Stevie Wonder’s ex-fiancée Carmen Efferson kept gardening outside the Los Angeles home he wants her out of, according to photos TMZ published at 5:00 p.m. Pacific on October 28, 2026 (midnight UTC on October 29). The images from Backgrid add a visual to an eviction suit TMZ first reported on October 22.
Carmen Efferson Seen Gardening at Stevie Wonder’s Home
TMZ said the photos were taken on Wednesday and show Efferson tending to the property while the legal fight over it continues. The outlet wrote that she is not letting the dispute stop her from caring for the home. No one in the photos’ coverage was quoted, and neither Wonder nor Efferson commented on the images. The photos matter because they show Efferson still living in, or at least using, the house after the deadline Wonder’s lawyers set. The sources reviewed say that deadline was August 27, 2026, and that she has not moved out.
Stevie Wonder’s Eviction Lawsuit: What the Documents Say
According to legal documents TMZ obtained, Efferson has lived in the home since July 1988 under a verbal agreement. No written lease exists, and the stated rent is $0. Wonder’s side says that arrangement has ended and asks a judge to order her out. He also seeks damages and legal costs, though TMZ gave no amounts.
The documents describe repeated attempts over the summer to enter the property for an insurance inspection. Wonder’s team says Efferson refused to let anyone in, which put insurance coverage at risk. In July, his lawyers sent a notice ending her right to stay. TMZ’s October 28 report said Efferson paid only utilities during her decades at the home.
TMZ’s reporting does not name the court, a case number, the property address, or a filing date. TheGrio, which relied on TMZ, lists Wonder’s age as 76 and the lawsuit report date as October 22. Both outlets frame the case as an eviction action and report no other legal claims.
Lawyer Email Exchange and Competing Accounts
The court documents include an email in which Efferson accused one of Wonder’s attorneys of a “racist coldblooded ‘white male privilege’” tone, per TMZ, and told him to stop contacting her. TMZ says the email contained profanity. Attorney David Huff replied that the lawyer who first contacted her was neither white nor male. Huff also cited his grandfather’s civil rights work and warned that refusing the inspection could lead to eviction.
The two sides give different accounts of the dispute’s tone. A source for Wonder told TMZ the matter concerns safety and security and is nothing personal. Sources close to Efferson told TMZ she was blindsided, given their long romantic history, and that she told friends Wonder promised her the home, though she never received a deed.
Those claims come from unnamed sources, and TMZ presents them without documents. Sources also say Efferson’s late mother lived at the property until she died. TMZ reports Wonder and Efferson were engaged in the late 1980s. Wonder has been married to his third wife, Tomeeka Robyn Bracy, since 2017.
What to Watch Next in the Stevie Wonder Eviction Case
The reporting leaves several gaps. No hearing date appears in the coverage, and Efferson’s own response in court has not been reported. She has no on-record statement in the articles reviewed. TMZ’s reporting on her view comes from friends and sources.
An eviction case with a verbal agreement can turn on what both sides can prove about the arrangement. Efferson’s claim that Wonder promised her the home, if she raises it in court, would face the missing deed. Wonder’s insurance argument gives his side a concrete reason for the access demand. Court filings from either side would settle which version holds.
One timing detail needs care. TMZ’s October 28 article says Wonder’s deadline for Efferson to leave was August 27 and does not state the year. TheGrio places it at August 27, 2026, after a July 2026 notice. The October 22 TMZ report says she was required to leave by August 27 and remains in the home, which puts the deadline roughly two months before the lawsuit became public. TMZ’s Wednesday report, based on the same documents, adds no new court filing, so the photos are the only new development in that report.
For now, the evidence in public view includes the lease facts in the documents, the lawyer email, and the garden photos. The next update will likely come from a court filing or a response from Efferson’s team.
