A$AP Bari has reportedly pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman at a London hotel back in July 2017. According to Sky News, the A$AP Mob affiliate copped to one count of sexual assault at the Old Bailey courthouse on Thursday (January 3).
In video footage of the incident, the VLONE fashion designer is seen attacking his victim at The Curtain Hotel in Shoreditch and pulling the covers off her nude body. During the hearing, the court heard details about Bari’s encounter with the woman. He reportedly propositioned her outside the Wireless Festival as she waited for a taxi.
Despite shooting him down, the woman wound up at The Curtain Hotel with a member of Bari’s entourage, AJ. At some point during the night, she was awoken by Bari who demanded oral sex.
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“You fucked my assistant, now you’re going to suck my dick,” he said in the since-deleted clip. “No, no, stop it … Bari, honestly stop,”she responded. The 15-second clip ended with Bari smacking the woman’s rear and shouting, “Shut the fuck up bitch.”
Police were later called to the scene but no charges were filed at the time. After the video started making the rounds on social media, the woman reported it. Bari issued a statement to Billboard, adamantly denying the allegations.
“A misleading video clip featuring adult content and activity has been released to the public without my knowledge or consent,” Bari said.“Comments about myself or anyone being detained or arrested are false. We have resolved this issue amicably among all parties as adults. We were friends before this and will remain friends afterwards.
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“Being raised by strong women who taught me to respect everyone, I’m disappointed in the situation as well as myself and will reflect on the situation appropriately.”
Bari was ultimately arrested last May and bailed out in June. His accuser then sued Bari for $1 million. In August, he attempted to countersue the woman for defamation and civil extortion.
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Barrister Gideon Cammerman QC, who represented Bari, told the court, “The publicity that this case has attracted has already caused very significant financial loss to him, the loss of very significant contracts and other matters. In the current climate, publicity of this sort is quite rightly toxic.”[apple_news_ad type=”any”]
In the wake of the allegations, Nike cut all ties with Bari. The company had already done a VLONE collab for a Nike Air Force 1 and were in talks to do more.
Several of his peers also distanced themselves from Bari. A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg and A$AP Mob affiliate Playboi Carti all publicly condemned Bari.
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Bari was originally charged with two counts of sexual assault and was expected to contend both. Instead, he showed up to court wearing a ski mask and entered a guilty plea to one of the charges. He must pay a roughly $5,054 fine and $3,154 in compensation to his victim.
