Latest news with #sexualbattery
The Guardian
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
FKA twigs and Shia LaBeouf reach settlement over sexual battery lawsuit
FKA twigs has reached a settlement with Shia LaBeouf over her lawsuit for sexual battery. According to legal documents first obtained by Us Weekly, the English musician whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, filed to end her lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend with prejudice, meaning she cannot refile the claims in the future. The 37-year-old singer sued LaBeouf in 2020 for sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress, alleging a pattern of 'relentless' abuse. In the suit and in an interview with the New York Times, Barnett said LaBeouf, whom she dated from 2018 t0 2019 after meeting on the set of his semi-autobiographical film Honeyboy, knowingly exposed her to a sexually transmitted infection, attempted to strangle her and slammed her against a car. LaBeouf denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Barnett's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, and LaBeouf's lawyer, Shawn Holley, released a joint statement on the settlement: 'Committed to forging a constructive path forward, we have agreed to settle our case out of court. While the details of the settlement will remain private, we wish each other personal happiness, professional success and peace in the future.' The case had dragged on for years with little movement, with both sides going back and forth over the production of text messages and other evidence. It was originally scheduled to go to trial last year, but was postponed multiple times. In 2024, LaBeouf, 39, revealed that Barnett was seeking $10m, a number his team attempted to dismiss as excessive, citing Barnett's continued music career. In a statement, his lawyer also cited Barnett's role in the 2024 film The Crow, a modeling campaign for Calvin Klein and appearances in magazines such as Elle and British Vogue as evidence against the damages sought. At the time, Barnett's lawyer responded: 'While my client was led to believe that LaBeouf was on a path of taking responsibility and working a program, it is clear he intends his pattern of continuing to abuse the victim. 'Any suggestion that FKA Twigs' emotional distress should be discounted because of any career success is preposterous and discounts the idea that victims should have hope for the future,' he added. 'Logically, without the trauma that she has suffered, I can only imagine the level of success she would have achieved by now.' In a separate filing, her lawyer disputed LaBeouf's claim that the singer was thriving due to the success of her career. '[LaBeouf] argues that if [twigs] is working and making income, then she does not suffer from emotional distress. This is simply not true,' the filing read. 'A person's ability to make money, particularly how much money, is not correlated to a person's emotional distress damages.' In her interview with the Times, Barnett said she came forward publicly to show how even a critically acclaimed artist with money and a support network can experience domestic abuse. 'I'd like to be able to raise awareness on the tactics that abusers use to control you and take away your agency,' she said at the time. The Times also interviewed another former girlfriend of LaBeouf's, who described a similar pattern. Before the court case, LaBeouf responded broadly to the two women's stories: 'I'm not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel,' he said in an email to the New York Times. 'I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalizations. I have been abusive to myself and everyone around me for years. I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I'm ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt. There is nothing else I can really say.' LaBeouf went on to star in Abel Ferrara's 2022 film Padre Pio, as well as Francis Ford Coppola's critically panned opus Megalopolis, released in 2024. This year, he appeared in the boxing drama Salvable. Barnett's latest album, Eusexa, was released in January. The Guardian described it as 'a hymn to the healing power of the dancefloor'.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NEWS OF THE WEEK: Kanye West claps back at sexual assault accuser
The rapper has hit back at his ex-assistant Lauren Pisciotta's amended lawsuit, in which she accuses the rapper of sexual battery, assault and false imprisonment. 'Lauren Pisciotta's amended complaint is the fourth version she has advanced," a Yeezy spokesperson told Page Six. 'Each new revision contradicts the others; each is more absurd and outlandish than all previous claims combined. Does Ms Pisciotta actually believe her confabulations? We cannot know. But this breathless new instalment of fantasy fiction discredits all past, present and future testimony.'
