K-Ci & Jo Jo member, K-Ci, whose real name is Cedric Hailey, was named in a class action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Dec. 21. The lawsuit stems from the Dec. 16 incident at local radio station KIIS-FM's annual Jingle Ball Concert at the Shrine Auditorium, where Hailey allegedly exposed himself onstage.

Currently police are still investigating the incident and no arrest was made. According to a police spokesperson, on the night of the concert, "police were on the scene. They had extra units doing extra patrol outside the building. One of the mothers of the victims told an officer what had happened and wanted [Hailey] arrested and learned that he had left immediately following his performance."

Robin and Robert Garcia, both of whom were in attendance with their daughter at the concert, filed the suit. The suit also names the radio station, its parent company Clear Channel Communications and concert promoter SFX Entertainment as negligent parties when they hired the singer to perform at the event, citing Hailey's aggravated assault charge against a woman stemming from an incident in 1993. The lawsuit maintains that the charge was widely known and argues that the parties involved in putting on the concert knew of Hailey's alleged history of unlawful behavior and therefore were negligent when hiring him for the performance, which was billed as family entertainment and marketed towards young girls.

KIIS-FM issued a statement calling the Hailey's actions "inappropriate" and said "We do not condone such behavior." The station declined to comment on the lawsuit.

CHRISTINA SARACENO
(December 28, 2000)