Guy's meeting with manager amid bitter dispute
Guy Sebastian's former manager claimed the pop star went on a 'monologue' about the manager's failures as the pair's relationship deteriorated into a bitter dispute, a court was told.
Titus Emanuel Day is standing trial for allegedly embezzling $640,000 of Sebastian's royalties and performance fees, including the alleged failure to remit performance fees for his work supporting Taylor Swift on her 2013 Red tour of Australia and other corporate gigs and performances.
Mr Day has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of embezzlement as a clerk or servant and one count of attempting to dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception.
He has denied doing anything fraudulent or dishonest.
Sebastian moved over to Mr Day's management company 6 Degrees three years after winning Australian Idol, having worked with him previously at Mr Day's former agency, 22 Management: no formal agreement was signed at 6 Degrees, but the court was told their agreement was based on Sebastian's former arrangement with 22 Management. Guy Sebastian's former manager Titus Day is standing trial on allegations he embezzled money from the pop star. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia
The pair, once so close Sebastian considered them to be 'a family of sorts', experienced a 'really big shift' in their relationship by 2016, with Sebastian claiming documents, statements and invoices 'were not being sent anymore'.
Having 'grievances' with his former manager, the court was told Sebastian met with Mr Day at a cafe towards the end of 2017.
Mr Day's barrister, Thomas Woods, on Monday suggested Sebastian had spoken 'more or less continuously for half an hour' during the meeting, prompting Mr Day to say words to the effect of 'I'm willing to discuss the issues, but I'm not willing to sit here and listen to a monologue from you about all my failures'.
'I do not recall that, no,' Sebastian replied.
The Battle Scars singer also denied suggestions he'd agreed to pay Mr Day commissions he was asking for if he could show they were payable as per his former agreement with 22 Management by way of a 'handshake agreement' at the 2017 meeting.
'Definitely not, no — you couldn't come up with a more completely opposite version of what happened in that meeting,' Sebastian said.
'The purpose of that meeting was I was actually trying to avoid being negative about it and trying to come to some kind of peaceful ending to everything where Titus would provide some accounting for what was missing.' Guy Sebastian is giving evidence in the trial of his former manager. NewsWire / Jeremy Piper Credit: News Corp Australia
The court was told Mr Day was pushing for commissions to be paid to him after the pair parted ways professionally, however Sebastian and his lawyer at the time maintained there were no post-term commission arrangements.
Sebastian later told the court he was happy to pay commission for anything Mr Day had worked on.Mr Woods earlier told the court that there would be 'no dispute' that on some occasions his client should have transferred money onto Sebastian 'but did not'.
'For many of the charges, the real question is not going to be whether my client failed to transfer the money to Sebastian but whether his failure to do that was criminal,' Mr Woods said.
Sebastian told Mr Day he was leaving his management in 2017, the court was previously told.
Sebastian launched Federal Court proceedings against Mr Day the following year. He in turn filed a counterclaim.
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