By all accounts, Snoop, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, took his appearance very seriously, but then, wouldn’t you if you were being sued for $22 mil?
During two hours of questioning in a Santa Monica, Calif., courtroom, Broadus detailed how he left the stage and went to his tour bus after Richard Monroe Jr. jumped on stage and was tackled by security. Watching a video of the incident, he identified several people involved in the onstage rumble as working for rapper The Game, who was on the “How The West Was Won” tour with Broadus.
Despite the seriousness of the lawsuit, Broadus did provide a little comedy relief. When trying to identify a face in the crowd, the rapper told his lawyer, “Man! I can't it out – a lot of bald heads.”
Monroe’s attorneys tried to shake Broadus’s testimony, challenging him on his recollection of the 2005 incident as well as about drug use during the night in question, but the judge rejected the questions.
Monroe filed his lawsuit in 2006 claiming he thought he was answering a call for fans to climb up on stage during a performance of “Gin and Juice” when Broadus and his entourage allegedly struck him and poured alcohol on him. According to Monroe, he woke up backstage after the incident – naked and in a pool of blood.
Broadus’ attorneys say Monroe heard wrong, and the rapper’s security was only trying to protect the performer – a line of defense echoed by Broadus during his time on the stand.
“The best way for the injuries not to have occurred (was) for him to stay in his seat and enjoy the show like the rest of the fans,” Broadus said.
The trial is expected to last all week.