Minnelli claims Gest, bodyguard joined forces

Liza Minnelli says her former bodyguard - who claims she forced him to have sex with her to keep his job - and her estranged husband, David Gest, have joined forces to attack and embarrass her publicly, according to court papers.

A complaint filed on November 9 also says bodyguard M'Hammed Soumayah, 56, breached a confidentiality agreement by giving Gest personal information about Minnelli, 58.

The complaint, posted on the Celebrity Justice website, said Soumayah and Gest, both of whom also claim Minnelli beat them, have been in contact since May or June, in person and by telephone.

The papers note that soon after Soumayah filed his US$100 million ($141 million) lawsuit against Minnelli, Gest issued a press release supporting the bodyguard's charges, saying he witnessed Minnelli's assaults on Soumayah and promising to testify for him if asked.

Gest, 52, has filed his own US$10 million ($14 million) lawsuit against Minnelli, saying that during the 15 months they lived together, after they were married in March 2002, she repeatedly beat him so badly he suffered nerve damage.