Ye strangled model on music video set, lawsuit alleges
“America’s Next Top Model” alum Jenn An has accused Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, of strangling and sexually assaulting her on a music video set in 2010, according to a federal lawsuit she filed this week.
In the complaint submitted to New York’s Southern District Court on Friday, An said she was picked as a background actor and model for the U.S. music video of “In For The Kill,” by the British synth-pop act La Roux. Ye was hired to make a cameo in the video to increase its exposure, according to the suit.
But after Ye and his team arrived at the Hotel Chelsea suite where the music video was being filmed in New York City, he allegedly usurped directing duties of the production, bossing around the crew members and female background talent.
At one point, the lawsuit states, Ye pointed to An and told her to sit with him on a couch that the camera was facing, saying, “Give me the Asian girl.” She told Ye she was reluctant to do so because she was wearing revealing lingerie, and claims he responded: “That’s why I chose you.”
An said Ye then told her to sit in a chair he had positioned near the camera and told the camera crew to turn the monitors toward him so he could see the shot, which showed a close-up of An’s face and Ye’s hands.
She alleges that Ye stood over her, strangled her and smothered her face before he “rammed several fingers down her throat, continuously moved them in and out, and gagged her … to emulate forced oral sex.” An said the assault lasted more than a minute and left her face covered in saliva and smeared makeup. At one point during the attack, the lawsuit claims Ye screamed: “This is art. … I am like Picasso.”
Although many production members raised concerns about what happened, An said Ye and other men tried to cover up the incident, and it was never investigated by Universal Music Group or Stink Digital USA – the music video’s respective distributing and producing companies, which are also defendants in the suit.
Ye does not appear in the released version of the music video, and neither he nor An are listed on its IMDb credits page – although Ye has been featured in a remix of “In For The Kill.”
A representative for Ye declined to comment. Representatives for Universal Music Group and Stink Digital USA didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday.
An filed her lawsuit under New York City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, which temporarily extends the statute of limitations for sexual assault survivors, allowing some to sue over incidents that took place many years ago.
Ye has been the focus of several complaints from former collaborators over the past year. Last month, his former assistant Lauren Pisciotta amended a June lawsuit to include allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulted her at a studio session event he co-hosted with Sean “Diddy” Combs, who has had more than 30 sexual assault lawsuits filed against him in the past year and is awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Also in October, an anonymous John Doe filed a lawsuit against Ye and Yeezy for retaliation, emotional distress and labor code violations. Doe said he was hired as Ye’s director of intelligence and alleged that the artist threatened to kill him and fired him after he reported alleged child abuse at Donda Academy, the private school Ye founded.
Milo Yiannopoulos, a right-wing commentator, resigned from Yeezy in May after the two reportedly disagreed about “Yeezy Porn” – an adult film company that Ye hoped to launch.
Once one of the world’s most celebrated musicians, Ye lost several corporate partnerships, including his highly successful Yeezy sportswear brand with Adidas, after he made antisemitic remarks and wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt in 2022.
The 2010 incident at the center of An’s lawsuit occurred the year after she was a finalist on cycle 13 of “America’s Next Top Model.” She has since guest starred in popular television shows, including “The Mindy Project” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”