Mindy McCready has sued her former boyfriend for $3 million, claiming he beat her last year and that the incident hurt her music career.
McCready, who had a No. 1 hit in 1996, “Guys Do It All the Time,” sued last month in Davidson County Circuit Court, The Tennessean newspaper reported Thursday. The lawsuit claims the alleged assault hindered the 30-year-old country singer’s ability to book performances and other work.
William McKnight is facing charges of attempted murder and breaking into McCready’s home and beating her severely in May 2005.
“One of the problems is that, literally, venues worried about whether ... McKnight would show up and someone would get hurt,” McCready spokesman Paul Berg said. “It’s been very interesting to see how difficult it’s been to even put her someplace to do a free show to raise money.”
McKnight is employed, his attorney, John Norris, said Thursday, but doesn’t have the amount of money that McCready is asking for. The lawsuit says McKnight is living in Brandon, Fla.
“The $3 million is out of proportion to any actual damages she actually sustained,” Norris said.
Berg said McCready is “not expecting to get anything out of this. Many people have to file civil litigation to set the record straight, whether or not they collect.”
Norris said McKnight was disappointed by the lawsuit. “Based on the circumstances of this relationship, it’s hard to understand where she came up with that figure,” he said.
Berg said the $3 million was derived from both lost potential income and the emotional trauma McCready endured.
McCready’s legal problems began before the alleged attack.
In 2004, she pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining OxyContin at a Brentwood pharmacy. She was also arrested and charged with drunken driving and still faces that charge and another for violating probation.
Last July, McCready learned she was wanted in Arizona for her involvement with an alleged con man, but the charges were dropped in November.
McCready is raising her 2-month-old son, Zander. She claims McKnight is the father.
If the singer wins her lawsuit, any money collected will go into a trust fund for her son, Berg said.