Killer Mike is suing the security company responsible for his citizen's arrest at last year's 66th Grammy Awards, claiming that the S & S Labor Force unjustly used its authority to "degrade, embarrass and physically hurt him."
The Run the Jewels rapper was taken away in handcuffs after sweeping the 2024 iteration of the awards — taking home the Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album prizes for his sixth solo album MICHAEL during the pre-show ceremony — but did not face charges.
In the new lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court yesterday (February 3) and obtained by Rolling Stone, Mike is alleging that the incident caused him "unnecessary embarrassment, distress and professional harm," with claims for false arrest and imprisonment, assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence.
"Defendants wrongly caused plaintiff to be falsely arrested and had him placed in jail during the remainder of the Grammy Awards Ceremony," the filing reads. "Plaintiff was therefore deprived of the valuable opportunity to be present at the awards ceremony where he was scheduled to appear on primetime television in front of a huge international audience to appear and speak and be recognized on the telecast for his historic achievements."
According to the document, the rapper and his team had been attempting to walk from the media centre to the red carpet area when he was "accosted" by a security guard despite allegedly having "all requisite credentials" to be in the space. Despite Mike's apparently numerous attempts to clarify his identity and need to access the area, he was refused — and "defendants physically assaulted and battered him to prevent him from leaving by grabbing his arm and telling him to remain there."
"Even though plaintiff sought to explain the situation in a respectful way, defendants used physical force to invade plaintiff's bodily autonomy, using hands to touch plaintiff's person in a manner both offensive and harmful without any justification or provocation from plaintiff, and to restrain him against his will. Defendants then surrounded plaintiff with multiple security guards and wrongfully detained plaintiff and confined his movements through physical force," the lawsuit continues. "Defendants used their position of authority to degrade, embarrass and physically hurt plaintiff in public view, subjecting him to emotional distress and public humiliation."
The rapper is seeking a trial, with real and punitive damages to be decided in court.