Almost two years following his death from an accidental drug overdose, rapper Lil Peep’s mother is suing his management company.
Liza Womack filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Los Angeles alleging negligence, breach of contract and wrongful death.
Lil Peep, whose real name was Gustav Ahr, was 21 when he died in November 2017 from an overdose of fentanyl and Xanax.
Womack blamed her son’s management company, First Access Entertainment, for not monitoring his physical and mental health. She said the rapper was "stressed, overwhelmed, burnt out, exhausted and physically unwell" but management allegedly ignored his request to take a break from touring and were “plying and propping him up” on drugs.
Womack alleged during The Peep Show Tour that drugs were “allowed, normalized, and even encouraged and promoted.”
The lawsuit claims that tour manager Belinda Mercer (who was allegedly having an intimate relationship with Lil Peep) was detained by Canada Border Services Agency after drug-sniffing dogs alerted officers to her. Lil Peep's tour was headed to Toronto for a show at the Phoenix Concert Theatre after performing in Cleveland two nights earlier.
Womack’s lawsuit also alleges that Lil Peep told his management that he didn’t want to perform and was urged to take an “excessive” amount of Xanax so he would be ill enough to have the cancellation covered by insurance.
He died the next night.
In a video Lil Peep – who addressed topics like depression and addiction in his songs – posted on Instagram not long before his death, he said he took six Xanax and was “lit.” He added: “I’m good,” he said. “I’m not sick.”
None of the claims have been tested in court.
First Access Entertainment issued a statement calling the allegations “groundless and offensive” and “categorically untrue.” It added: “In fact, we consistently encouraged Peep to stop abusing drugs and to distance himself from the negative influence of the drug users and enablers with whom he chose to associate.
“Unfortunately, in spite of our best efforts, he was an adult who made his own decisions and opted to follow a different, more destructive path.”