Stevie Wonder is taking legal action against a reported ex-fiancée, filing a lawsuit this week to evict her after she allegedly lived rent-free at his Studio City property for nearly four decades.
The prolific musician, whose legal name is Stevland Morris, filed a lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Carmen Efferson, who he says has been living rent-free in an Oak Glen Drive home since July 1988, according to the complaint obtained by The Times. Wonder is seeking to evict Efferson after she allegedly refused to let inspectors into the property earlier in the summer and failed to vacate the house in August, despite being given 30 days’ notice in late July.
Efferson, who TMZ reports was once engaged to the Grammy-winning “Songs in the Key of Life” musician, did not immediately respond to multiple requests for a response from The Times on Friday. A legal representative for Wonder, 76, had no comment and did not clarify the singer’s reported relationship with Efferson. Wonder has been married to Tomeeka Bracy since 2017.
According to the musician’s complaint, Wonder and Efferson reached an oral agreement in 1988 that she could occupy the property without paying monthly rent. Tensions began in July of this year when Wonder representatives attempted to access the property multiple times “in an effort to update and maintain property insurance,” according to an email between Wonder’s legal representatives and Efferson included in the complaint.
An attorney for Wonder notified Efferson on July 23 of an inspection of the property the following week. Efferson had choice words for the request, emailing another Wonder lawyer on July 25 to “please refrain from your cold-blooded racist (sic) ‘white man’s privilege’ tone.”
“I feel harassed,” Efferson said, according to screenshots of her email. “Regarding your ORDERS to enter the place where I live, I do not consent.”
She ended her email with an explicit statement. A lawyer for Wonder responded two days later, informing Efferson that the lawyer who issued the inspection notice “is not racist, cold-blooded, white or male.”
In an email dated July 27, Efferson also threatened to “immediately contact law enforcement” if Wonder representatives attempted to enter the property again. The next day, lawyers informed Efferson that she had 30 days to leave the house.
“You were given the opportunity to reconsider your decision to deny access and you declined,” the notice states, according to the complaint. Efferson was ordered to vacate the property by August 27.
On October 6, Wonder’s lawyers gave Efferson three days’ notice to vacate the home due to his alleged violation of his oral agreement with the musician. Wonder’s legal representatives also claimed to have given Efferson “three additional opportunities to allow entry” for an inspection, but she did not respond.
“The landlord has suffered harm as a result of the cancellation of the property insurance policy and is now at substantial risk of economic loss due to your actions in preventing the protection and preservation of the premises,” the attorneys said in the opinion, according to the exhibits. The attorneys also informed Efferson that Wonder would file a lawsuit if she denied access again.
Wonder – celebrating the 50th anniversary of his seminal work “Songs in the Key of Life” this year – is seeking forfeiture of the rental agreement with Efferson, legal fees and statutory damages up to $600.
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