Latest news with #rape
News.com.au
7 hours ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
$300 million NBA All-Star Zion Williams in bombshell rape claim
Pelicans star Zion Williamson is being accused of rape by a woman claiming to be his ex-girlfriend. In a bombshell lawsuit filed Friday (AEST) in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by The Post, the woman, identified as Jane Doe, alleges Williamson raped her twice in 2020. In one instance, Doe claimed Williamson, 24, arrived to the Beverly Hills home he purportedly rented while training during COVID on November 23, 2020 and demanded sex. According to Doe, Williamson called her 'stuck up' and a 'b***h,' and when she refused to engage in sex, the 6-foot-6, 280-pound power forward 'pinned Plaintiff down on the bed with her hands behind her back and raped her.' Williamson is alleged to have taken her phone and choked her for 'talking too much' afterwards. Watch every game of The NBA Finals LIVE with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. A second claim of rape occurred the following month, in which Doe spoke of potentially visiting a friend, leading Williamson to have allegedly 'picked her up, threw her down to the ground, and pinned her shoulders down so she could not move,' and then he reputedly 'violently raped Plaintiff in multiple ways.' She says he then took her phone and computer so she could not 'contact anyone to secure a ride elsewhere, report the assault, or seek medical care.' In a statement provided to The Post, Williamson denied the allegations through his legal reps. 'We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and we unequivocally deny them,' his reps said. 'The allegations contained in the complaint are categorically false and reckless. This is the plaintiff's third set of lawyers. This appears to be an attempt to exploit a professional athlete driven by a financial motive rather than any legitimate grievance.' It comes as rumours swirl Williamson's future in the NBA was already murky. According to Yahoo Sports, Williamson's team — the New Orleans Pelicans — have been 'gauging the market for everyone on their roster'. 'There are no untouchables in New Orleans,' Kevin O'Connor, the outlet's senior NBA analyst, wrote. Williamson is currently in the middle of a five-year, $308 million (USD$197m) contract. Williamson has acknowledged a consensual, casual relationship with Doe, and that she only began demanding 'millions of dollars' after their time together ended. He intends to file a counterclaim against Doe and will seek 'significant damages for this defamatory lawsuit.' 'While these allegations are false, we recognise the seriousness of the claims and welcome the opportunity to prove the truth in court,' his reps said. 'We are confident that the legal process will expose the truth and fully vindicate Mr. Williamson.' Doe's suit alleges a pattern of 'abusive, controlling, and threatening behaviour toward Plaintiff' that also occurred in Louisiana and several other states. Williamson is also accused of threatening to have his security guard shoot Doe 'in the head while the security guard was present and carrying a loaded firearm multiple times in Louisiana between 2020 and 2023,' and 'threatening to have his paid security guard kill Plaintiff's parents, after informing Plaintiff that he knows their home address multiple times in Louisiana between 2020 and 2023.' 'Our client is very adamant about this — it's not her desire or our desire to litigate this case in the press,' Doe's lawyer, Sam Taylor with the Lanier Law Firm, told The Post on Friday. 'It's a very serious case, as reflected in the allegations. Our client looks forward to her day in court where she can go and explain to a jury what happened to her, the things she endured for this defendant and getting justice.' Doe claims to have been in a 'dating relationship' with Williamson beginning around 2018 while he was a freshman at Duke, and the relationship continued through June 2023. Williamson went on to be the first overall pick by New Orleans in the 2019 NBA Draft. Despite an injury-marred start to his career, he made the All-Rookie team in 2020 and has twice been an All-Star in five seasons, all with the Pelicans. Williamson has made headlines over his personal life on a numerous occasions. In April, Williamson was dragged into a home invasion incident involving the mother of his child, Ahkeema Love, 31, who was arrested for attacking a romantic rival. Love was charged with home invasion, aggravated battery and stalking after she broke into an unidentified woman's residence and 'grabbed the victim's hair and struck the victim with keys clenched in her fist,' Kenner police said in a probable cause affidavit, per NBC News. Williamson was not named in the affidavit. Love was served an order of protection as part of her custody release following a bond hearing, according to court records. In 2023, adult film star Moriah Mills claimed she had an intimate relationship with the former No. 1 overall pick, and threatened to release alleged sex tapes of the two. In March, Love revealed she is pregnant and celebrating 'another addition to our family' in an Instagram post. She did not name the child's father. Love and Williamson welcomed a daughter in 2023.