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fox Sports Cuts Show Host Months After Explosive Sex Claims
Fox Sports laid off anchor Joy Taylor on Monday months after she was named in a sexual-battery lawsuit. Taylor had co-hosted the show Speak on its cable network, FS1, alongside former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson and former NBA player Paul Pierce since 2022. In addition to cancelling Speak, the company is also canceling its morning shows Breakfast Ball and The Facility, according to The Athletic. Advertisement All three shows had flailing ratings, according to Front Office Sports. Fox Sports did not return an immediate request for comment. The news came six months after a former Fox Sports hairstylist, Noushin Faraji, accused Taylor of dismissing Faraji's claim that then-Fox Sports programming executive Charlie Dixon groped her during Taylor's birthday party in 2017. Taylor had co-hosted Faraji also claimed that Taylor, who is married, had an affair with Dixon, which is how Taylor got her role as moderator on Skip and Shannon: Undisputed. Faraji further accused Taylor of mocking her accent and her PTSD-induced humming. Taylor denied the accusations to The Athletic earlier this year. 'The claims set forth against Ms. Taylor are devoid of merit and appear to have been strategically framed to create unwarranted publicity rather than to seek legitimate redress,' a spokeswoman told The Athletic in February. Advertisement Taylor was tight-lipped on the suits in an interview with New York magazine's The Cut earlier this year. 'I know that the public has a lot of interest in this situation,' she said, 'but I have to let the legal process play out.' She expanded on the situation to Charlamagne tha God's radio show The Breakfast Club last month, albeit briefly. She also said she was renegotiating her contract. Charlie Dixon (right) was put on leave in February and fired in April over the allegations. / Travis P Ball / Getty Images for SXSW 'I have felt a lot of different emotions,' she said. 'I think it's a grief process when anything like that happens. I'll say, I've been through a lot of traumatic things in my life. A lot. And I think any time you go through a trauma or a grieving period of something, you can't decide who you are when it's happening. And that's been the biggest thing for me.' Advertisement Dixon was placed on leave in February after the suits, and the network fired him in April. The lawsuit also accused Fox Sports star Skip Bayless of offering Faraji $1.5 million for sex. Bayless, who left the network last year, has denied the claim. Taylor's contract was set to expire this summer, according to a Front Office Sports report in May. After the lawsuits went public, Taylor was pulled off the air for two weeks before she returned.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kanye West's Ex-Assistant Adds Sexual Battery and Sex Trafficking to Claims in Lawsuit
Kanye 'Ye' West is now facing sexual battery and sex trafficking allegations from his former assistant, who has attached an addendum to a previously filed suit alleging she was drugged and sexually assaulted during a studio session co-hosted by Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Lauren Pisciotta worked for the rapper and producer from 2021 until her employment was terminated in 2024, first as an A&R representative and then as Ye's personal assistant. During the recording of the Grammy winner's Donda album sessions, Pisciotta alleges that West 'orally raped her without her consent' and had coerced her into sexual compliance with false promises of career advancement, according to the second addendum to a lawsuit filed in June 2024. The initial suit accused West of sexual harassment, breach of contract and wrongful termination; she also filed suit against West and some of his owned companies for fraud, unpaid wages and intentional infliction of emotional distress. More from The Hollywood Reporter Doechii on Viral BET Awards Speech Calling Out President Trump: "Wasn't Sh** They Could Do" OneRepublic Leaves Interscope After 18 Years, Sign New Deal With BMG As Oasis Kicks Off Reunion Tour, Fans Lap Up New Merch (and Seek New Ticketing Options) While Combs was present at the session when the incident allegedly occurred, he is not a named party in the lawsuit filed by Pisciotta. 