Music and entertainment mogul David Geffen is facing a new legal storm. His ex-husband, Donovan Michaels, has filed a lawsuit accusing the media mogul of reneging on an alleged lifetime financial agreement. Michaels maintains Geffen left him homeless and emotionally scarred.
Donovan Michaels and David Geffen married in 2023 but divorced this year.
Michaels, 32, sued the 82-year-old billionaire in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming Geffen broke an oral contract. Geffen allegedly agreed to financially support Michaels for life in exchange for acting as Geffen’s partner, caregiver and travel companion. That arrangement collapsed earlier this year, when Geffen filed for divorce and cut off support, according to the suit. Geffen also forced Michaels out of the his New York City residence.
Michaels, a gay Black man, claimed an awful abuse of power in the court filing. He described Geffen as a “wealthy, powerful white gay billionaire who believed himself untouchable.” He alleged that Geffen exploited him both emotionally and physically throughout their relationship.
The lawsuit accuses Geffen of demanded “sexual access at will,” which were demeaning and humiliating. He also said that verbal abuse was the norm.
Michaels said things got worse after he sought help for addiction and told the mogul he would like to be seen as more that just Geffen’s companion. That assertion triggered a breakdown in the relationship, he said.
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Geffen’s legal team said the claims and lawsuit were “pathetic” and “false.” She insisted, “There was no contract — express, written, oral or implied — that has ever existed.”
Geffen, one of the most influential entertainment figures in modern history, built a formidable empire in music and film. He co-founded Asylum Records in 1971, Geffen Records in 1980 and was behind landmark signings such as Nirvana, Bob Dylan and the Eagles. In film, he helped produce Beetlejuice and co-founded DreamWorks Pictures alongside Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg in 1994. Openly gay since 1992, Geffen previously was in a high-profile relationship with pop icon Cher in the 1970s.
David Geffen’s relationship to Hip-Hop is minimal but has impacted the culture indirectly. Geffen Records eventually became part of the Interscope-Geffen-A&M umbrella, a powerhouse that included major Hip-Hop acts.