La Roux Backs Alleged Victim In Kanye West's Assault Case
Jennifer An filed a lawsuit against Kanye West under New York City’s Gender Motivated Violence Protection Act in November 2024, accusing him of choking and gagging her during a music video shoot for La Roux. In new court documents obtained by Rolling Stone, La Roux claimed to remember the incident in vivid detail during an Instagram exchange. “I could never forget that, it was horrific,” they wrote.
An’s lawsuit claims that West allegedly choked her on the set for La Roux’s music video, “In for the Kill,” in September 2010, before he “rammed several fingers down her throat, continuously moving them in and out.” While doing so, he yelled out, “This is art. This is f*cking art. I am like Picasso.”
West filed a motion to dismiss An’s claims back in January, arguing that they are a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech. His legal team wrote that the alleged conduct “occurred in the course of producing expressive” art.
NEW YORK. NEW YORK – NOVEMBER. 07: Kanye West speaks on stage at the “Kanye. West and Steven Smith in Conversation with Mark. Wilson” at the on November 07, 2019, in New York City. (Photo by Brad. Barket/Getty Images for Fast. Company)
An’s legal team countered the argument in a filing on Tuesday. “We disagree with [West’s] contention that the alleged sexual assault of Ms. An was protected artistic expression,” Jesse S. Weinstein, a partner at Phillips & Associates and counsel at Arcé Law Group, told Rolling Stone. “Our filing sets out substantial corroborating evidence supporting the allegations, including contemporaneous communications and witness testimony. We believe the record makes clear that the claims have a substantial basis in law and fact and should proceed so that the evidence can be fully examined in court.”
The filing shows that An reached out to La Roux’s official Instagram account in 2024 to ask if they remembered the alleged incident. “I have never seen the footage (thankfully), and obviously I asked for it to never be used or for it to be seen as you were understandably very concerned about anyone or your family seeing it,” La Roux responded. “I’m so sorry it happened.”
Kanye West’s Los Angeles Concert
The legal drama comes after Kanye West announced his first Los Angeles concert since 2021, earlier this week. He’s currently gearing up to release his next studio album, BULLY.
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