Trey Songz is being sued for rape, with his record label and manager also named in the suit.
The $25million (£20.7million) lawsuit has been filed by an anonymous woman, listed on the suit as Jane Doe, who claimed that Songz raped her in March 2016. She had previously sued the artist last year for $20million (£16.5million), but the case was dismissed after the singer’s team argued that her claims were past the statute of limitations.
In the lawsuit, Doe alleged that Liles, his label 300 Entertainment, and Songz’s label, Atlantic Records, have continued to work with Songz, despite the accusations. Her lawyer claimed that they are “responsible in some manner” for Songz’ alleged actions.
“This case is much more than about one singer and one viciously abused sexual-assault survivor who has the courage to take action,” Doe’s lawyer George Vrabeck, said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “It’s also very much about the systematic sexual abuse in the music industry and the music industry’s complicity in silencing sexual abuse survivors. It’s virtually impossible to believe that those executives are not and were not aware of the institutionalized sexual abuse.”
Trey Songz. CREDIT: Leon Bennett/Getty Images
It is becoming more commonplace for the record labels of artists being sued for sexual assault to be implicated in lawsuits. A recent lawsuit filed against Marilyn Manson, for grooming and sexual assault, for example, named his label Interscope in the filing.
NME has contacted Trey Songz’ reps for comment.
Songz has faced several accusations of sexual assault throughout his career. In 2018, he was charged over a domestic violence case – during which he claimed via Twitter that he was being “falsely accused for someone’s personal gain”.
Songz also publicly responded to two separate allegations via Twitter in mid-2020, strongly denying said accusations. He then faced a further two accusations in early 2022, one being the aforementioned $20million lawsuit, the other a historical claim from basketball player Dylan Gonzalez.
Last year. the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) dropped an investigation into a sexual assault case pertaining to Songz, five months after it was filed. Songz was also hit with a $5million (£3.87million) settlement demand after another woman came forward to accuse him of sexual assault.
Songs has never faced prosecution for any of these allegations.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
The post Trey Songz, Atlantic Records and Kevin Liles sued for rape appeared first on NME.