Chrisette Michele

Grammy-nominated R&B singer Chrisette Michele has spoken out after her former manager launched a multi-million dollar lawsuit against her - branding him a "gold digger." Douglas `Biggs' Ellison, CEO of Four Kings Productions Inc, is suing Michele for $20 million, claiming that Island Def Jam Music Group 'stole' the singer from his books. Ellison also blames the star's parents - Lynette and Lemuel Payne - for the move, claiming they conspired with Shalik Berry, from Def Jam's A&R department, to break the artist's exclusive contract with Four Kings Productions - and now he is looking for compensation. But Michele's publicist, Rochelle Brown, has disputed Ellison's claims - arguing that the businessman's motivation for the suit is driven by personal reasons. She tells Allhiphop.com, "This is just a case of the jilted lover and gold-digging manager getting caught. The Paynes and Mr. Berry did not unlawfully try to get Chrisette out of her contract with Four Kings. Mr. Ellison's devious plot to exploit and rip Chrisette off began to be revealed. No contracts have been breached except on the end of Mr.Ellison. His reputation has been damaged as a consequence of the unlawful and idiotic transactions he decided to make."