LA Reid, a music executive who helped to build the careers of superstars Mariah Carey, Pink, TLC, and Usher, faced sexual charges for sexually assaulting Drew Dixon, a former music executive, and also derailed her career on Wednesday.
Dixon sought unidentified compensatory and disciplinary damages in her lawsuit in Manhattan federal court.
LA Reid Faces Sexual Assault Charges
Dixon said Reid started harassing her in 2000 on his arrival at Arista. In 2001, she said that Reid tried to derail her promising music industry career after he became Arista Records' chief executive as she rejected his advances, including two assaults.
Reid was sued under New York state's Adult Survivors Act, which allows adults a one-year window to sue over alleged sexual abuse that happened long ago, even if statutes of limitations have expired.
In December 2017, Dixon publicly accused Reid of misconduct after leaving his position as Epic Records chief seven months ago, where Reid was also accused of improper behavior.
Reid denied Dixon's accusations and said, "I'm proud of my track record promoting, supporting, and uplifting women at every company I've ever run. That notwithstanding, if I have ever said anything capable of being misinterpreted, I apologize unreservedly."
Dixon said she was first assaulted in January 2001 on a private plane flying executives to a Puerto Rico retreat, where he played with her hair, kissed and penetrated her without consent.
The second assault happened after several months during their ride home from an event in New York. Reid groped, kissed, and penetrated her without consent for the second time.
Furthermore, Dixon shared that Reid started being hateful towards her when she resisted his demands of going to his hotel late at night wearing skirts instead of jeans. Her resistance resulted in her reduced budgets and her artist's rejection.
#MeToo Movement in 2017
Dixon was one of many women to accuse well-known entertainment industry figures of sexual misconduct since the #MeToo movement began in 2017. The campaign started during the accusations against now-imprisoned movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
According to CNN, the #MeToo movement made it possible for people to talk more freely about sexual violence and abuse. With the single hashtag, countless people came forward with stories of sexual abuse.
Dixon was now a board member at New York University's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music and a subject of the 2020 HBO Max documentary 'On the Record' about sexual misconduct accusations by women against rap mogul Russell Simmons.
In 2002, Dixon left the music industry to attend Harvard Business School. According to Dixon's lawyers, she was forced to leave the work she loved ever since and while at the peak of her career due to sexual harassment and assault.
