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Former Epic Records CEO LA Reid was charged with sexual assault in a case in 2023. HotNewHipHop reported that Reid has previously tried to get the case dismissed and the charges tossed off. However, on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, Judge Valerie Caproni didn't entertain the request and rejected it.
Trigger warning: The article contains references to sexual assault. Reader's discretion is advised.
The complainant, Drew Dixon, accused Reid of sexually assaulting her on two separate occasions. The lawsuit filed last year included the alleged events dating back to 2001. It was also reported that Drew was previously working under LA Reid.
In her lawsuit, Dixon further claimed that working conditions were made difficult for her when she refused the advances of the former CEO. According to the complainant, Reid reduced the budget for her projects, eventually forcing her to leave in 2002.
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According to Reid's legal team, Dixon used the Adult Survivors Act to get a favorable outcome in the suit. His attorney said:
"Plaintiff is using those laws to springboard claims of career frustration and disappointment. For which there are no timely or cognisable causes of action."
The judge ultimately tossed off this argument and claim from LA Reid's legal team.
LA Reid has denied all the accusations against him in the suit filed by Drew Dixon
While many allegations have been filed against Reid, he denied all of them. Along with the sexual assault claims, the suit also accused LA Reid's actions of being extremely harmful to the complainant, Drew Dixon's career. The lawsuit added:
"This litigation is not only about the horrific physical assaults that Ms. Dixon had to endure. [It's] about the irreparable damage done to the rare and blossoming career of an extraordinary talent."
In November 2023, when Dixon filed the lawsuit against Reid, Variety published an article that mentioned that due to Reid, Dixon allegedly had to let go of artists like John Legend. In November, she further told The Times,
"Promotional and recording budgets were suddenly reduced dramatically or frozen altogether. Song demos and artist auditions were flatly rejected."
In the interview, she mentioned that she believes she was getting "punished" for rejecting LA Reid's advances. After leaving Reid's company, Dixon went to study at Harvard Business School. While she made several attempts to resume working in the industry, according to the lawsuit, it became difficult for her.
Reid's attorney, however, claimed that Dixon was just blaming the former CEO for her own career struggles. LA Reid allegedly invited Dixon to see an apartment together. During this time, he reportedly made non-consensual advances towards Dixon. In the 2023 lawsuit against Reid, it was added that the real estate agent allegedly told Dixon that he felt Reid was in love with her.
Drew Dixon continued her series of sexual assault allegations, claiming that she was often subjected to non-consensual kissing and groping in jets and back of the cars. Variety reported that in 2017, LA Reid left Epic Records after he was accused of sexual harassment by an assistant.
It is yet to see where the lawsuit goes and what steps are taken.
