The Shady Side Of Usher

When an artist releases a record titled Confessions, you know there's a skeleton or two hiding in his closet. While we love his music, there's no denying that Usher seems a little shady—especially in recent years. Here are all the dirty details that are sure to make you say "OMG."

Breakups are difficult—there's no getting around that, and Usher's split from TLC singer Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas was no exception. Despite appearing to be the perfect couple, they apparently had a huge falling out—or so it would seem. After breaking up in December 2003, Thomas visited Atlanta's Q100's The Bert Show (via People) and told the world that Usher "did the ultimate no-no."

"I will never be with him again, and that is that," she told the radio show. "He portrayed himself to be this honest and great guy, and he really wasn't."

Usher's 2004 album Confessions, which dropped shortly after the two went their separate ways, only added to the rumors that he'd cheated on her. After hearing his songs with lyrics such as "My chick on the side, said she got one on the way," many fans assumed Usher was coming clean.

However, his infidelity may not have been what ended the relationship. In 2013, Thomas pulled a 180 and denied all rumors that Usher cheated on her, adding that he was her "first adult love, a real love" (via Us Weekly). Guess time heals all wounds?

A few years after Usher split from Thomas, he got married to stylist Tameka Foster, but their marital bliss didn't last long. After having two children together, Usher, who reportedly hadn't been living with Foster for some time, filed for divorce in 2009—less than a year after their second child was born. As if that weren't bad enough, Foster had recently experienced a huge health scare just months earlier.

According to People, Foster had suffered cardiac arrest after experiencing a negative reaction to anesthesia while undergoing liposuction in Brazil. She was revived by doctors and put into a medically induced coma. While Usher reportedly canceled one of his shows to be by her side, divorcing his wife so soon after she gave birth to his child and fell into a coma doesn't make him sound too great. Word to the wise: wait until your wife fully recovers before throwing divorce papers at her.

Usher and Foster's legal separation may have been finalized in 2009, but they continued to battle it out in court over custody of their children. While Usher had been granted primary custody of their two sons, Foster later called for an emergency hearing in an attempt to win back custody of her children after their eldest son nearly drowned at Usher's home. According to People, she accused Usher of being "unresponsive" to her, being an "absentee father," and providing their kids with "unfit supervision."

Hollywood Life reported that Foster also claimed Usher would rather go out partying than stay at home with their children, allegedly prompting the singer to tear up in the courtroom.

As if the custody battle wasn't bad enough, the former flames' courtroom war got even uglier. According to Hollywood Life, Foster claimed Usher had cheated on her with her former bridesmaid and their kids' nanny, Maya Fox Davis. During cross-examination, Foster's lawyer reportedly asked Usher about the children's multiple nannies, asking if Davis quit "because you were discovered in bed with [her]."

In response, Usher reportedly made a face and his lawyer quickly objected to the question.

In the end, the court ruled that Usher would maintain primary custody of the children, though he appeared to feel bad about the outcome. People noted that after the verdict was read, he hugged Foster and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Sorry for what?

It's safe to say there was some animosity between Usher and Foster after their separation—divorces tend to do that, but Usher took it a step further than most ex-husbands when he appeared on Oprah Winfrey's Oprah's Next Chapter in 2012. While he remained composed and fairly tight-lipped about his painful split, he made one thing clear: he blamed Foster for their train wreck of a relationship.

"I really felt like we were friends," he told Winfrey (via ABC News). "She made us enemies in a way that I could never understand."

Toward the end of their marriage, Usher said he felt "lost" and desperately wanted to find a way to end things. He says he didn't cheat on her—emotionally, that is. "No. I was faithful at heart, but not faithful all the way," he explained. "Even having a conversation with another woman, period, about matters of your relationship or emotions is, in my opinion, not being faithful."

So what does that mean, exactly? Well, that he'd slept with another woman while he was married, apparently—but not until he and Foster were separated, he said. For someone who claimed to be so distraught by his failed marriage, it didn't seem to take him long to move on.

It's not every day that a celebrity is able to tie the knot in secret, but that's exactly what happened for Usher. As he told The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the singer got hitched to wife Grace Miguel (real name Michelle Grace Harry) in Cuba in 2015. Why all the secrecy? They'd been together—or at least they'd been romantically linked—since 2009, according to the New York Daily News, so it's not like a wedding was unexpected.

Maybe it has to do with the disapproval of Usher's family. The New York Daily News noted that Usher's mom, Jonetta Patton, was not too happy about her son's relationship with Miguel. According to the paper, Miguel got Patton ousted from her management position with Usher, eventually taking over that same role—much to the chagrin of Usher's record label.

Note to all artists: If you say you're going to be at a benefit concert, you'd better well be at that benefit concert. While Usher was expected to make an appearance at One Love Manchester—the fundraising event to help victims of the Manchester terrorist attack at a May 2017 Ariana Grande concert—he never showed up, leaving fans more than a little confused. After all, he's a major star and a big pull for concert attendees.

But apparently Usher had other things to do. The singer took to social media to explain his absence from the show: "I would have loved to be there but It was my son's first day at Camp Kudzu, one of the few summer camps for kids living with diabetes," he wrote on Instagram. "This was an important day for him and for myself as a proud father."

