
David Geffen, the 82-year-old billionaire and music mogul, is being sued by his ex-husband, 32-year-old Donovan Michaels, who claims Geffen broke a promise to support him financially for life and subjected him to emotional and physical abuse during their relationship.
Michaels filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, saying Geffen cut him off financially and forced him out of their New York home after Geffen filed for divorce in April.
The two married in 2023 but did not sign a prenuptial agreement, according to court documents.
According to Forbes, in the complaint, Michaels says the couple had an oral agreement: if he stayed by Geffen's side as a partner, caregiver, and travel companion, Geffen would provide for him financially forever.
Michaels now says Geffen went back on that deal, leaving him with nothing.
"He knew I had no safety net," Michaels claims, describing himself as a "vulnerable, marginalized young gay Black man" taken advantage of by someone with enormous power and wealth.
Michaels says Geffen often insulted his looks, controlled what he wore and watched, and even forced him to get painful cosmetic treatments.
David Geffen accused of paying thousands for sex, forcing cosmetic procedures on estranged husband in bombshell lawsuit https://t.co/m1ZS7O4zDZ pic.twitter.com/6MNrtFQisZ
— Page Six (@PageSix) July 23, 2025
Michaels Claims Geffen Paid Him $10K on First Night Together
Michaels also claims Geffen pressured him into using drugs and taking part in sexual activities that made him feel degraded and reminded him of past trauma from his time in foster care.
The couple met in 2016 through a website that connects wealthy people with younger singles. Michaels alleges that Geffen paid him $10,000 on their first night together, AV Club said.
Over time, their relationship evolved into something more public, but Michaels says it was never equal. "I was a prop in his life," he stated in the lawsuit.
After entering addiction treatment earlier this year, Michaels told Geffen he wanted a more equal partnership. Instead, he says Geffen ended the relationship and left him without support or access to shared assets.
While Geffen's public image is that of a generous philanthropist, Michaels says the reality behind closed doors was very different.
"He's trying to make me homeless while claiming to care about the homeless," the lawsuit reads.
Geffen's attorney, Patty Glaser, has called the accusations "pathetic" and "false," saying, "There was no contract—express, written, oral, or implied—that has ever existed.
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