Lil Peep’s Mom Alleges His Manager Pressured Him to Abuse Xanax; They Deny It

Photo: Dominique Maitre/WWD/Shutterstock

Nearly two years after her son’s death, Liza Womack, mother of rising emo rapper Lil Peep, has filed a lawsuit against Peep’s management and tour company. The suit, filed Monday against First Access Entertainment and its associates, alleges the tour company encouraged drug use and began providing drugs for Peep beginning early 2017, according to TMZ. The amount of damages is unspecified. The lawsuit notes one early instance in London, when a manager gave Peep a bottle of pills at a dinner. By May 2017, in Los Angeles for the Come Over When You’re Sober tour, Peep was “barely able to communicate, let alone perform, due to his use of drugs,” his mom alleges, specifically citing an availability of Xanax and ketamine on the tour. As the tour went on, management forced Peep to perform despite his desires to quit, Womack says, until a final tour stop in El Paso, when a manager told him to make himself sick with “an excessive amount of Xanax” — that way, insurance could cover a canceled show. Peep was found dead shortly afterward, on November 15, 2017, on his tour bus, having overdosed on Xanax and fentanyl.

Meanwhile, Peep’s legacy will live on in a new documentary, which released a trailer last week. It’s executive produced by Womack, along with Terrence Malick and Sarah Stennett. Called Everybody’s Everything, it debuted at South by Southwest in March, and will hit theaters in November. Watch the trailer below, which features interviews with Post Malone and iLoveMakonnen along with Womack and Peep.

Update, October 11: A representative for First Access Entertainment has issued a statement to Vulture on the lawsuit, denying any responsibility for Lil Peep’s drug use. “Lil Peep’s death from an accidental drug overdose was a terrible tragedy. However, the claim that First Access Entertainment, any of its employees, or Chase Ortega, or anyone else under our auspices was somehow responsible for, complicit in, or contributed to his death is categorically untrue,” it says. “In fact, we consistently encouraged Peep to stop abusing drugs and to distance himself from the negative influence of the drug users and enablers with whom he chose to associate.”

“It is extremely disappointing that Peep’s mother would file this meritless lawsuit,” the statement continues. “We will not hesitate to defend ourselves against this groundless and offensive lawsuit. We look forward to its swift dismissal.”