A jury in Santa Monica slapped rapper Soulja Boy with a $4-million judgment Thursday after finding him liable in civil court for the sexual assault and battery of a woman who lived at his home and said she was his assistant.
The 34-year-old rapper, real name DeAndre Cortez Way, smiled calmly as the verdict was read, according to Courthouse News Service. The judgment was for compensatory damages only; determination of punitive damages is still to come.
“We’re happy our client was vindicated and the jury believed her claims of physical and sexual assault,” plaintiff’s attorney Ron Zambrano, a partner at West Coast Employment Lawyers, said in a statement obtained by The Times. “We’re looking forward to moving on to the punitive damages phase of the case.”
Way has denied all claims against him. His attorney Rickey Ivey of Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs did not respond immediately Thursday to The Times’ request for comment.
The case was brought by a Jane Doe accuser in January 2021, and the trial began in March in Santa Monica, according to court records.
The jury cleared the “Crank That” rapper on claims of false imprisonment and constructive discharge — an allegation that he created a work environment so hostile the employee had to quit — while finding him liable for civil claims including sexual battery, assault and gender violence.
Doe said she was hired as a personal assistant to the rapper in December 2018, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The filing alleged that from Jan. 23, 2019, to Dec. 23, 2020, Way inflicted “serious physical and sexual injuries” on Doe and made her “fear for her life.”
Doe said in court documents reviewed by The Times that she was promised $500 a week but was never paid, despite doing Way’s bidding seven days a week, 20 hours a day. Shortly after her employment began, the filing said, a romantic relationship developed between the two and the abuse soon followed. The lawsuit accused Way of punching Doe and raping her on multiple occasions.
Testifying during the trial, Way — who was accused of sexual battery, false imprisonment, negligence and assault, plus a handful of labor code violations — denied raping or beating Doe, according to Courthouse News Service, and said she was never his employee but rather stayed at his house frequently and rolled marijuana blunts for him.
His attorney said in his closing argument that she got “room and board” for her efforts, something he called “industry standard,” the outlet said.
During three days of testimony, Doe said she “didn’t even feel human anymore. I felt like an animal,” Courthouse News reported. She said she stayed because he threatened to hurt her or her family and to publicly post a video that he had recorded of her performing oral sex.
Text messages showed that she was required to do tasks that are typically done by an assistant, including making travel arrangements and getting food. In one message sent after an alleged attack, Way wrote, “I should have killed you,” the lawsuit said.
The trial will continue with determination of punitive damages.
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