LOS ANGELES — After nearly four decades with a monthly rent of zero, a woman living in a home owned by Stevie Wonder is facing something considerably less accommodating: an eviction lawsuit.
The singer, 76, filed the complaint Oct. 22 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeking to remove Carmen Efferson from the property. The dispute follows her alleged refusal to allow an insurance inspection.
According to the lawsuit, Efferson moved into the home in July 1988 under a verbal agreement permitting her to live there without paying rent. Wonder says he has terminated that arrangement, but she has not left.
That distinction matters: This is not an allegation that Efferson spent 38 years failing to pay rent she owed. Under the agreement described in the complaint, no monthly rent was required.
The arrangement apparently survived several presidential administrations. An insurance inspection proved more troublesome.
A July 23 email attached to the complaint notified Efferson that an inspector would visit July 30 to assess the property for continued insurance coverage. She allegedly replied two days later refusing access and saying she felt harassed.
The filing also describes a subsequent message warning that she would contact law enforcement if Wonder’s representatives entered the property. Wonder’s lawyers say a notice to vacate followed.
According to the account provided by TMZ, Efferson was directed to leave by Aug. 27. Wonder alleges she remained, prompting his request for a court order, damages and legal expenses.
The correspondence also became personal.
Wonder may have been overheard saying, “Here I am baby, served – packed – evicted, Get Out!”
In an email included in the court documents, Efferson accused a lawyer of adopting a “racist cold-blooded ‘white male privilege’” tone and demanded an end to the contact.
Attorney David Huff responded that the lawyer who initially contacted her was neither white nor male. He also cited his grandfather’s civil rights work and warned that blocking the inspection could put her continued occupancy at risk.
What began as a request to inspect a house had become an argument over the attorneys themselves.
Efferson reportedly was romantically involved with Wonder, and the two were said to have been engaged in the late 1980s. Wonder has been married to Tomeeka Robyn Bracy since 2017.
The lawsuit now puts the future of the decades-old housing arrangement before a judge. Wonder is asking for possession of the property; the allegations in his complaint remain his side of the dispute.
People reported that representatives for Wonder and Efferson did not immediately respond to its requests for comment.
