Latest news with #AllHipHop
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
One Of Akon's Wives Sues Publix After Alleged Sexual Assault By Employee
Amirah 'Amirror' Iman-Thiam, one of Akon's four wives, has filed a lawsuit against Publix Super Markets after a traumatic 2022 incident where she says she was sexually assaulted by an employee while shopping. The rapper is seeking punitive damages for emotional distress, reputational harm, and lost earnings — alleging that Publix's 'negligence' not only caused her to feel unsafe, but derailed her career. According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, the assault occurred at a Publix location in Roswell, Georgia, when stock clerk Jonathan Ross, approached her near the organic snack section. Though that area was outside of his assigned duties, Ross allegedly lingered and watched her. As Amirah checked out her items, she says he whispered, 'That dress got me rethinking my lunch break,' before bizarrely grabbing her buttocks and vaginal area. Reportedly, Ross was already on management's radar for prior erratic behavior. The store managers allegedly later admitted Ross had a troubling pattern of behavior yet remained unsupervised around customers. Per outlet, bodycam footage showed Iman-Thiam visibly shaken as she reported the incident to police, and Ross ultimately confessed and was convicted of sexual battery. The trauma, she claims, 'metastasized.' Court filings state that the emotional distress forced her to cancel a 12-city European and African tour that would have earned her $4,000,000. Collaborations with Grammy-winning producers were paused, and she says her creative drive stalled. 'My creativity's gone,' she reportedly told her therapist, explaining that she now relies on Instacart and hires a $150/hour security escort for even the most basic errands. Iman-Thiam's lawsuit, filed in Fulton County Superior Court, accuses Publix of maintaining a workplace that was 'as predictable as a Tuesday BOGO sale' in terms of risk. Her attorneys shared that this wasn't just about one 'rogue' employee, but a 'broken system weaponized against women.' The attorneys highlighted that the company had no formal sexual harassment policies for frontline workers, despite at least 19 similar incidents across the state since 2020. As a devout Muslim woman, Iman-Thiam shared that she faced spiritual consequences due to the nature of the unwanted physical contact. Her faith strictly prohibits sexual or physical touch from anyone other than her husband, and the violation meant she was considered spiritually unclean. Because of the incident, Iman-Thiam said that she undertook a year-long process of purification and healing under the guidance of an Imam in Senegal, her husband's native country. The rituals included praying six times a day, daily cleansing ceremonies, and a spiritual rebalancing that adhered to traditional Islamic practices. This period, while religiously essential to her recovery, made it impossible for her to tour, create music, or engage with her audience in any public way. Iman-Thiam is suing for punitive damages not only for the emotional and physical trauma, but for the financial blow to her career, harm to her reputation, and the personal cost of undergoing religious rites that were, as she put it, 'never meant to be done for this reason.' Publix has reportedly filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Ross acted independently. However, Iman-Thiam's team has responded with damning evidence that Publix's corporate practices failed to protect its customers from foreseeable harm. Just days after Ross' conviction, the company reportedly allocated $4,200,000 million in its quarterly earnings for 'customer incident resolutions' — something Iman-Thiam's attorneys suggest raises eyebrows. Akon has not spoken publicly about his wife's sexual assault case. More from Judge Dismisses Charlamagne Tha God's Sexual Assault And Battery Case Smokey Robinson Under Criminal Investigation For Alleged Sexual Assaults Terrence Howard's Daughter, Heaven, Reveals She Was Molested By Her Cousin
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
50 Cent gets a green light to seize a former employee's home, then gets back to mocking Diddy
Mess with 50 Cent and he might come for your house — even if it takes him a few years to do it. The rapper's company Sire Spirits got the OK last week from a federal judge to seize the Connecticut home of former Sire executive Mitchell Green as partial payment toward a $7-million debt after a federal bankruptcy judge lifted an automatic stay that had prevented transfer of the property. Read more: 50 Cent apparently finds it hilarious that Gloria Allred's client is suing him for alleged assault That took 50 Cent — real name Curtis Jackson III — and his legal team a little more than four years to accomplish, from when Green confessed to embezzling from his employer via a kickback scheme involving wholesalers until last week when the stay came off the house. Branson Cognac and Chemin du Roi Champagne, both owned by Jackson, are managed through Sire Spirits. Green admitted in February 2020 that he had been raising prices and getting kickbacks from wholesalers that were labeled "agency fees," the New York Post reported in 2022 and 2023. Sire Spirits filed a request with the U.S. District Court, New York Southern, on Sept. 1, 2021, for confirmation of an arbitration agreement of a little less than $3.5 million in damages, according to court documents reviewed by The Times. Green had