Yahoo Finance Rapper Soulja Boy faces another lawsuit alleging domestic abuse, sexual assault
Soulja Boy is being sued by an anonymous longtime lover who alleges he beat her repeatedly over years, including one attack so severe she miscarried their baby.
Lawyer Neama Rahmani filed the suit against the rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, on behalf of an unnamed Jane Doe in civil court in Los Angeles Tuesday.
"(Jane Doe) and (Way) first began their on-and-off romantic relationship in 2007," the lawsuit says. "They restarted their relationship in a more serious capacity in 2014 until mid 2019 when (Doe) could no longer withstand (Way's) constant abuse."
"It took her years to escape the psychological and physical grasp of her abuser," Rahmani told USA TODAY.
The lawsuit cites multiple causes of action, including domestic violence, gender violence, negligence, assault, sexual battery, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The plaintiff is seeking a trial.
USA TODAY reached out to Thomas Bleau, Way's Burbank-based lawyer, for comment.
The lawsuit is the second filed against Soulja Boy, 30, in recent months. In January, a woman who worked as his personal assistant filed a civil suit alleging he sexually abused her, beat her and held her hostage. She, too, filed her lawsuit under the name "Jane Doe."
Both Jane Does are being represented by Rahmani, a former prosecutor.
The Jane Doe in Tuesday's lawsuit said she and the rapper lived together by late 2015, and she was pregnant with his child. One day, they were having a "simple conversation" when Way "quickly became irate and violent."
"During their conversation, (Way) began to punch (Doe) in the face and chest, until she could no longer stand on her feet," the lawsuit says. She fell down and curled her body to protect her stomach, and Way allegedly continued to kick her all over her body, including her stomach.
"Soon thereafter, (Doe) suffered a miscarriage and was unable to carry her pregnancy into full term," the lawsuit says.
Two years later, the lawsuit says, Way attacked her when she said she wanted to spend time with her grandmother, forcing his security guards to pull him off her. A year after that, when the two were filming a reality TV show, they had a discussion about their relationship and Way became upset and began to attack her.
"The night vision cameras used during the show filmed (Way) attacking (Doe)," the lawsuit says.
Soulja Boy, who rose to stardom in the mid-2000s with hit song and dance, “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” also starred as himself in numerous reality TV series, including VH1's "Love and Hip Hop" and WEtv's "Marriage Boot Camp."
Later, after Doe and her 4-year-old daughter had moved out of Way's house, he dropped by her new home and talked about resuming their relationship.
When Doe expressed no interest in that, "Way tightly gripped (Doe's) neck and choked her while threatening her life. This was the last act of domestic violence, gender violence, and assault that occurred," the lawsuit says.
Rahmani said California is "very protective" of plaintiffs who allege sexual assault and domestic violence, thus one of the reasons Doe filed under a legal pseudonym.
"I don't expect that her identity must be revealed," Rahmani said. "But she understands the facts of the complaint are such that folks will be able to ascertain who she is, and she will move forward even if her identity is revealed."
In the earlier lawsuit, the former personal assistant said the abuse began when Way sent the woman an unsolicited picture of his penis shortly after she started working for him. The pair embarked on a consensual relationship, but by January of 2019, Way began physically abusing the woman, the suit said, punching her in the head on at least 10 occasions.
Although Way would sometimes express remorse and give her money, he also allegedly raped her, her lawsuit said. He once locked her in a room for three days after she tried to quit and leave, the lawsuit said.
Last August, the suit said, when she was able to run away, she tried to return a month later for her belongings and was raped again. The suit says she was never paid the wages she was promised while working for Way for 18 months.
Way was sentenced to two years of probation in 2014 after being convicted of carrying a loaded firearm in a public place. He was arrested by the Los Angeles sheriff's department in 2016 for allegedly violating his probation after a firearm was found in his home, and he was arrested by the probation department again in March 2019.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Soulja Boy sued by longtime lover alleging years of domestic abuse
