Kanye West has been accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit from a model who claims he strangled her on the set of a music video.
The controversial rapper and producer, who changed his name to Ye in 2021, is alleged to have choked the woman with both hands and subjected her to “pornographic gagging” while she was shooting the video with another artist.
The incident allegedly took place at Manhattan’s Chelsea Hotel in 2010, the complaint filed on Friday (22 November) said, according to US media.
The plaintiff said she was dressed in lingerie while working as a background actor on the set when West arrived, pointed to her and said: “Give me the Asian girl.”
She alleged that West then ordered the camera crew to zoom in on her face while he “towered over” her, “breathing heavily”, and staged his “own production” without any resistance.
“On camera, defendant West began to choke [the] plaintiff with one hand. He then wrapped his other hand around her neck and continued to strangle her with both hands,” the lawsuit alleged.
“He then rammed several fingers down her throat, continuously moved them in and out, and gagged her.”
The plaintiff alleged that West used his fingers to “emulate forced oral sex” while screaming: “This is art. This is f***ing art. I am like Picasso.”
She claimed that no one came to her assistance as she struggled to breathe and felt as though she had temporarily blacked out.
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Naming record label Universal Music Group as a co-defendant, the model claimed that the record label arranged the rapper’s cameo in the video but later “failed to investigate” or take action over the incident.
She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
The Independent has contacted West’s representative and UMG for comment.
West was the subject of a separate lawsuit last week by a former Yeezy employee, who alleged that he was subjected to antisemitic tirades by West and forced to sit in a hotel suite while the “Famous” rapper had loud sex in an adjoining room.
He has been named in several complaints in the wake of a series of antisemitic remarks shared from his social media accounts in 2022, which led to the end of lucrative partnerships with companies including Adidas and Gap.
In June, he was sued by his former assistant Lauren Pisciotta, who claimed that West bombarded her with explicit messages and, in one incident, masturbated in front of her.
Per the filing reported by Rolling Stone, West allegedly wrote in one text message: “See my problem is I be wanting to f*** but then after I f*** I want a girl to tell me how hard they been f****ed while I’m f****ing them,” before adding: “Then I want her to cheat on me.”
Pisciotta claimed that West would also call her under the guise of discussing work-related matters only then to masturbate while on the phone with her.
She is suing West for sexual harassment, breach of contract and wrongful termination, and is also suing West and his affiliated Yeezy companies for fraud, unpaid wages, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In October, Piscotta accused West of drugging and sexually assaulting her at a party hosted by music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, in an amended lawsuit.
