Rihanna Lawsuit?

RIHANNA was paid less for modelling for Gucci because she was Carribean, a new lawsuit in Manhattan has claimed.

Former Gucci employee Josephine Robinson claims that, whilst working on the singer's contract with the Italian label in 2008, she was told by her boss - international tax counsel Stan Sherwood - to pay her less because she wasn't a US citizen.

"When Sherwood discovered that Rihanna was from a Caribbean island, he told Robinson to 'tax the hell out of her' and find a way to allow Gucci to withhold 30 per cent of her fee," Robinson's lawsuit alleges.

Robinson is seeking $5 million in damages for what she calls "an unrelenting barrage of racist comments and jokes at her expense by Sherwood and others at Gucci", the New York Post reports. She was dismissed by the company last year, she alleges, after she complained about the treatment.

Rihanna has so far made no comment about the case, but a Gucci spokesperson today asserted: "Ms. Robinson's allegations are completely baseless, and the company will defend itself vigorously against this meritless litigation. The company is confident that it will prevail".