HOLLYWOOD, April 13 (UPI) —
Shakira’s ex-boyfriend and former business partner is suing the Colombian singer for $100 million, saying he is the “principal architect” in her success.
Argentine businessman Antonio de la Rua said the severed business partnership — which ended in 2011 when Shakira signed with Roc Nation management company — entitles him to $100 million of Shakira’s earnings.
De la Rua and Shakira — whose real name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll — met in 2000 and began dating shortly thereafter.
In the suit filed Friday in California Superior Court, de La Rua said Shakira’s success “was not simply luck,” but “the result of a hard-fought battle to conquer the music world that Mebarak and de la Rua fought together as business partners.”
The businessman called himself the “principal architect of her management team and business plan that set Shakira on the path to lasting financial success.”
The singer’s 10-year deal with Live Nation is worth $300 million, The Hollywood Reporter said.
The suit cites as evidence of the business partnership an email Shakira sent to Live Nation Chief Executive Officer Michael Rapino in 2011 that read “[the break-up] only involves the romantic aspect of our relationship. His [de la Rua’s] word is mine … We continue to be partners in all of our projects.”
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