Andra Day claims, amid a contentious split from her manager, Jeff Evans, she’s been left broke and facing eviction because of his “greed.”
On Tuesday, October 7, the 40-year-old singer and award-winning actress filed a lawsuit against Evans in Los Angeles, accusing him of being “caught red-handed stealing,” Variety reported.
Day’s lawsuit alleges Evans engaged in years of financial misconduct, including taking an “exploitative” 40% cut of her publishing income, per Variety. The singer claims that the arrangement should have expired in June 2023, but Evans allegedly continued to take a share of her earnings beyond that date. Day also accuses him of misappropriating a $600,000 recording fund and more than $1 million tied to her music income.
“[Evans] siphoned so much money from Day — a quadruple-platinum hitmaker and Golden Globe Best Actress winner — that he left her facing eviction, unable to pay the monthly minimum on her [$300,000-plus] credit card debt and without sufficient funds to tour,” “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” star’s complaint reads, per Page Six.
Her lawsuit, filed Tuesday, came just one day after Evans filed a suit of his own, TMZ reported. In his complaint, submitted Monday in Los Angeles, Evans claims Day breached their contracts by failing to pay what she owed under their agreement, including a 40% cut of her publishing royalties and a 20% commission on other deals.
He alleges that between 2012 and 2017, expenses he covered on Day’s behalf exceeded her earnings, leaving him with net losses. Evans’ filing claims the singer owes at least $850,000, including from publishing advances and backend payments from her 2024 Netflix film “The Deliverance.”
Meanwhile, Day’s countersuit describes Evans as a “faithless fiduciary” who used his access to get rich. She’s seeking a full audit of her finances and repayment of funds she says were wrongfully taken.
Over the past decade, Day has risen from breakout singer to acclaimed actress. Her 2015 anthem “Rise Up” became a cultural touchstone and the unofficial soundtrack of the Black Lives Matter movement in the 2010s, propelling her to global stardom. She went on to earn a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” before starring alongside Glenn Close in Lee Daniels’ “The Deliverance” on Netflix.
