Drummer Durval Benicio da Luz, who worked with singer Claudia Leitte for 22 years, is seeking R$2.3 million in compensation over moral harassment and a lack of labor rights. According to the musician, in the two decades he worked with the artist, he developed deafness on stage and additionally put his family at risk by contracting Covid19 during a show he was performing.
Another complaint is that he was arbitrarily banned from the shows without notice and harassed by Claudia’s producer, Luciano Ponto. The Notícias da TV website had access to the trial and the singer’s lawyer, Carolina Agostinelli, asked to extend the deadline for submitting the evidence to an additional 48 hours, as the deadline was May 17.
The musician presented an audiometric examination demonstrating partial deafness as a result of the work. He claimed that he worked on every show between 2016 and 2018, but the artist’s defense denied this, revealing that Durval wasn’t in every performance.
Bad work environment
During the conversation, Durval explained that he started working with Claudia in 2001, at the time of Babado Novo. When the artist left the band and went solo, he went with the famous. However, the torture began when Luciano Pinto, the singer’s musical director, constantly threatened her. Durval even alerted Claudia, but the owner of the hit bola de sabão did nothing.
I came out of the Babado Novo days and was treated like a dog, like garbage, like a beggar. Corner, farm, as if I hadn’t studied for it. That’s how I was treated. I claim how they treated me. I have nothing against anyone.”
As well as the torturous environment, Durval also pointed out that the singer’s team were negligent in the pandemic when a show went ahead and a chartered plane with everyone on the plane led to irresponsibility for not following Covid19 protocols. The result was that a majority of the musicians were infected with the virus and the situation subdued so as not to have a negative impact on the media.
Another complaint is that in 2018 everyone in the band had To as a legal entity. “At the hearing they said, ‘We’re not interested in any business.’ They want to prove that I was a freelancer. What kind of freelancer stays 22 years?” he asked.
The singer’s adviser announced that the process was conducted in judicial secrecy. Claudia’s lawyer did not return calls to address the allegations.