“On camera, defendant West began to choke Plaintiff with one hand,” the lawsuit alleges. “He then wrapped his other hand around her neck and continued to strangle her with both hands.”
A recently-filed lawsuit accuses hip-hop artist Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, of sexually assaulting and strangling a model on the set of a music video in 2010.
According to NBC News, the alleged incident occurred at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Southern New York on Friday, identifies background actor and model Jenifer An as the plaintiff. Attorneys for An say that she was dressed in “lingerie” and serving as a background actor when West arrived at the studio.
Shortly after his arrival, West purportedly pointed at An and said, “Give me the Asian girl.”
“Specifically, he ordered the female background actors/models, including Plaintiff, to line up in the hallway,” the lawsuit alleges. “He evaluated their appearances, pointed to two of the women, and then commanded them to follow him.”
West then asked the camera crew to focus on An while Ye, who was “breathing heavily” and “[towering] over” her, began to stage his “own production.”
“Defendant West then ordered the production team to start the playback music. However, Defendant West did not know his assigned lyrics and instead rambled, ‘Rawr, rawr, rawr,’” the lawsuit says. “Defendant West then pulled two chairs near the camera, positioned them across from each other, and instructed Plaintiff to sit in the chair in front of the camera.”
“On camera, defendant West began to choke Plaintiff with one hand,” the lawsuit alleges. “He then wrapped his other hand around her neck and continued to strangle her with both hands.”
“He then rammed several fingers down her throat, continuously moved them in and out, and gagged her,” the complaint claims. West, the lawsuit says, continued to use his fingers to “emulate forced oral sex” while repeatedly screaming, “This is art! This is [fucking] art! I am like Picasso!”
The lawsuit says that, over the course of the alleged assault, An struggled to breathe and “felt as if she had temporarily blacked out.” After she regained consciousness, she found that her face was “covered in saliva and smeared makeup.”
NBC News notes that Universal Music Group is named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, with An saying that the record label arranged Ye’s cameo in the music video but later “failed to investigate” or otherwise take action after receiving noticed of the alleged incident.
“Women in the music and entertainment industries have been subject to sexual abuse for years with no recourse to speak out or implement change,” An said in a statement. “This space is a dangerous place for women. We are essentially objects in the entertainment world. The industries have thrived on placing us in abusive power dynamics.”
Sources
Kanye West accused of sexually assaulting and strangling model on music video set, new lawsuit says
Kanye West screamed ‘I’m like Picasso’ while strangling model, lawsuit alleges
Kanye West strangled model on music video set, lawsuit alleges
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