Photo: DUTCH/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
You may have noticed Ye is attempting to stage a comeback. Back in January, he took out a a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal to apologize publicly for his record of anti-Black and antisemitic commentary; his new album, Bully, is slated to drop March 27; and he recently announced an upcoming one-off show at SoFi Stadium in L.A. — his first in the city since 2021. While he hasn’t been welcomed back with open arms, new reporting about a 2024 sexual-assault lawsuit complaint against Ye could further jeopardize his return.
The suit, filed by 2009 America’s Next Top Model finalist Jennifer An, alleges that Ye “pornographically” choked An during a 2010 music-video shoot for the La Roux song “In for the Kill (Remix)” while screaming, “This is fucking art. I am like Picasso.” Court documents obtained by Rolling Stone appear to offer new evidence of La Roux, whose real name is Elly Jackson, corroborating An’s memory of the event. “I could never forget that, it was horrific,” the singer wrote in one alleged Instagram DM to An about the incident. Elsewhere, the documents depict La Roux saying Ye tried to threaten her into staying silent: “He wanted to remind me of his power and status and threatened me with my career essentially. I’ve obviously continued to say how I feel about him regardless but I haven’t told your story out of respect for you.” According to the alleged DMs, the footage of the event, which took place while cameras were rolling, has never been “used” or “seen.”
In January, Ye’s legal team attempted to have An’s lawsuit dismissed by filing a motion arguing that his actions “occurred in the course of producing expressive” art and should therefore be protected as free speech. An’s legal team, meanwhile, has put forth a new filing with five new exhibits they believe support An’s claims. Somewhere, Ye’s legal team is probably briefing him on these new exhibits while he paraphrases Justin Timberlake: “This is gonna ruin the comeback tour.”
Source link
