Jennifer Lopez Accuses Former Driver of Attempted Blackmail

Jennifer Lopez is suing her former driver and head of personal security, who she says tried to blackmail her, CNN reports. 

In a lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles, Lopez, her manager and her production company say driver Hakob Manoukian threatened to "disclose sensitive and personal information that he allegedly heard while driving Lopez" unless the singer paid him $2.8 million. Lopez seeks $20 million in damages.

The legal action is Lopez's response to a lawsuit Manoukian filed in April, accusing the singer, her manager and her production company of breaching his contract after Manoukian says he was told to cancel arrangements he had made for security on a music video shoot. Lopez's suit claims that Manoukian "became hostile and angry because he mistakenly and unreasonably believed he had the unqualified right to designate the security team and profit from any budgetary allocations for such security."

Manoukian went to work for Lopez after leaving employment with her ex-husband Marc Anthony's production company. The driver quit after a month with Lopez. She says Manoukian left "under false pretenses," he says he faced "intolerable" working conditions.

Lopez, who recently announced that she would not return as a judge on American Idol, is on tour with Enrique Iglesias through the beginning of September, before heading to Europe later in the month for a solo tour.