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges
By Sana Noor Haq , CNN Russell Brand. Photo: ANDREW COWIE / AFP British comedian and actor Russell Brand pled not guilty to multiple charges of rape and sexual assault at a court in London on Friday. In April, 49-year-old Brand was charged with one count of rape, one count of indecent assault, and one count of oral rape, as well as two counts of sexual assault. The charges relate to four separate women. The alleged assaults took place between 1999 and 2005. He has previously denied all the allegations. Brand walked into the courtroom at Southwark Crown Court wearing a dark suit and an unbuttoned, pinstripe shirt. He spoke only to confirm his name and enter five not guilty pleas. A trial date has been scheduled for 3 June, 2026. Detectives started investigating the actor in September 2023 after receiving allegations following a joint investigation led by three British media outlets - The Sunday Times , The Times and Channel 4's Dispatches . According to London's Metropolitan Police, it is alleged that one woman was raped in 1999 in Bournemouth, southern England; one woman was indecently assaulted in London's Westminster area in 2001; a woman was orally raped and sexually assaulted in Westminster in 2004; and a woman was sexually assaulted between 2004 and 2005, also in Westminster. Brand has appeared in numerous Hollywood films and hosted radio and TV shows in the United Kingdom. More recently, he has sought to frame himself as a social commentator and promoted conspiracy theories online, particularly on YouTube, where he has amassed almost 6.8 million subscribers. - CNN
The Independent
9 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
NBA star Zion Williamson accused of raping a woman in a Beverly Hills house in 2020
New Orleans Pelicans player Zion Williamson is accused of raping his ex-girlfriend, according to a lawsuit. In the complaint filed, the woman, identified as Jane Doe, claims she dated Williamson, 24, from 2018 to June 2023, according to the New York Post. The woman alleges Williamson raped her twice in 2020 and subjected her to ongoing sexual, physical, emotional, and financial abuse between 2020 and 2023. The woman claims the first alleged rape happened on Nov. 23, 2020, at a Beverly Hills rental home, where she refused sex, prompting Williamson to call her 'stuck up' and a 'b****.' He allegedly 'pinned Plaintiff down on the bed with her hands behind her back and raped her.' Williamson also proceeded to take her phone away and choke her for 'talking too much,' the complaint states. Williams, though his attorney, denied that woman's claims and called them 'categorically false.' According to the lawsuit, a second assault occurred a month later, after the woman informed the 2019 NBA first-round draft pick that she wanted to visit a friend. He allegedly 'picked her up, threw her to the ground, and pinned her shoulders down so she could not move,' and then 'violently raped Plaintiff in multiple ways.' The woman claims Williamson proceeded to take her phone and computer so that she could not 'contact anyone to secure a ride elsewhere, report the assault, or seek medical care.' The lawsuit accuses Williamson of repeated abusive and threatening behavior in Louisiana and other states, including threats to have his armed security guard shoot her and kill her parents between 2020 and 2023 in Louisiana. 'Our client is very adamant about this — it's not her desire or our desire to litigate this case in the press,' the woman's attorney Sam Taylor told the New York Post. 'It's a very serious case, as reflected in the allegations. Our client looks forward to her day in court where she can go and explain to a jury what happened to her, the things she endured for this defendant and getting justice,' he added. Williamson's attorney, Michael A. Balascio, denied accusations in the lawsuit in a statement to The Independent. "We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and we unequivocally deny them. The allegations contained in the complaint are categorically false and reckless," they wrote. 'Mr. Williamson and the plaintiff never dated, but did maintain a consensual, casual relationship that began more than six years ago, when he was 18 years old. That relationship ended years ago. At no point during or immediately after that relationship did the plaintiff raise any concerns. Only after the friendship ended did she begin demanding millions of dollars. "Mr. Williamson reported the plaintiff's extortion attempts to law enforcement. We understand that an arrest warrant was issued in connection with that report, and we are prepared to provide the court with documentation that supports these facts. Mr. Williamson also intends to file counterclaims and seek significant damages for this defamatory lawsuit."
