Billionaire David Geffen's Estranged 'Boy Toy' Husband Hits Him With Bombshell Accusations In New Lawsuit
Michaels claims that the billionaire entertainment mogul treated him as a "living social experiment" and plied him with drugs for him to use.
It comes after David Geffen filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences between him and Donovan Michaels, following their two-year marriage.
David Geffen's Estranged Husband Files Lawsuit Accusing Him Of Exploitation
David Geffen's estranged husband, Michaels (AKA David Andrew Armstrong), has filed a lawsuit claiming that the entertainment mogul was "masquerading as a white knight while hiding behind wealth, philanthropy and fame."
According to court documents filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Michaels asserts that Geffen treated him like "a living social experiment — a trophy to show off to his wealthy friends, under the guise of benevolence."
He claimed that his nine-year relationship with the 82-year-old billionaire, which included a two-year marriage, mirrored the plotline of "Trading Places," with a "young vulnerable black man, orphaned as a toddler" drawn into the web of "an exploiter."
The model further noted that they first met on the website Seekingarrangements.com, a website "where men like Geffen shop for the vulnerable," after which Geffen paid him $10,000 for sex on the first night in 2016.
Michaels added that Geffen drew him into a web of alleged exploitation, then dumped him "just as easily as he had acquired him."
Donovan Michaels Alleges He Was Used As A 'Sexual Commodity' By The Billionaire
Elsewhere in the explosive lawsuit, the 32-year-old model noted that Geffen only saw him as an object to exploit and seemingly weaponized his trauma for his "personal gratification and public image."
He says their relationship was a "sick game" where he 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."
While the relationship reportedly evolved, with Geffen promising to treat Michaels as a life partner and share all earnings and assets together, Michaels now claims the promise was a trap, one which he gave up his modeling career to pursue.
In the complaints, Michaels also alleged that Geffen plied him with "a variety of illicit drugs," including cocaine and cannabis and that he was expected to use them with the billionaire and his friends, but "Michaels' traumatic past was an emotional ticking time."
The Couple Does Not Have A Prenuptial Agreement
It comes after Geffen, co-founder of DreamWorks and various record labels, filed for divorce from Michaels in May, citing "irreconcilable differences."
According to TMZ, the couple did not have a prenuptial agreement when they got married in 2023, and that has now led to speculation about the financial implications for Geffen, whose net worth is estimated at $8.7 billion.
"This reinforced Michaels' belief that the relationship was genuine and enduring," Michaels' complaint said of their lack of a prenup. "What Michaels did not know at the time was that this was nothing more than a transaction to Geffen."
David Geffen 'Breached' Their Agreement, Donovan Michaels Claims
He said that he gave his body, love, labor, and youth to Geffen for years but "could not take the abuse from Geffen, nor keep up with Geffen's proclivities, and suffered from addiction."
Michaels claims that when things got difficult between them as he no longer fit the "carefully curated narrative Geffen had crafted for his social world," the Hollywood executive cut him off.
He further noted that Geffen demanded a divorce, and "breached his years-long promises and agreements."
Donovan Michaels Is Unlikely To Get Much From Their Divorce
Michaels' previous filing suggests he's in line for a substantial portion of Geffen's money.
Court documents obtained by TMZ showed that his lawyer, Samantha Spector, checked a box that asks the judge to "Determine rights to community and quasi-community assets and debts."
That's significant as Geffen has been retired for 15 years and has no income other than investments, including property sales and dividends from stocks and equities. However, those assets are all separate property.
It seems Michaels won't receive much in the way of cash because, under California law, dividends from stocks that are separate property are also considered separate property.
The former go-go dancer is demanding spousal support, which Geffen agreed to pay when his lawyer filed the divorce documents.
However, Michaels would only be entitled to 1 year of spousal support as California laws stipulate that the receiving partner would only receive such payments for half the duration of their marriage.
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