A group of exotic dancers are suing retired boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. for failing to pay proper wages, including one dancer who also accused Mayweather of slapping her when she brought up her pay, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Las Vegas.
The class and collective action suit was filed in Clark County (Nev.) District Court by two exotic dancers on behalf of all exotic dancers who have worked at Girl Collection, a Las Vegas strip club owned by Mayweather and his sister Deltricia Howard.
In the lawsuit filed Monday, the dancers said Mayweather and Howard misclassified them as independent contractors rather than employees and did not pay minimum wage for hours worked. The dancers also accused Mayweather and Howard of requiring them to pay fees and portions of their tips to other employees, which the lawsuit alleged was in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Mayweather determines when dancers are allowed to leave for the night and he “often decides how much of the dancers’ tips will be retained by the club for a given shift,” the lawsuit says. The plaintiffs also allege Mayweather and Howard “threatened, intimidated and retaliated against them” in response to a previous lawsuit filed last year in federal court. That case was dismissed in August and refiled in state court, with the accusation of assault added.
Matthew Thomson, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said text message chains including Mayweather showed he was coordinating with dancers on schedules and standards for the club’s operation. The messages are included as an exhibit in a court filing, with Mayweather labeled as “Champ” in group conversation.
“We believe strongly that Girl Collection was exploiting the entertainers and violating state and federal wage laws, and that Mayweather played a direct role in all of this,” Thomson said.
Felton Newell, Mayweather’s representation, told The Athletic Mayweather “vehemently denies the allegations” and claims Mayweather never owned the club identified in the case.
On July 3, 2016, Mayweather said on social media: “I am just months away from opening up my very own strip club in Las Vegas, Nevada called Girl Collection” with a link to an Instagram post which has been deleted. Signage for “TMT,” Mayweather’s “The Money Team” brand, is shown throughout the club and on company vans, according to a photo gallery on the Girl Collection website.
In the new lawsuit, one of the dancers accused Mayweather of slapping her in the face in front of other dancers when she approached him about pay on April 23, 2023. She said that after the strike, Mayweather followed her into the locker room area and told her she could not “take a joke.”
She said her employment at Girl Collection was terminated “for her perceived involvement in this Court case and for requesting her wages from previous shifts.”
“Mr. Mayweather never assaulted the plaintiff and he never owned the club identified in the case,” Newell said. “This is nothing more than a legal shakedown. Mr. Mayweather looks forward to the opportunity to prove in court that these allegations are false.”