Washington Post
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Zion Williamson accused of rape, years of abuse in lawsuit
A woman has sued New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, accusing him of rape and abuse over the course of their multiyear relationship, according to a complaint obtained by The Washington Post. The 12-page lawsuit was filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to a spokesperson for the Lanier Law Firm, which represents the woman, who is seeking damages through the California court because many of the alleged incidents occurred in Los Angeles County.
New York Times
10 hours ago
- General
- New York Times
Pelicans' Zion Williamson accused of rape in lawsuit, denies claims
New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has been accused of rape and domestic violence in a civil lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court late Thursday by a woman who said she dated him for almost five years, beginning when he was a freshman at Duke. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, is seeking an unspecified amount in damages from Williamson. Advertisement In the lawsuit, she alleges that Williamson repeatedly raped her, hit and kicked her and made her fear for her life in several instances, before the relationship ended in June 2023. She also alleged that Williamson falsely imprisoned and stalked her, threatened to kill her and that he had a pattern of 'abusive, controlling, and threatening behavior.' Williamson denied the allegations in a statement through his attorneys, Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, L.L.C. 'The allegations contained in the complaint are categorically false and reckless,' his attorneys said. Williamson's attorneys disputed the nature of the relationship, saying he and the woman never dated but maintained 'a consensual, casual relationship.' They said they had 'reported the plaintiff's extortion attempts to law enforcement' and that Williamson 'intends to file counterclaims and seek significant damages for this defamatory lawsuit.' Williamson's attorneys did not respond to a request for more information on communication with law enforcement. Sam Taylor, a lawyer for the woman, said there were 'numerous misrepresentations' in the response from Williamson's attorneys and denied that it was an extortion attempt. Williamson and the woman had previously engaged in a formal mediation before she filed the lawsuit, Taylor said, but their dispute was not resolved. 'We look forward to the day that our client can get this case to trial and let a jury decide who is credible and who is not credible,' Taylor said. Williamson played at Duke for one season before becoming the No. 1 pick by the Pelicans in 2019. In her lawsuit, the woman said Williamson raped her in September 2020 after he moved to Beverly Hills, Calif. According to the complaint, Williamson's agent picked her up at a hotel and drove her to his home. When he came home later that night, he said the woman could not go to sleep without having sex with him. Advertisement When she refused, according to the lawsuit, Williamson pinned her down on the bed and raped her. He did so again, she said, several weeks later, after she had considered leaving to go see a friend, and then took her phone and laptop away so she could not leave or get medical attention. The woman said that Williamson repeatedly sexually and physically assaulted her through 2023. She also said that Williamson filmed her without her consent and, when she tried to break up with him, said he would disseminate the nude photos and videos of her. Williamson, according to the lawsuit, also said he would threaten to have his security guard shoot the woman in the head, at a time when the security guard was with them and carrying a loaded gun. The lawsuit said that Williamson also threatened to have the security guard kill her parents and told her that he knew their home address. The woman, according to the complaint, suffered 'severe emotional distress, anxiety, depression, humiliation, loss of sleep, and other physical and emotional injuries' because of Williamson. She has sought counseling since their relationship ended two years ago, Taylor said. 'This is a major undertaking,' Taylor said. 'She knew what he was going to say about her.' — Christian Clark contributed reporting to this story.
