Foxy Weasels Out of Court

Did Foxy Brown really pull a Naomi Campbell? So far, the hip-hop diva has yet to confirm or deny--let alone acknowledge--such accusations.


Brown, who appears to be boosting her street cred one lawsuit at a time, failed to show at a court hearing in Jersey City Wednesday to answer two criminal complaints filed by her former personal assistant.


The rapper, whose real name is Inga Marchand, faces two complaints from onetime assistant Rasheeda Ellis, who claims the Def Jam artist not only stiffed Ellis out of a week's pay but harassed her via phone calls and unwelcome visits to her subsequent workplace.


According to police reports, Ellis claims that the Chyna Doll performer dropped in on Ellis' Jersey City business, threatening her with "physical harm." Ellis told police that following calls and emails from the rapper, she began to "fear for her own safety."


While Brown was a no-show at the court date, her lawyer, Brian Neary, did appear, defending his MIA client's behavior and successfully lobbying for a probable cause hearing regarding the incident.


"We don't even know what the details of the complaint are," he said outside the courthouse, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger. "We want [Ellis] on the stand to detail the accusations. We can't just have someone walk in and sign a complaint and drag someone through the mud.


"The courtroom is too serious of a place," he said.


Though apparently not serious enough for Brown to show, an absence which didn't go unnoticed by the judge. While Judge Cynthia D. Jackson acquiesced to the request for the probable cause hearing, she warned that Brown had better be at the courthouse or be prepared for a legal smackdown.


Maybe it's time to log on to Google Maps. Last month, Brown also failed to show at a preliminary hearing in the trial. Not that it mattered. Ellis did show--but at the wrong courthouse. Jackson rescheduled that hearing for this week.


Ellis did make it to the right courthouse this time, and told the judge she was planning on representing herself in the case.


As for Brown's absence, it's possible she simply had too many dates to keep track of.


The 26-year-old has been embroiled for the past two years in a misdemeanor assault case brought by a Manhattan nail salon owner who claims the platinum-selling rapper attacked two manicurists over a discrepancy in her bill.