Soulja Boy was found liable by a jury in the sexual assault lawsuit filed by his former assistant, and has been ordered to pay her more than $4 million.
The rapper, real name DeAndre Cortez Way, was accused by the former assistant, listed only as an anonymous Jane Doe in the complaint, of “locking her in her room without hot water for three days” and sexually assaulting her multiple times. Her lawsuit was filed in 2021. She worked for him over a period of several years beginning in 2018.
A jury in the Santa Monica, California court room found in favor of the accuser and ordered Way to pay the $4 in compensatory damages on Thursday. A second trial will be held to determine punitive damages.
“We’re happy our client was vindicated and the jury believed her claims of physical and sexual assault. We’re looking forward to moving on to the punitive damages phase of the case,” the accuser’s attorney, Ron Zambrano said in a statement.
Cortez has not been criminally charged and he has denied the accusations.
“The district attorney never filed charges. I was never charged or convicted of this, criminally. So, to be accused of this civilly is beyond me. I’ve never done any of the things they’re accusing me of. I just feel like this is very unfair,” he told Rolling Stone.
In a separate statement, the rapper’s attorney said, “It is unfortunate that aspersions and misperceptions of a culture were allowed to influence the trial. Mr. Way fully intends to pursue his post-trial remedies and to fight for a just result in this case.”
