Cliff Notes – Soulja Boy ordered to pay $4,000,000 in sexual assault and kidnapping case
- Soulja Boy has been ordered to pay $4 million to his former assistant, who accused him of sexual assault and kidnapping during their two-year relationship.
- The jury found him liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual harassment, and non-payment of wages, while clearing him of false imprisonment claims.
- This ruling follows previous allegations against the rapper, including a 2021 lawsuit for assault and kidnapping, which resulted in a separate financial settlement.
Soulja Boy ordered to pay $4,000,000 in sexual assault and kidnapping case
Soulja Boy has been ordered to pay $4,000,000 (£3 million) to his former assistant who accused him of sexual assault during their relationship.
The American rapper – real name DeAndre Cortez Way – rose to fame with his debut single Crank That (Soulja Boy) in 2007.
Since then, follow-up releases have failed to achieve the same level of critical and commercial success, after which he left his label.
Now, the 34-year-old has hit headlines after a civil case saw a jury rule against him.
The woman, referred to as Jane Doe in the case, sued Way in January 2021.
She accused him of raping and kidnapping her while working as his personal assistant starting in 2018.
She claimed that within the first month of employment, Way sent her photos of his penis, and they initiated a romantic relationship that turned violent and toxic.
When she first tried to quit and leave, he allegedly locked her in a room for three days. When she tried to leave again, Way was accused of attacking and raping her, as reported by USA Today.
The rapper denied abusing the woman, saying he never formally hired her and offered her a place to stay in exchange for ‘rolling blunts’.
Although he described their relationship as consensual, he said it was also contentious.
Throughout the trial, photographs of her bruises and text messages were used as evidence. The latter included threatening texts that included Way telling the woman ‘shoulda killed your stupid a**’.
Despite this his lawyers argued the photographs of the bruises didn’t establish that Way had inflicted them on her, and said the woman was suing him for a payday.
During closing arguments on earlier this week, the woman’s lawyers asked the jury to award her $73.6 million (£56 million).
‘If you don’t believe my client, don’t give her a dollar. But if you do believe her, give her everything,’ lawyer Ron Zambrano said.
‘He raped her, he punched her, he kicked her, he cut her. He picked up and then slammed her, choked her, left bruises from squeezing her arm. He grabbed her head by a mirror and said, “No one will love you,’ he continued.
‘He pointed a Draco gun at her. He locked her in a room, threatened her family, threatened her, denied her food.’
Texts read out to the jury also included Way telling her: ‘I hope u die slow.’
‘I didn’t even feel human anymore. I felt like an animal. I wanted to die’
During the trial the woman said: ‘I didn’t even feel human anymore. I felt like an animal. I wanted to die.’
Way denied he ever abused the woman in any way, claiming they ‘bonded’ during their time together, adding woman would handle errands for him because he offered her a free place to live and they struck up a personal relationship, not because she was a paid employee, Rolling Stone reported.
Meanwhile Way’s attorney Rickey Ivie said of the woman: ‘She wanted to be paid. Which is what this case is all about. Because it’s not about the truth.’
However, the jury eventually ruled against the rapper, finding him liable in the civil case for claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual harassment and non-payment of wages.
He was cleared on claims of false imprisonment and constructive discharge.
It was reported he ‘smiled calmly’ as the verdict was read out.
In April 2021, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office ‘declined to file charges due to insufficient evidence to prove the alleged crimes true beyond a reasonable doubt’ a spokesperson previously told Rolling Stone.
Way had previously been sued for assault and kidnapping in 2021 and two years later was ordered to pay $471,800 (£363,000).
She had claimed the rapper had kidnapped her and held a gun to her head at his home after a party.
In 2021 another woman also accused him of assaulting her, alleging that he’d put a gun to a head and kicked her in the stomach while she was pregnant. She suffered a miscarriage after the incident.