Kanye West accused of sexual assault on music video set in new lawsuit | Ents & Art News

Rapper Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – has been accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit alleging he strangled a model on the set of a music video.

Warning: This story contains details that readers may find disturbing

The lawsuit alleges that the musician stuck his fingers in the plaintiff’s mouth at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City in 2010 in what it calls “pornographic gagging,” Sky News’ U.S. partner network NBC News reported.

The model who brought the suit — which was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York — was a background actor for another musician’s music video Thou guest-starred in the film, NBC said, citing the lawsuit.

She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages against the 47-year-old.

A representative for Ye and the New York City Police Department was contacted by NBC News for comment on Saturday.

The lawsuit alleges that the rapper arrived on set a few hours after filming, took control and “ordered female background actors/models, including the plaintiff, to stand in the hallway.”

The rapper is then believed to have “evaluated their appearance, pointed at two of the women and then ordered them to follow him.”

The lawsuit adds that the plaintiff, who was reportedly wearing “revealing lingerie,” felt uncomfortable but went with Ye to a suite with a couch and a camera.

While in the room, Ye allegedly ordered the production team to start playing the music, to which he did not know the lyrics and instead shouted “rawr, rawr, rawr.”

The lawsuit alleges, “Defendant West then pulled two chairs near the camera, placed them opposite each other and instructed the plaintiff to sit in the chair in front of the camera.”

While standing over the model, Ye strangled her with both hands, NBC reported.

It is alleged that he “mimicked forced oral sex” with his hands, as the rapper reportedly shouted: “This is art. This is f***ing art. I’m just like Picasso.”

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Universal Music Group is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit and is accused of failing to investigate the incident.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC.

Jesse S. Weinstein, an attorney representing the plaintiff, said the woman “showed great courage in speaking out against some of the most powerful men and entities in the entertainment industry.”