Cher accused of racial discrimination

Los Angeles: Singer Cher is being sued by some people who worked with her on her Dressed to Kill tour.

According to a new lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on September 17, the 68-year-old singer once complained to her former choreographer Kevin Wilson about having too many black dancers, reports suggest.

In the suit, Wilson states that he told Cher there was a "minority female dancer" whom he wanted to cast during auditions for the tour.

However, the star said that they had "too much colour onstage" and later instructed him to find a white, blonde dancer and "not to cast anymore dark skinned black dancers on the tour."

Wilson, who's African-American and also danced with Cher onstage, goes on saying that he was later fired from the tour along with two dancers named Suzanne Easter (also black) and Jacquelyn Ballinger after reporting a sex assault committed by a white male dancer.

He explains that he and the two dancers were touring with Cher to Louisville and staying at a hotel when they met the assault victim, a female fan identified only as "Jenn".

A month after reporting the incident to tour managers, the trio was fired while the white dancer stayed. The three claim they were told the reason for the firing was budget cuts, but they did not believe it because the tour was a huge success.

Cher has responded to the allegations.

Her rep said,"These are ridiculous allegations. They couldn't be further from the truth." Calling the alleged racial statement "untrue and categorically denied," her lawyer added, "To attribute such a statement to Cher is absurd."