Music Exec L.A. Reid Accused of Sexual Assault in Lawsuit

Grammy-winning music executive, producer, and songwriter Antonio “L.A.” Reid has been accused of sexual assault and harassment in a lawsuit filed by a former employee of Arista Records.

Reid, once part of the songwriting and production team L.A. Reid and Babyface with Kenneth Edmonds, helped turn Usher, TLC and OutKast into stars on their label, LaFace. He also appeared as a judge on The X Factor.

In the suit, filed Wednesday in Federal District Court in Manhattan and obtained by The Messenger, Drew Dixon claims that Reid, who was her boss in the early 2000s, assaulted her on two occasions. She also alleges in the suit that when she refused his advances, he struck back by not allowing her to sign new artists, including then up-and-comer John Legend.

Dixon left Arista in 2002 and attempted to continue to work in the industry but was unable to regain her career momentum as a talent scout.

Her lawsuit was filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law put in place last year that gives those over 18 when abuse occurred a one-year window to file a civil lawsuit.

In the suit, Dixon, 53, claims that Reid assaulted her in 2001 onboard a private plane that Arista chartered for a company retreat in Puerto Rico. “Eventually, she came out of the restroom and discovered she was still alone in the cabin with Mr. Reid,” the suit reads. “He asked her to sit next to him to go over materials for the presentation, and then he began playing with her hair, kissing her and digitally penetrated her vulva without her consent. Ms. Dixon spent the rest of the flight in a daze."

On another occasion, the alleged sexual assault took place in a car. “Shortly into the ride, Mr. Reid again, without Ms. Dixon’s permission or consent began to grope and kiss Ms. Dixon, who squirmed and pushed him away as Mr. Reid’s driver stared straight ahead,” the suit reads. “When Mr. Reid complained and became visibly irritated with her lack of compliance, Ms. Dixon froze. Mr. Reid again digitally penetrated Ms. Dixon’s vulva without her consent.”

“I have an opportunity to seek some degree of accountability,” Dixon told the New York Times. “And that’s really what I’m trying to do.”

This isn’t the first time Reid and Dixon have been involved in allegations of sexual misconduct.

In 2017, three-time Grammy-winner Reid, 67, resigned as chairman of Epic Records following allegations of sexual harassment.

Dixon is one of a trio of women who claimed they were raped by Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons. In the lawsuit against Reid, Dixon says that Simmons raped her in 1995, but he is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Reid did not respond to the New York Times requests for comment. In 2017, Simmons denied the claims of Dixon and the three other women, telling the New York Times “all of my relations have been consensual.”