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Singer-songwriter Elton John is currently being sued by Jeffrey Wenninger, his former security guard, for sexual assault, sexual battery and harassment.
LAPD employee Jeffrey Wenninger worked for Elton for several years, and is a recipient the Los Angeles Police Department Medal of Valor.
Wenninger alleges that John groped him and made lewd comments, ‘escalating in frequency and intensity’ between 2002 and 2014. His lawsuit details three specific incidents from March to April 2014, which he claims prompted the plaintiff to file his lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Wenninger claims John tried to molest his genitals and slide a finger between his buttocks, while asking him to get his ‘todger’ out and ‘say hello to Uncle Elton’. The singer is also alleged to have twisted the plaintiff’s nipples and referred to him as a ‘gorgeous thing’.
The incidents allegedly occurred in Elton John’s car, while he was travelling to and from his LA home.
‘This unwelcome touching of Plaintiff by Defendant 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 claims.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday, seeking a trial by jury. A lawyer for John’s Rocket Entertainment Group responded on Tuesday.
Attorney Orin Snyder said, ‘This baseless lawsuit is brought by a disgruntled former security officer seeking to extract an undeserved payment.
‘These claims are patently untrue and contradicted by numerous previous statements made by this plaintiff. We will not give into his latest abuse of the legal system.’
Wenninger is seeking damages for pain and suffering, medical bills and lost income after he left the job as a result of the incidents.
Wenninger was awarded the Medal of Valor while a sergeant in 2007. He received the medal in honour of his efforts in 1996 to rescue dozens of people from a burning building. He and his partner on the force returned to the building numerous times to rescue the elderly residents.
Neither Elton nor David Furnish has responded to the allegations personally. David Furnish last week celebrated his husband’s 69th birthday on Instagram.