'On one occasion, Ye attempted to vaginally penetrate Ms. Pisciotta with his fingers. On another occasion, he orally raped her without her consent. Both assaults occurred during the course of Ms. Pisciotta's employment,' the complaint states, adding that he had subjected her to 'obscene comments about her body, demanded she wear tight-fitting clothing [and] groped her on a regular basis.' It also says he forced her to watch him perform sexual acts with other women, sent her sexually explicit pictures and demanded she do the same and repeatedly demanded that she join his sexual encounters; the demands were refused by Pisciotta, the complaint states. Pisciotta, an OnlyFans model, also alleges that West 'offered someone the opportunity' to have sex with her in exchange for allowing him to have sex with their significant other. The alleged sex trafficking occurred, the suit says, because the rapper 'recruited and enticed [Pisciotta] by making fraudulent promises of career advancement' in exchange for her submission to his alleged sexual overtures. The suit states that not complying with West's wishes 'would be met with serious consequences such as public humiliation, online harassment, termination, retaliation and violence.' Attorneys for West released a statement at the time the original suit was filed in 2024, claiming that the rap and fashion mogul would be taking legal action against Pisciotta. 'During her employment, Ms. Pisciotta offered [West] sex on his birthday to which he declined, sent [West] unsolicited nude images, sexual narratives and was seen twerking in the office during business hours,' the June 2024 statement from West's rep said. 'On one occasion, Pisciotta boasted how the best moment of her life was when she was being ejaculated on by a soccer player while simultaneously texting her boss. It is well documented how Ms. Pisciotta consistently used sexual coercion in an attempt to demand not only money but material items, namely Hermès Birkin bags, a Lamborghini and an endless quest for plastic surgery.' West's team has not yet responded to the most recent claims in Pisciotta's second amended complaint. The Hollywood Reporter reached out to a representative for West on Thursday and will update this story with any comment provided. Best of The Hollywood Reporter From 'Party in the U.S.A.' to 'Born in the U.S.A.': 20 of America's Most Patriotic (and Un-Patriotic) Musical Offerings Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Evil trick child rapist used against trusting girl, 11, to lure her into park bathroom where he assaulted her
A Florida man tricked an 11-year-old girl into entering a park bathroom, where he raped her until a group of good Samaritans intervened and held him down until the cops came. Antwan Johnson, 18, has been charged with sexual battery, kidnapping and false imprisonment after he lured the young girl into the restroom at Gwen Cherry Park in Miami on Tuesday. Johnson approached the girl around 7pm and asked her to get toilet paper from the women's restroom 'because there was no toilet paper in the men's bathroom,' according to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office obtained by local news outlets. He then allegedly followed her into the restroom, forced her into a stall and brutally attacked her, Local10 reported. He is also accused of covering the girl's mouth and choking her during the assault, the Miami Herald reported. During the horrifying attack, a person walked into the bathroom and then began shouting for help. 'The witness exited the bathroom and yelled that [Johnson] just raped the victim. Citizens at the park chased after [him] and detained him until police arrived,' the arrest report said. Video shared on social media showed citizens had surrounded Johnson, whose pants were down, and held him until police arrived and arrested him. 'He was jumping gates, got caught behind the house, and we cornered him at that point,' Mike Santiague, who was at the park that evening, told NBC6. 'When I locked eyes with him, I knew the situation was serious,' Santiague added, recalling that he heard a woman calling for help. '[She said] stop him. He just raped this girl.' He described witnessing the devastation on the face of the victim's heartbroken mother. 'She was very upset and hurt,' Santiague said. 'Words can't even explain the look on her face because it looked like she was not even there.' Johnson is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, and his next court hearing is set for Thursday. Johnson could face the death penalty if convicted of the sexual battery charge. Police said in the arrest report that Johnson initially denied raping the girl, but then 'recanted and confessed.' '[Johnson] indicated he knew what he did was wrong and he was sorry,' the report said. Miami-Dade County Parks Director Christina White told local media that the department was 'deeply saddened' by the incident. 'Our hearts go out to the victim and their family, and we wish them a full recovery during this incredibly difficult time,' she said. White noted that the young girl was not involved in any of the county parks' summer programs at the time of the attack. 'The safety and well-being of all park visitors is our highest priority,' she said. 'We are cooperating fully with law enforcement in their ongoing investigation and remain committed to providing safe, welcoming, and secure spaces for every member of our community.'
