R&B star Usher Raymond is caught in the middle of a scandal after being accused of giving a fan herpes. Quantasia Sharpton claimed that she had a one-night affair with Raymond on her 19th birthday two years ago. Sharpton is the only person who has come forward publicly, but it has been reported two other people, a man and a woman, have also sued the singer for the same reason.
ABC 7 New York reported, “Two women and a man are accusing the singer Usher of failing to warn them he allegedly had herpes before an intimate encounter. The attorney representing the group is filing a lawsuit Monday that alleges the musician had sexual contact with each of them after 2012 but didn’t tell them he had the sexually transmitted disease, which is required by law.” Sharpton stepped forward in a news conference Monday, Aug. 7, awith attorney, Lisa Bloom.
Sharpton said, “We spoke for a while and then we engaged in sexual contact. He never warned me about any STDs.” She added that she gave birth last year and is certain she is negative for herpes. “Usher, if you are negative, please say so. If you are positive, you need to warn your sex partners,” Sharpton said.
Social media has been flooded with commentary about the scandal, which pressured some close to Raymond, such as his ex-wife, Tameka Foster, to respond. She wrote on Instagram, “Some issues are not my business, ex-husbands, ex-friends, snakes, hoes, characters, etc. Not my circus, not my clowns. I’m good and my health (everywhere) is great.”
Raymond’s current wife, Grace Miguel, has been relatively quiet about the scandal. Raymond reportedly paid an anonymous stylist $1.1 million after a lawsuit claiming he had unprotected sex with her without telling her he carried the virus.
People magazine reported that New York Marine and General Insurance Company stated in the filing that Raymond’s policy “does not apply to bodily injury … arising out of the transmission of any communicable diseases by insured.” The company is hopeful they will be reimbursed for expenses related to the case.
Raymond has not made any statements regarding the news conference Monday, or about the prior alleged settlement.