Take this money and go away
Mariah Carey is putting her newfound mega-wealth to good use. The singer, who recently signed a $23 million-per-album, five-album deal, has paid off her former chauffeur Franco D'Onofrio to get him to drop his wrongful dismissal claim. The driver was furious at being let go and threatened the diva that he would expose all her sordid secrets if she didn't pay up.
The lawsuit was originally thrown out of court, but was reinstated on appeal - meaning that Mariah might well have been called to testify. That was something she most certainly didn't want to do given that it would mean she would be openly questioned about her past relationships, such as that with football player Derek Jeter.
D'Onofrio made no secret of the fact that he drove the singer to several trysts with Jeter and was prepared to spill all the sordid details. Mariah, who's currently seeing singer Luis Miguel, obviously realised that such disclosures could prove embarrassing and dent her wholesome image. So last week the suit was settled for an "undisclosed sum". Shame. (OK magazine, May 18, 2001) Many thanks to MC Fanatic for the article and Ivo Vynckier for the picture.
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