Lil Peep‘s management team have denied they had anything to do with the rapper’s death in 2017.
His mother Liza Womack recently said she is suing First Access Entertainment over the circumstances of his death.
The rapper, whose real name was Gustav Elijah Åhr, died after an overdose on his tour bus almost two years ago.
At the time of Peep’s death, he was “stressed, overwhelmed, burnt out, exhausted and physically unwell,” the lawsuit, filed yesterday (October 8), stated according to the NYT.
The suit went on to say that those implicated in the suit pushed the rapper “onto stage after stage in city after city, plying and propping”.
Credit: Getty
The lawsuit named Bryant Ortega, a member of the rapper’s management team, and Belinda Mercer, who tour managed Peep in 2017.
“This is something that I must do as a mother,” Womack said of the situation in an interview, cited by The New York Times.
“I feel very concerned that they not be exploited,” she said. “What Gus had to live through is actually horrifying to me, and I’m sure he’s not the only person his age in this situation.”
But First Access Management have since issued a statement in response to the claims.
They told The Blast:“Lil Peep’s death from an accidental drug overdose was a terrible tragedy. However, the claim that First Access Entertainment, any of its employees, or Chase Ortega, or anyone else under our auspices was somehow responsible for, complicit in, or contributed to his death is categorically untrue.”
According to the company, they did the best they could to help the late rapper by “consistently encouraging 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.” They said they still mourn his loss, but if need be, they “will not hesitate to defend ourselves against this groundless and offensive lawsuit.”
Meanwhile, the trailer for Everybody’s Everything, the new documentary about the late rapper, was recently released.
The film features interviews with Peep’s family and his friends, including Post Malone and iLoveMakonnen.
Note: An earlier version of the article suggested Sarah Stennett was a named defendant in the proceedings, this was incorrect.