The wife of a Hamptons hedge funder is embroiled in a nasty lawsuit after her former personal chef claimed she made racist remarks directed at him and his girlfriend.
Chef Brian Villanueva's lawsuit against Lisa Falcone - the wife of Philip Falcone- was filed Wednesday in Manhattan Federal Court and claims that the remarks were made during a dinner party for 13 people.
Villanueva claims Falcone is going to great lengths to cover up the nature of the conversation, which included the proclamation that the chef's girlfriend was more articulate than her 'black friends' - music couple Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz.
'Your girlfriend speaks very well. She seems educated. I would describe her as a chocolate-covered marshmallow,' Lisa Falcone allegedly said at the July 14 dinner, the New York Daily News reports.
A representative for Alicia Keys could not be reached for a comment.
Chef Brian Villanueva's (pictured) lawsuit against Lisa Falcone - the wife of Philip Falcone- was filed Wednesday
He claims that the remarks were made during a July 14 dinner party for 13 people that included her 'black friends' - music couple Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz. The trio pictured in 2011
Villanueva, who is Filipino, was offended by the comment but Falcone did not notice.
'Do you use the word 'n***a' at home with your girlfriend?' she apparently asked, the suit described. 'I'm Puerto Rican and grew up in Spanish Harlem so I can speak like that.'
The chef claims that he confronted Falcone about her comments on the following day.
Falcone allegedly said: 'I meant she speaks really eloquently. Alicia (Keys) doesn't speak that way.
'Your girlfriend speaks very well. She seems educated. I would describe her as a chocolate-covered marshmallow,' Lisa Falcone allegedly said. Falcone pictured with Keys in 2008
'She didn't have an education and was just discovered by (record producer) Clive Davis when she was 15 years old. Swizz (Beatz) definitely doesn't speak that way either.'
Villanueva resigned later in the day and claims Falcone then started slamming his own ethnicity.
'You're not ethnic like black people and Puerto Rican people. You're only a minority,' she allegedly said when confronted. 'Talk to my black friends. They will tell you that I am not racist.'
The chef reached out to Lisa's husband, who came to his wife's defense. Text of their exchange was included in the suit.
Philip Falcone refused to pay the chef's $4,230 in unpaid salary unless he and his girlfriend signed NDAs, according to the suit
Philip Falcone refused to pay the chef's $4,230 in unpaid salary unless he and his girlfriend signed NDAs, according to the suit
'I find that extremely hard to believe considering her two best friends are African American,' Philip Falcone wrote, according to the documents.
Philip Falcone said he would check the security system for audio of the conversation that occurred in the kitchen, the suit states.
But Villanueva claims that the next time they spoke, Philip Falcone refused to pay the chef's $4,230 in unpaid salary unless he and his girlfriend signed NDAs.
'Philip Falcone told (Villanueva) the only way he would pay Plaintiff money he lawfully owed him was if both he and his girlfriend agree to sign agreements that they'd never talk about the comments made by Defendant Lisa Falcone to anyone for the rest of their lives or the fact that they entered into such agreements,' the suit states.
Philip Falcone is the founder of Harbinger Capital and LightSquared, and was the 1565th richest person in the world in 2014
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