Elton John's lawyers slam sexual harassment allegations

Jeffrey Wenninger

, who used to work for the Los Angeles Police Department and worked off-duty on John's security detail until September 2014, has filed a lawsuit against the 69-year-old pop legend alleging sexual harassment and battery, following repeated instances of groping and inappropriate behaviour.

The famed singer's legal team blasted the allegations as false. "This baseless lawsuit is brought by a disgruntled former security officer seeking to extract an undeserved payment",

Orin Snyder

, John's attorney for Rocket Entertainment Group, said in a statement.

"These claims are patently untrue and contradicted by numerous previous statements made by this plaintiff. We will not give into his latest abuse of the legal system," he added.

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Wenninger is also suing the private company through which he was working at the time of the alleged incidents. His attorney, Marla A Brown, refused to address why her client would still be seeking work if what he says is true.

The allegations comes as John prepares for a short residency at Las Vegas' The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, having released a new studio album Wonderful Crazy Night last month.

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