We totally understand Usher's need to be present on a big day for his son, but didn't anyone on his team realize his prior commitment before booking the One Love Manchester gig? 

As we've said, Usher is no stranger to infidelity rumors, but one might think his second marriage would indicate his alleged cheating ways were a thing of the past. Unfortunately, the rumor mill hasn't slowed down one bit. According to Media Take Out (via Heavy), Usher was forced to cancel the last leg of his 2012 tour when Miguel supposedly found out that he was allegedly involved with a backup dancer. (The official story is that Usher broke three ribs.)

He was reportedly later spotted getting friendly with "a tatted up beauty" in Hawaii (via Ace Show Biz). However, Gossip Cop later claimed that Usher and that woman were just friends.

Usher made headlines in July 2017 when Radar Online reported that he was sued for having sex with a woman without telling her that he allegedly carried the incurable herpes virus. According to the report, the woman, a celebrity stylist, claimed she once saw Usher's penis release a "greenish discharge," but, at the time, he'd reportedly convinced her that he'd tested negative for STDs. As Usher allegedly exhibited no other symptoms, the two continued having unprotected sex.

But the woman, whose identity has remained private, claimed she soon realized she'd contracted an STD. She reportedly woke up one day "feeling very sick" with a "fever of 100 degrees, chills, headache, and aches and pains." Noticing "lesions and blisters in her vagina," she visited a doctor, who diagnosed her with herpes.

Usher reportedly paid for the woman's medical bills, totaling $2,754.40, but, after allegedly admitting that he did indeed carry the herpes virus, he soon had to cough up a whole lot more cash. On Dec. 28, 2012, he settled the dispute, agreeing to pay her a whopping $1.1 million.

After Usher's reported lawsuit with the celebrity stylist was exposed, another woman came forward, claiming the singer had had unprotected sex with her without telling her about his STD—which is a crime in the state of California. According to TMZ, the woman, referred to as Jane Doe in documents, filed a lawsuit against Usher, accusing him of negligence, battery, and emotional distress for recklessly exposing her to the herpes virus. At the time, she reportedly sought at least $10 million in damages.

However, days later, TMZ reported that the same woman discovered that, after receiving test results from her doctor, she now allegedly carries the herpes virus. In response to the devastating news, her lawsuit was upped to $20 million.

The singer's legal trouble is far from over. On Aug. 4, 2017, TMZ reported that two women and one man hired celebrity lawyer Lisa Bloom—who's represented the likes of Mischa Barton and Blac Chyna in their respective revenge porn cases. According to the gossip rag, Usher had allegedly engaged in vaginal sex with at least one of the women and in oral sex with the man. Court docs reportedly state that all three accusers, who are suing Usher for failing to disclose his alleged herpes diagnosis before engaging in sexual activity with them, suffered extreme emotional distress, depression, and anxiety after learning that Usher may carry the STD.

In a press conference on Aug. 6, 2017 (via ABC News), one accuser, identified as Quantasia Sharpton, told reporters, "I feel that my rights were violated." She claimed shemet Usher after his security guards contacted her during one of his concerts, where she'd been celebrating her 19th birthday. The two reportedly later met a hotel, where she said they had unprotected sex.

Sharpton said she has tested negative for herpes, but Bloom confirmed that one of her other clients, who wishes to keep his/her identity private, has tested positive, TMZ reported. Bloom also revealed that she's been in contact with other potential clients, who have accused Usher of similar crimes.

After news broke about all the allegations made against Usher, the singer's insurance company, New York Marine and General Insurance Company, was reportedly quick to distance itself from its star client. According to People, the company filed court documents, claiming Usher didn't just hide his alleged STD from his accusers but also from them, and as such, the company doesn't feel it needs to help pay for his legal fees.

New York Marine states that its contract with Usher "does not provide coverage for an 'insured' who has a. intentionally concealed or misrepresented any material fact or circumstance." It also alleges that Usher never informed the company about his 2012 STD lawsuit settlement.

Given that Usher's insurance company has essentially accused him of withholding information regarding his health, it doesn't appear that this celebrity is overly concerned with honesty.

Though it took some time, Usher eventually addressed the allegations made against him—and he did not seem too concerned, despite seemingly admitting to having unprotected sex with the woman suing for $20 million. In August 2017, he told TMZ, "A previous sexual partner very well may have already infected her." He also alleged that he may have gotten herpes from her.

Usher also implied, according to TMZ, that the woman was responsible for any repercussions from sex because she'd consented to "casual, unprotected sexual intercourse and/or oral sex."

The woman suing Usher for $20 million is reportedly worried that the singer has been transferring his finances to other accounts in an attempt to hide his current wealth, reported TMZ. While she has no proof of this, she's apparently worried that he's trying to find a way to avoid a big payout if he loses in court. The woman's lawyer, Lisa West, reportedly believes Usher may be up to no good. According to TMZ, she's suspicious because he'd allegedly delayed the discovery process of their lawsuit by 90 days.

However, Usher's camp reportedly says those claims are "nonsense," and that the 90-day delay is standard when defendants have filed a motion to have a judge dismiss the case, as Usher has done.