Janet Jackson may be wishing her bodyguards had exerted just a bit more control last Friday.
A New York man hit Jackson with a whopping $120 million lawsuit, alleging her security detail gave him such a beatdown outside a New York nightclub that he suffered "permanent damage" according to the New York Daily News.
Bronx resident Leonard Salati claims Jackson's goons grabbed him, put him in a chokehold and then proceeded to start "dragging him down the steps" of the Marquee club on Feb. 4.
All this, he claims, because he tried to pass a note to the "Nasty" singer after he spent some time chilling with the star at her invitation.
Salati's suit, filed Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, says he spent some time with Jackson in the VIP section after introducing himself to her earlier that night.
"My cousin knew Janet from Fame back in the 1980s. She told her bodyguards that I was okay and invited me to join her entourage inside," Salati is quoted as saying in the Daily News.
But he soon found himself on the outs with the Rhythm Nation. Salati left the backstage area for a moment and, when he tried to get a message to the singer, her guards allegedly pounced.
"Witnesses say he was choked so severely they could tell he was gasping for air," Salati's lawyer, Steven Goldman, told the news. Salati himself claims he partially blacked out during the episode.
The 39-year-old's suit specifically accuses Jackson of negligence for hiring the two offending bodyguards.
Jackson has not commented on the allegations.
The singer is currently keeping a low-ish profile as she attends Grammy events this weekend in Los Angeles, where her 2004 release, Damita Jo, is up for Best Contemporary R&B album and Best Female R&B Performance.
The singer, who is getting some play on hip-hop stations lately as a guest on Chingy's latest single "Don't Worry," will attend the Grammys Sunday with her special friend Jermaine Dupri--and, presumably, her bodyguards.