Rapper Soulja Boy sued over sexual assault allegations

Soulja Boy, the US rapper with hits including Crank That (Soulja Boy) and Kiss Me Thru the Phone, has been accused of sexual assault and battery, which he denies.

The 30-year-old, real name DeAndre Way, was sued by his former personal assistant, who is not named. In the lawsuit, she accuses him of locking her in a room for three days and repeatedly raping her. She also alleges he physically and verbally abused her, and that he withheld payment from her. Lawyer Neama Rahmani said the alleged victim was “traumatised and filled with fear” by Way’s actions, and is seeking damages and a jury trial.

In a statement to TMZ, a representative for Way said: “He wouldn’t beat a woman or put his hands on a woman … this is nonsense.”

In the lawsuit, the woman claims she began working for Way in 2018 and they developed a romantic relationship in January 2019, with the abuse beginning the following month and continuing until August 2020.

Way’s career began in 2007 when Crank That (Soulja Boy), aided by a dance craze, kept the No 1 spot in the US for seven weeks. The following year Kiss Me Thru the Phone reached No 3, and while he never made the US Top 10 again, he has continued to release albums and mixtapes, including two mixtapes last year.

In 2014, he was convicted of illegally possessing a gun, with time added to his probation in 2016 following other offences. After breaking his probation again in 2019, he was sentenced to eight months in prison, and released after serving three.