Kevin Liles has been sued by a former Def Jam employee who claims that he raped her during his time as President of the storied rap label.
In a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court, an anonymous woman claims that Liles began sexually harassing her in 2000, a year after she began working for Def Jam as an executive assistant to the general manager.
AD LOADING...
The plaintiff alleges that Liles would press his body against her breasts and grab her bum while in the company’s offices in New York.
The veteran executive is further accused of making “derogatory and degrading comments based on her gender regarding her body and appearance.”
AD LOADING...
According to the lawsuit, things escalated in 2002 when Liles forced himself on top of the woman and raped her after she rebuffed his sexual advances.
Def Jam and its parent company UMG are also named as defendants, with the woman claiming that they “not only knew or should have known” about Liles’ “propensity to commit the aforementioned crimes of violence,” but also enabled his alleged behavior.
AD LOADING...
Liles has vehemently denied the allegations and hit back at the lawsuit, saying in a statement to TMZ: “I absolutely deny the outrageous claims reported in the press this evening.
“I wish I could share a more detailed response to this slander, but this is the first I’ve heard of this claim and the anonymous accuser’s attorney shared the lawsuit with gossip influencers and media outlets before it was even posted by the court, so my attorneys and I have not seen the actual lawsuit.”
AD LOADING...
He added: “After nearly 40 years of service to our culture, I’ve intentionally built a reputation for doing things the right way, treating people the right way, and empowering women. It is a shameful reality that these lies spread so freely.
“My attorneys and I will fully clear my name, and when we are successful, this anonymous accuser and her attorney will face a defamation lawsuit and every other available legal consequence. These allegations will not derail my mission to be of service to our community, and focus on the greater good and greater God.”
The woman’s lawyer, Lucas B. Franken, said in his own statement that they expect other women to come forward with similar allegations.
“In our lengthy experience defending sexual abuse victims, we have witnessed a common thread and that is that they are often not alone in their abuse,” he said.
AD LOADING...
“Based on the violent and egregious conduct, we expect that others were also abused, and we hope that they can also come forward to share their experiences and pursue justice.”
Liles departed Def Jam in 2004 and then served as executive vice president of Warner Music Group in 2009. He later co-founded 300 Entertainment — responsible for acts such as Young Thug, Gunna and Megan Thee Stallion — before stepping down from the company last year.
AD LOADING...
In his resignation letter, Liles said he would be devoting his time to “continuing the fight to end the criminalization of Hip Hop lyrics exemplified by the unjust prosecution of [Young Thug].”