Liza Retaliates

Liza Minelli and estranged husband, David Gest, are in the midst of lawsuit heaven. First, in October, Gest filed a $10 million lawsuit against his wife claiming that she severely beat him. Minelli’s camp denies the allegations. The next day she filed for divorce. Gest recently counter-sued for divorce. Now Minelli is suing for at least $2 million, claiming Gest stole from her, publicly humiliated her, and tried to fire her staff members who questioned his motives.

It’s a classic case of he said, she said. Gest alleges that an abusive Minelli battered him on numerous occasions while she was under the influence of alcohol. Raoul Felder, Gest’s attorney, denies any wrongdoing on his client’s part. He, in fact, states that Gest "laid out millions of dollars" to produce Minelli’s shows and has lost "hundreds of thousands of dollars." Gest refers to himself as a "world renowned event and concert producer-promoter" in his suit against Minnelli and claims that his "alcoholic, overweight" wife became unmarketable.

Minelli alleges that Gest began behaving like a "star" during their marriage and that certain people in Hollywood refused to work with Minelli if Gest was involved. On the flip side, Gest reportedly refused any offers for Minelli unless he was also included. One has to wonder who was the bigger diva in the marriage? Minelli and Gest were married in March 2002 and separated a little over a year later. This is the fourth failed marriage for Minelli and the first for Gest.