Billionaire David Geffen, 82, lashes out at sex and drugs claims made by husband, 32, in explosive divorce war

Daily Mail​

5 days ago

Billionaire mogul David Geffen has rubbished his estranged boytoy husband's explosive claims that he's a sex and drug-crazed abuser.
Geffen, 82, branded 32 year-old Donovan Michaels' divorce filing allegations 'false and pathetic'.
Donovan Michaels, 32, alleges that his billionaire beau Geffen, 82, forced him to take drugs, subjected him to abusive sex and controlled his every move, according to the latest lawsuit in their messy divorce battle.
The most jaw-dropping part of the suit alleged that Geffen forced Michaels to have all his body hair lasered off and that he'd once flown into a rage at the sight of an ingrown hair.
The pair met in 2016 on SeekingArrangements.com, a dating website often used by rich people looking for younger partners.
Geffen, a movie and music producer worth about $9 billion, allegedly paid Michaels $10,000 for sex on the night they met, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The pair would go on to form a relationship and ultimately married in 2023 without a prenup, according to the complaint.
Michaels said in the complaint that he was targeted by Geffen because he was a vulnerable, marginalized young gay black man who spent the majority of his life bouncing around in the foster care system before turning to erotic dancing to make ends meet.
The lawsuit claims that Geffen commanded Michaels to use drugs like cocaine and molly (MDMA) alongside the entertainment mogul's friends on his 450-foot superyacht, The Rising Sun.
The suit also claims that Geffen enjoyed physically dominating his sexual partners and causing them pain, which triggered Michaels' childhood trauma. This allegedly caused him digestive issues, headaches and a desire to isolate himself.
David Geffen, 82, has been sued by his husband Donovan Michaels, 32. He claims Geffen forced him to take drugs, subjected him abusive sex and controlled his every move
Much of the wrongdoing alleged by Michaels was said to have occurred on Geffen's 450-foot superyacht, the Rising Sun
The complaint further alleges that Geffen told Michaels 'where to go, what to wear, what to read, what to watch, and what to say.'
The lawsuit even accused the billionaire of making Michaels to undergo painful cosmetic treatments.
Geffen is also alleged to have told Michaels he had to be constantly available to him, preventing him from being able to pursue a modeling career, according to the suit.
In May of this year, Geffen filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split, according to a petition seen by Daily Mail.
Michaels' lawsuit claims that Geffen did this because after years of being 'a prop in Geffen's theater of virtue,' Michaels finally approached his husband and asked to renegotiate the terms of their union.
He 'wanted a new beginning wherein he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Geffen as an equal free from power dynamics that existed,' the suit said.
Michaels claimed that Geffen rejected this, cut him off financially and immediately demanded a divorce.
Michaels is suing Geffen for breach of contract, alleging that he promised to take care of him financially but left him near broke and without a home.
'It was a sick game,' the complaint states. 'Michaels became a prop in Geffen's theater of virtue, paraded around as evidence of Geffen's supposed altruism, while privately used as a sexual commodity.'
Michaels is suing Geffen for breach of contract, alleging that he promised to take care of him financially but left him near broke and homeless
The complaint also alleges that while Geffen was at the Jeff Bezos–Lauren Sanchez wedding in Venice he ordered Michaels to 'immediately vacate' their New York property, leaving him without a home (Geffen is pictured with Kris Jenner and Corey Gamble in Venice for the wedding)
Geffen's attorney Patty Glaser hit back at the allegations, denying them completely.
'There was no contract — express, written, oral, or implied — that has ever existed,' she said in a statement to Daily Mail. 'We will be vigorously and righteously defending against this false, pathetic lawsuit.'
The complaint also alleges that while Geffen was at the Jeff Bezos–Lauren Sanchez wedding in Venice in late June, he ordered Michaels to 'immediately vacate' their New York property, leaving him without a home.
The suit claims that 'at the very same time, Geffen was decadently and extravagantly partying and dancing the night away in Venice, Italy with the other .0001% of the wealthiest people on the planet.'
In one of the divorce documents prepared by Geffen's lawyer, Laura A. Wasser, it states that the pair separated in on February 22, 2025, months before the Bezos wedding.
As well as Michael's claims about their final days together, the lawsuit includes a series of astonishing allegations about what went on during their relationship.
'Geffen also found additional ways to satisfy his unquenchable thirst for control over Michaels,' the lawsuit claims.
The former model turned go-go dancer claimed in his lawsuit that Geffen 'used Michaels' tragic story not as a reason to offer genuine support, but as a grooming tool – casting himself as savior, "white knight," mentor, and gatekeeper to a better life'
'With backhanded insults and put-downs about Michaels' past and lack of sophistication, Geffen cultivated Michaels' insecurity and self-doubt. He critiqued every aspect of Michaels' appearance and exercised strict control over his body hygiene.'
The billionaire record executive is accused in the lawsuit of ordering his ex-lover to 'undergo extensive, painful' treatments to conform to his idea of 'perfection.'
'Geffen required Michaels to undergo extensive, painful laser and dental treatments. Even something as minor as an ingrown hair could provoke Geffen's ire and prompt a barrage of instructions to correct the imperfection,' according to the complaint.
Michaels claims he was 'awestruck by Geffen', a 'philanthropist' who 'talked the talk' when the younger man revealed issues 'during his underprivileged upbringing,' during the ill-fated couple's first meeting nine years ago.
In his complaint, Michaels said he 'opened up to Geffen', confiding in him 'about the painful realities of his life – his traumatic upbringing in the Michigan foster care system, his lack of a real family, his instability, and his prior run-ins with the law'.
He went on that he 'spoke candidly, not to gain sympathy from Geffen, but because he believed he had finally found someone who could understand and maybe even care'.
But Michaels claims his then future husband 'weaponized [his] vulnerability to fulfill his own personal fantasies', including the lucrative financial transaction he alleges was made on the first night they met.
The former model turned go-go dancer claimed in his lawsuit that Geffen 'used Michaels' tragic story not as a reason to offer genuine support, but as a grooming tool – casting himself as savior, "white knight," mentor, and gatekeeper to a better life'.
The younger man claims he became a 'private sexual object and a public prop' that Geffen allegedly used to show off his 'self-proclaimed altruism to impress his powerful network'.
'From that moment forward, Geffen began transporting Michaels across the globe as his paid sex worker,' the complaint continued.