A jury in a civil trial has found US rapper Soulja Boy liable for sexual battery, assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress against a former assistant.
The 34-year-old Chicago hip-hop artist, best known for his 2007 chart-topping single ‘Crank That’ was ordered to pay the accuser $4.25 million (Sh 550,970,000) in damages, comprising $4 million (Sh 518,560,000) in compensatory damages and $250,000 (Sh 32,410,000) in punitive damages, as reported by the BBC.
The lawsuit, filed in 2021 by an unnamed woman, alleged that Soulja Boy subjected her to repeated physical and sexual abuse during her time working for him.
According to the Associated Press, the woman began working for the rapper in 2018, earning $500 (Sh 64,820) a week for tasks such as cleaning his house, cooking, and handling personal errands.
She claimed the abuse began shortly after she started, escalating to regular beatings and sexual assaults. The lawsuit detailed an incident in which she was raped and beaten again when she returned to retrieve her belongings months after leaving.
Soulja Boy denied the allegations, asserting that their relationship was consensual and claiming she was not an employee but rather a “blunt roller” who lived with him.
After two days of deliberations, the jury ruled in favour of the accuser on the charges of assault, sexual battery, and emotional distress but cleared Soulja Boy of additional claims, including false imprisonment and constructive dismissal.
This is not the first time Soulja Boy has faced legal consequences for assault. In 2023, he was ordered to pay $471,900 (Sh 61,177,116) to ex-girlfriend Kayla Myers following a 2020 lawsuit alleging assault and kidnapping.