Rapper Soulja Boy Sued for Sexual Assault and Battery of His Personal Assistant

DeAndre Cortez Way, better known as Rapper Soulja Boy who brought us the “Crank Dat” viral dance in the 2000s, has been sued by a former assistant of sexual battery, assault and abuse.

Going under the alias of Jane Doe to preserve her privacy, the case accuses Soulja Boy of sending unsolicited pictures of his genitalia within weeks of working for the rapper, enforcing a hostile work environment, and refusing to deliver her pay for a majority of the 18 months which severely compromised her livelihood.

The suit also states that when Ms. Doe attempted to leave her position, she was met with abuse and retaliation. She was locked in a room for 3 days without hot water until she was “coerced into not leaving”.

She began working for the rapper originally in December 2018, and starting in January 2019 the suit alleges that Soulja Boy began going into jealous rages, and would beat, body slam and punch Jane Doe on 10 separate occasions.

The following month, February 2019, Jane Doe alleges that the first sexual assault took place. Following the assault, he expressed remorse and offered her $1,000 to keep her mouth shut.

In August of 2020, Jane Doe states that she was beaten by the rapper so hard that she lost consciousness on his front lawn, and once she awoke she fled the scene without her belongings. When returning several months later to retrieve her belongings, she alleges the second rape took place.

Ms. Doe’s lawyer, Neama Rahmani of West Coast Trial Lawyers, stated the following in regards to the case:

"His abuse imprisoned her physically, mentally and emotionally. When she mustered the courage to flee, he impoverished her. His exploitation severely hampered our client's ability to re-establish herself in the workplace and in society. We believe he should be held accountable."

A representative for Soulja Boy commented on the accusations, stating:

“Soulja would never put his hands on a female. He wouldn’t beat a woman or put his hands on a woman… This is nonsense!”

Financial privilege used to exploit more vulnerable individuals.

Men in the entertainment industry using their fortune and position of power to abuse women is a tale as old as time.

We have seen this piece of power and manipulation take place many times before.

Just take a look at R.Kelly, who was jailed last year after being found to have sexually abused women, many underaged, and held them captive against their will as slaves for years upon years. It was found that the amount of emotional and mental abuse and manipulation greatly damaged many of the women and young girls involved catastrophically.

R. Kelly got away with it for so long because of his fame, fortune and power within the entertainment industry to be able to keep things under the rug and avoid repercussion.. despite the dozens of victims who stepped forward throughout the decades.

Take a look at Bill Cosby, as well. He used his public persona of being “America’s Dad” to his advantage, where he was more trusted by his victims and thus easier to control and manipulate. He was found guilty and sentenced to 3–10 years in prison for committing dozens of sexual assaults and drugging of his victims in order to do it. Over 60 women have accused him of assault.

This narrative isn’t at all new, but it’s certainly one that we’re seeing have bigger consequences now down the road.

Thanks to the #MeToo movement, there is less acceptance for this behaviour, and perpetrators who use their position and financial power to abuse and harass women are finally being held accountable for their actions.

Why would Jane Doe file her lawsuit anonymously?

There’s really no question of why for me as to why she would do this.

But I also know that it will be held against her, because she really is in a lose-lose situation.

To answer why the question of why she chose to use a pseudonym, here’s why:

There are very good reasons why 90% of sexual assault survivors will not ever press charges or ever step forward to pursue legal action.

The justice system is not built to protect survivors, and we live in a society that attacks the legitimacy and credibility of anyone who is brave enough to step forward.

Once that survivor does step forward, they undergo a humiliating, degrading, and re-traumatizing experience in the pursuit of justice, which often is magnified by the negative social retaliation and reaction of sexual assault allegations.

Jane Doe is doing everything she can to receive justice, all while protecting herself, her reputation and her dignity by not exposing her identity to the masses.

Some will say that by not coming forward and exposing her identity, that is shady and insinuates that she is lying about what happened.

But this comes back to the lose-lose situation I mentioned earlier. Because the same people who will make this argument would also argue that if she were to expose her identity she’s only stepping forward for “publicity” and “fame” by accusing the celebrity person of sexual assault.

News flash people: you can’t have it both ways!

Either a person steps forward and exposes their identity for fame or publicity (which, I would like to put on the record, has literally never happened. No one ever remembers the names of their survivors, they only remember the names of the accused. There is no fame or honor or glory in that) OR they hide their identity to completely avoid fame or publicity, in pursuit of plain old justice.

I think it’s entirely wise of her to conceal her identity, and I hope for her sake that her identity remains anonymous.

This case is already going to be humiliating and traumatizing for her, and she deserves to feel as safe and protected as she can throughout the process. She should receive the justice and financial compensation she deserves for the work that she did throughout those 18 months, and the disgusting violations committed against her during that time.

Why side with the victim in this case?

When it comes to a majority of sexual assaults, there is very often little evidence that consent was disregarded, overlooked or ignored.

It is far more often a matter of “he said, she said” situation. This leaves the victims at a disadvantage, especially if the perpetrator is male and the victim is female.

What’s important to note in this case is that this isn’t just a “he said, she said” situation. Along with some of the sexual assault allegations, there would include actual physical evidence of photographs (the unsolicited pictures of his penis, photos of the physical injuries she received from beatings), and likely text conversations to go along with those photographs. These are pieces of evidence that cannot be disputed or seen as hearsay.

One of the biggest pieces of this case is that Soulja Boy is accused of not having paid his personal assistant for the majority of the 18 months she worked for him. There is only one version of a story when it comes to financial records, and that version is the truth. Either the payments happened, or they did not.

And if Jane Doe is being honest about the lack of payment and unsolicited pictures, that increases the likelihood of the emotional, mental and sexual abuse that she suffered actually took place.

While some may try to still argue that the photographs could have been consensually exchanged, at the end of the day Soulja Boy was the employer of his personal assistant. Thus if he were to send sexually explicit photographs to her that automatically becomes considered sexual harassment within the workplace.

So while no verdict has been made at this point, I am always a firm believer in believing victims when they have the courage and bravery to step forward.

And you as the reader should be more inclined to believe the survivor, who has gone through a traumatizing and horrible ordeal because of this man, because of the indisputable evidence she carries to go along with her case.

In a case like this, she would not have stepped forward unless she had the true and actual evidence.

And if she was lying and only wanted publicity, as some may argue?

Well, in that case, she wouldn’t be going by Jane Doe in the lawsuit, now would she? She would have made her identity public.

Final word.

We’ll keep an eye on this lawsuit as it unfolds. The case is already looking as if it will end well in Jane Doe’s favour.

Keep in mind that this was a woman simply trying to make an honest living, and likely looking to make professional connections so that she could continue her career in the entertainment industry.

Instead of being offered the respect and dignity she deserved in the workplace, she was instead met with sexual harassment, withholding of her pay which negatively affected her livelihood and ability to survive, and when she tried to leave she was met with retaliation and the defamation of her character with professional connections.

I hope with everything that I have that Jane Doe will be able to keep her identity anonymous, and that she be able to go about her right to receive justice for the atrocities committed against her, without being humiliated and dragged through the mud in the media.

She has done absolutely nothing wrong. She deserves peace and she deserves to be compensated for what she is owed. Both financially and emotionally.

And I will be on the sidelines watching this rooting for her every step of the way.

This article was originally published by the author on Medium.