Two women are suing songwriter and musician Jeffrey Osborne after an alleged concert sing-a-long moment went awry.
On Tuesday, accusers Danielle Buchanan and Maneva Currie filed a complaint in the Superior Court of California stemming from an encounter with the singer at the Greek Theater. According to the women, they attended Osborne’s show on May 6th, 2023, when a crowd participation invite turned dark. Osborne allegedly had a team member select a concert attendee to help him sing one of his best-known classics, 1986’s “You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song).” Buchanan was initially selected, and when she grabbed the microphone to help Osborne sing, the stage camera quickly panned to her, plastering the eager fan across the large screen for all to see. However, she says Osborne promptly stated that he wanted a “White person” to help him perform the tune. Buchanan, who was visibly embarrassed, stated, “I’m white” on the mic in an effort to continue with the performance. This only led to the microphone being taken from her, with Osborne seeking another participant.
Currie, who was next to Buchanan and recording the incident, claimed to feel similarly embarrassed and humiliated. Together, these ladies are claiming racial discrimination not just from Osborne but from the crowd as well and were unable to enjoy the remainder of the show and left disturbed.
“[Buchanan and Currie] left the concert emotionally disturbed,” the complaint read. “Based on the public humiliation, [they] were afraid to engage socially in their lives for months and eventually as a result of the pain and suffering, they had to seek psycho-therapy.”
Buchanan says she tried escalating the matter to Greek Theater for a resolution but was ignored. Both she and Currie are now demanding a hefty sum of $2 million and a jury trial, citing emotional distress that’s had them reaching for the therapy couch and avoiding social scenes.
Osborne has not responded publicly.
