America’s Next Top Model alum Jenn An sued Kanye West for allegedly assaulting her by choking her and jamming his fingers down her throat during a 2010 music video shoot.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in New York on Friday, Nov. 22, the model accused the rapper, 47, of staging his “own production” by asking a camera crew to film him choking her during the filming of the music video for La Roux’s song “In for the Kill,” which featured West on the remix.
Suit, obtained from Rolling Stone, Page Six and TheWrap report that An was working as a background actress for a video at the Chelsea Hotel in New York in September 2010 and was wearing only “revealing underwear: when West showed her to the crew and said, ‘Give me an Asian girl. ‘ ”
An claimed she told West, “I don’t wear much,” he allegedly replied, “That’s why I chose you,” and she recalled him ordering the other background actors to leave the room.
Kanye West 2022.
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The model and actress alleged that West (who has legally changed her name to Ye) was “looming” over her and “breathing heavily” when he suddenly asked the camera crew to take a close-up of her face and used a “swirling hand” to ” imitate forced oral sex”.
“In front of the camera, the defendant West began to strangle the plaintiff with one hand. He then put his other hand around her neck and continued to strangle her with both hands,” the lawsuit states Rolling Stone. “He then jammed several fingers into her throat, moving them in and out continuously, and gagged her” for more than a minute.
An also claimed that the rapper screamed, “This is art. This is fucking art. I’m like Picasso,” as he choked her, in a “pornographic cooing/deepthroat/BDSM fetish-like manner.”
“Plaintiff was struggling to breathe and felt as if she had temporarily passed out. When Defendant West decided he was done with Plaintiff, her face was covered in saliva and smeared makeup,” the lawsuit states.
Universal Music Group (UMG) was also named as a co-defendant in the case, as An claimed the company “failed to investigate” the incident. The lawsuit stated that West’s “gender polemics, hateful controversies and abuse were a brand that was too profitable for defendant Universal Music to intervene, despite his illegal conduct.”
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An claimed that West violated New York’s Gender-Based Violence Act and is asking the judge for a jury trial for punitive damages, legal fees and “damages for mental, emotional and physical injury, distress, pain and suffering and damage to reputation.”
Her lawyers also claim that UMG “systematically discriminates against women by continuing to work with artists with well-documented histories of sexual harassment and discrimination.” The lawsuit also alleges that UMG and its affiliated record labels, including Interscope Records and “other high-profile individuals within the industry [tried to] ‘bury’ the incident.”
The final version of the music video does not include appearances by West and An.
Representatives for West and UMG did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
An appeared in the 13th season ANTM in 2009, finishing in third place. In recent years, she has become an actress, appearing in Criminal minds and The Mindy Project.
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Jenn Ann 2018.
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This is one of several lawsuits filed against Yeo in recent months. Last week, his former Yeezy employee, Murphy Aficionado, filed 12 complaints against him and his companies, Yeezy LLC and Donda Academy, alleging discrimination, harassment, retaliation and more.
Aficionado accused the rapper of anti-Semitic comments, including “The Jews won [ex-wife] Kim [Kardashian] and my children.’ ” West allegedly made discriminatory comments about Aficionado’s Filipino ancestry and allegedly told him to remove his “ugly” traditional Filipino tattoos, called “Batok.”
In a complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Aficionado — who worked as a project manager for Yeezy for nine months — claimed he was “wrongfully terminated” and was not compensated for his work. He also alleged that West told him to go into the hotel room where he and his then-girlfriend, Bianca Censori, were having sex, and then put on a swastika shirt.
West’s former assistant also sued him in October, accusing him of drugging and sexually assaulting her during a studio session co-hosted by the rapper and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Lauren Pisciotta, who worked for West from 2021 to 2022, alleged in an amended complaint obtained by PEOPLE that West sexually assaulted her after serving her a drug-laced drink.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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