on multiple occasions. According to the suit, the superstar reached for and felt Wenninger’s privates during a ride to the airport in 2014. The retired officer claims that almost two weeks after that, the iconic British musician committed more sexual offenses against him.
"The unwelcome touching of plaintiff by (John) occurred on many other occasions over the span of several years since plaintiff began his employment in 2002, escalating in frequency and intensity after 2010," the lawsuit states. "At no time did plaintiff consent to defendant Elton John touching him in this offensive manner, or in any other manner."
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