Lil Peep's mother sues managers over his death

The mother of the late Long Beach-raised rap star Lil Peep is suing his management company and others, alleging culpability in the 21-year-old performer's accidental overdose death nearly two years ago.

Liza Womack, 56, of Huntington, filed the negligence and wrongful-death lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, according to the complaint obtained by Newsday. The filing names First Access Entertainment; Bryant "Chase" Ortega, one of the emo-rapper's managers; tour manager Belinda Mercer; and Ortega's merchandise company The Hyv, substantially owned by First Access.

The suit, which also claims breaches of contract and fiduciary duty, contends that during what became his final concert tour, Lil Peep, born Gustav Åhr, often wanted "to leave the tour and disengage from his relationship with Defendants. He explained to them that he was anxious, stressed … exhausted, and physically unwell." Management, the suit contends, "ignored these cries for help and instead pushed ... [him] onto stage after stage in city after city, plying and propping ... [him] up with illegal drugs."

Mercer, the suit contends, "engaged in a sexual relationship with ... [Lil Peep] and routinely supplied ... [him] and others on the tour bus with drugs including [the anti-anxiety medication] Xanax and ketamine, a known anesthetic/tranquilizer."

According to the suit, management also treated Lil Peep "as a commodity rather than as a human being ... [and pushed him] to the extreme bounds of what somebody of his age and maturity level could handle. … Even after his death … they characterized his funeral/celebration of life as a 'marketing' activity for purposes of invoicing ... [his] Estate."

The lawsuit contends that Lil Peep's November 2017 death was "a direct, legal, and proximate result of the negligence, carelessness, recklessness, and wrongdoing of Defendants."

First Access and Ortega did not respond to Newsday requests for comment. Mercer could not be reached.