Toni Braxton sues former manager

Singer Toni Braxton is suing her former personal manager, claiming he owes her at least US$10 million for dirty dealing that caused her to abandon a long relationship with Arista Records for the manager's own record label.

The lawsuit accuses Barry Hankerson of putting his financial interests ahead of Braxton's and inducing the singer to leave a lucrative deal with Arista through fraud, deception and double-dealing. Braxton hired Hankerson as her personal manager in 1997 and says she tried to fire him but he responded by engaging in a vendetta against her, insisting he keep controlling her career and refusing to communicate with any of several personal managers she sought to employ.