been embezzling from 2018 into 2020, when someone attempted to blackmail him over the $2.2 million in kickbacks, according to AllHipHop. At that point, Green told his employer what he'd done. Sire Spirits fired him and went into arbitration, which was settled in Sire's favor. With attorney fees and legal costs rolled in, the November 2022 final judgment totaled around $6.3 million. Read more: Rapper Kid Cudi says his car was set on fire after Sean 'Diddy' Combs broke into his Hollywood Hills home In March 2023, the disgraced businessman filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, which was still going on when Sire Spirits' legal team secured a judgment lien against Green's home in Westport, Conn., according to the court documents. Green's legal team had been providing court-ordered updates on the status of the property, always stating that Green was still in bankruptcy proceedings and therefore still had that automatic stay protecting his home. But last week, Sire's attorneys asked the bankruptcy judge to get rid of the stay, saying that Green had no equity in the home due to the size of the judgment against him and therefore the property didn't need to be part of his liquidation. The judge agreed and lifted the stay. The Connecticut home was appraised in late April at $1 million. That value will ultimately be credited against the judgment plus pre- and post-judgment interest, which now totals around $7 million. Read more: 50 Cent trolls Diddy's son King Combs for diss track that refers to feds' raids of homes Although Jackson has mentioned Branson Cognac recently on social media, he hasn't said anything about the legal victory. In the last week, the rapper has been enjoying himself by poking fun at Sean "Diddy" Combs, a.k.a. "Puffy," who is mired in a federal sex trafficking and conspiracy trial, where prosecution witnesses have been testifying. "Cut, CUT ... Wait a minute PUFFY's got a gun, I can't believe this I don't feel safe ... LOL," Jackson wrote Tuesday on social media, posting screen shots of new testimony from Combs' former assistant Capricorn Clark. Clark told the court that Combs said something about guns that she took as him making a threat against Jackson. "Oh my goodness itty bitty Diddy wants me Dead," the entrepreneur and provocateur said in a follow-up post. "I have to lay low, I think I'm gonna hide out at the playoff game tonight LOL." He posted a comical picture of himself looking completely freaked out. The New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers should be tipping off right about now. Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
50 Cent gets a green light to seize a former employee's home, then gets back to mocking Diddy
Mess with 50 Cent and he might come for your house — even if it takes him a few years to do it. The rapper's company Sire Spirits got the OK last week from a federal judge to seize the Connecticut home of former Sire executive Mitchell Green as partial payment toward a $7-million debt after a federal bankruptcy judge lifted an automatic stay that had prevented transfer of the property. That took 50 Cent — real name Curtis Jackson III — and his legal team a little more than four years to accomplish, from when Green confessed to embezzling from his employer via a kickback scheme involving wholesalers until last week when the stay came off the house. Branson Cognac and Chemin du Roi Champagne, both owned by Jackson, are managed through Sire Spirits. Green admitted in February 2020 that he had been raising prices and getting kickbacks from wholesalers that were labeled 'agency fees,' the New York Post reported in 2022 and 2023. Sire Spirits filed a request with the U.S. District Court, New York Southern, on Sept. 1, 2021, for confirmation of an arbitration agreement of a little less than $3.5 million in damages, according to court documents reviewed by The Times. Green had been embezzling from 2018 into 2020, when someone attempted to blackmail him over the $2.2 million in kickbacks, according to AllHipHop. At that point, Green told his employer what he'd done. Sire Spirits fired him and went into arbitration, which was settled in Sire's favor. With attorney fees and legal costs rolled in, the November 2022 final judgment totaled around $6.3 million. In March 2023, the disgraced businessman filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, which was still going on when Sire Spirits' legal team secured a judgment lien against Green's home in Westport, Conn., according to the court documents. Green's legal team had been providing court-ordered updates on the status of the property, always stating that Green was still in bankruptcy proceedings and therefore still had that automatic stay protecting his home. But last week, Sire's attorneys asked the bankruptcy judge to get rid of the stay, saying that Green had no equity in the home due to the size of the judgment against him and therefore the property didn't need to be part of his liquidation. The judge agreed and lifted the stay. The Connecticut home was appraised in late April at $1 million. That value will ultimately be credited against the judgment plus pre- and post-judgment interest, which now totals around $7 million. Although Jackson has mentioned Branson Cognac recently on social media, he hasn't said anything about the legal victory. In the last week, the rapper has been enjoying himself by poking fun at Sean 'Diddy' Combs, a.k.a. 'Puffy,' who is mired in a federal sex trafficking and conspiracy trial, where prosecution witnesses have been testifying. 'Cut, CUT ... Wait a minute PUFFY's got a gun, I can't believe this I don't feel safe ... LOL,' Jackson wrote Tuesday on social media, posting screen shots of new testimony from Combs' former assistant Capricorn Clark. Clark told the court that Combs said something about guns that she took as him making a threat against Jackson. 'Oh my goodness itty bitty Diddy wants me Dead,' the entrepreneur and provocateur said in a follow-up post. 'I have to lay low, I think I'm gonna hide out at the playoff game tonight LOL.' He posted a comical picture of himself looking completely freaked out. The New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers should be tipping off right about now.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa loses civil case suing him for child sexual abuse
Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa has lost a civil case suing him for child sexual abuse and trafficking after failing to show up in court. In 2021, the anonymous plaintiff alleged that the DJ and producer sexually abused and trafficked him for four years, beginning in 1991, when he was 12 and Bambaataa 33 or 34 years old. Bambaataa, born Lance Taylor, has never responded to these specific allegations, Rolling Stone reports. The Guardian has contacted representatives for Bambaataa for comment. Judge Alexander M Tisch granted the plaintiff a default judgment 'without opposition' in New York state's supreme court. Bambaataa has faced numerous allegations of molesting boys. In 2016, the Democratic party activist and former music industry executive Ronald Savage alleged that Bambaataa had repeatedly abused him in 1980, when he was 15 and Bambaataa 23. In 2024 he recanted his allegations, saying that he met Bambaataa at a club he had used a fake ID to enter. 'Bambaataa is not a paedophile and, in my eyes, he was doing something that was consensual with someone that he thought was of age,' he told AllHipHop. 'I wish, back in 2016, I remembered about the fake ID.' At the time, the allegations prompted more alleged victims to come forward, with Rolling Stone reporting that 12 men in total – not including Savage – have accused Bambaataa of sexual impropriety. A man claiming to be a former bodyguard for Bambaataa, Shamsideen Shariyf Ali Bey, said: 'I've walked in on stuff where I say: 'What the fuck is going on.' He travels with late teens. Those are the ones he takes overseas with him. When I went with him on tour in the states, I would stay in one room and he would have boys in the room with him.' The musician denied all allegations in a 2016 interview with Fox 5 News, but left his position as the head of his Universal Zulu Nation organisation: 'I never abused nobody. You know, it just sounds crazy for people to say that, to hear: 'You abused me.' You know all my people back then, you know the hundreds of people that been around me. If something like that happened, why you never went to none of them?' Alongside DJ Kool Herc, Bambaataa was one of the originators of hip-hop and began throwing block parties in the South Bronx in the 1970s. • In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa loses civil case suing him for child sexual abuse
Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa has lost a civil case suing him for child sexual abuse and trafficking after failing to show up in court. In 2021, the anonymous plaintiff alleged that the DJ and producer sexually abused and trafficked him for four years, beginning in 1991, when he was 12 and Bambaataa 33 or 34 years old. Bambaataa, born Lance Taylor, has never responded to these specific allegations, Rolling Stone reports. The Guardian has contacted representatives for Bambaataa for comment. Judge Alexander M Tisch granted the plaintiff a default judgment 'without opposition' in New York state's supreme court. Bambaataa has faced numerous allegations of molesting boys. In 2016, the Democratic party activist and former music industry executive Ronald Savage alleged that Bambaataa had repeatedly abused him in 1980, when he was 15 and Bambaataa 23. In 2024 he recanted his allegations, saying that he met Bambaataa at a club he had used a fake ID to enter. 'Bambaataa is not a paedophile and, in my eyes, he was doing something that was consensual with someone that he thought was of age,' he told AllHipHop. 'I wish, back in 2016, I remembered about the fake ID.' At the time, the allegations prompted more alleged victims to come forward, with Rolling Stone reporting that 12 men in total – not including Savage – have accused Bambaataa of sexual impropriety. A man claiming to be a former bodyguard for Bambaataa, Shamsideen Shariyf Ali Bey, said: 'I've walked in on stuff where I say: 'What the fuck is going on.' He travels with late teens. Those are the ones he takes overseas with him. When I went with him on tour in the states, I would stay in one room and he would have boys in the room with him.' The musician denied all allegations in a 2016 interview with Fox 5 News, but left his position as the head of his Universal Zulu Nation organisation: 'I never abused nobody. You know, it just sounds crazy for people to say that, to hear: 'You abused me.' You know all my people back then, you know the hundreds of people that been around me. If something like that happened, why you never went to none of them?' Alongside DJ Kool Herc, Bambaataa was one of the originators of hip-hop and began throwing block parties in the South Bronx in the 1970s. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at
