Soul singer Patti Labelle is facing legal action for allegedly ordering a bodyguard to attack a man who got too close to her at an airport in Texas earlier this year (11).
Richard King, 23, claims the Lady Marmalade hitmaker called on her security staff to assault him at a Houston airport on 11 March (11).
King's lawyer, John Raley said, "Apparently, LaBelle believed King was standing too close to her luggage, even though he was oblivious to her presence and the danger he was in. She lowered the window of her limousine and gave a command to her bodyguards. They sprang into action."
An airport security video, obtained by the Houston Chronicle newspaper, shows a bloody King being pushed and punched before falling into a concrete pillar. The camera also captured Houston security personnel posing for photographs with the star sometime after the incident.
King, a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, was subsequently taken to hospital and treated for head injuries.
He is seeking actual and punitive damages.