Stevie Wonder has gone to court to remove a woman who has lived in one of his houses without paying rent for nearly four decades. His legal team filed a civil suit on Thursday, Oct. 22, against Carmen Efferson, asking a judge to order her out of the singer's three-bedroom home, Rolling Stone reported.
Efferson, who is reportedly Wonder's former fiancée, has lived in the house since 1988. According to the reporting, she and Wonder allegedly had a verbal agreement that allowed her to stay there free of charge.
An inspection that went sideways
The dispute began with paperwork. As part of renewing the property's insurance, Wonder's representatives tried three times in July to get inside for an inspection, Rolling Stone reported, citing exhibits attached to the lawsuit. Efferson would not let them in.
Instead, she answered a certified letter requesting access with a profane email to Wonder's attorney, David Huff, telling him to leave her alone. In it she accused him of a racist tone, said she felt harassed and wrote that she did not consent to anyone entering her home or contacting her.
Huff replied that he had not written the letter at all. "It was my law partner, Tempestt Tatum, who is neither racist, coldblooded, white nor male," he wrote, according to Rolling Stone.
The eviction notice and the claim
After several more emails, another lawyer told Efferson that the verbal arrangement had been revoked because she had not complied, and she was served with an eviction notice setting a move-out date of Aug. 27, 2026. She did not leave by that deadline, which led to the Oct. 22 filing.
Beyond her removal, Wonder is seeking $600 in damages, the sum he says he now owes because the insurance renewal lapsed. A representative for Wonder did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone's request for comment.
The case lands while Wonder is on the road with a tour marking 50 years of Songs in the Key of Life, Consequence noted. A judge will now decide whether the decades-old arrangement ends.
Reporting sources: Consequence, “Stevie Wonder Sues to Evict Ex-Fiancée Who Has Been Living At His Property Rent-Free for 38 Years” · Music News, “Stevie Wonder Files Lawsuit to Evict Woman Living on His Property Rent-Free for 38 Years”.