Soulja Boy, the US rapper with hits including Crank That (Soulja Boy) and Kiss Me Thru the Phone, has been accused of sexual assault and battery, which he denies.
A woman who worked as a personal assistant for rapper Soulja Boy alleges in a lawsuit filed Thursday that the artist sexually abused her, beat her and held her hostage.
The woman said she began working for Soulja Boy, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, in California at the end of 2018.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles and identifies the assistant only as Jane Doe, says the abuse began when Way sent the woman an unsolicited picture of his penis shortly after she started working for him.
The pair did end up in a consensual relationship, but by January of 2019, Way began physically abusing the woman, the suit said.
And in February, Way sexually assaulted the woman for the first time, the suit said, adding that he “expressed remorse” after and gave her $1,000. Later, “on numerous occasions, and sometimes twice in the same day, Defendant Way would inappropriately touch Plaintiff’s body, forcefully pull her pants off, and raped her,” the suit said.
Way would often become jealous when the woman got comments on Instagram or got a phone call and would respond by throwing her to the floor and kicking her in the rib or punching her, the lawsuit alleged.
“Over the course of this abusive relationship, Defendant Way punched Plaintiff directly in the head on at least ten separate occasions,” the suit said.
Once, Way followed an assault by saying, “I should have killed you,” according to the suit. After verbal assaults, he would often say, “I didn’t mean it,” the suit added.
He also locked the woman in a room without hot water for three days after she tried to quit and leave, according to the suit.
In August of last year, “Way attacked Plaintiff so hard that she thought she was going to die” and when she regained consciousness outside his home, she ran.
When she returned to get her belongings a month later, “Way refused to give Plaintiff her belongings back and instead used the opportunity to rape Plaintiff again,” the suit alleges.
The suit said the woman was left with nothing because she was not paid the wages she was promised while employed by Way for 18 months. She alleges she wasn’t paid the $500 a week promised to her by Way for her duties, which included cleaning, cooking, driving the musician around and handling travel itineraries.
“Way’s treatment of our client, as an employee and as a person who deserves respect, has traumatized and filled her with fear,” her lawyer, Neama Rahmani, said in a statement. “His abuse imprisoned her physically, mentally and emotionally. When she mustered the courage to flee, he impoverished her. His exploitation severely hampered our client’s ability to re-establish herself in the workplace and in society. We believe he should be held accountable.”
Way previously served time in 2019 for violating probation stemming from weapons possession charges.
Last year, an ex-girlfriend sued Way alleging assault and battery and false imprisonment. The case is pending.
Soulja Boy rose to fame in 2007 when his debut single “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Representatives for Way did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday, but a spokesperson told TMZ: “Soulja would never put his hands on a female. He wouldn’t beat a woman or put his hands on a woman … this is non-sense!!!”
