Note: This article contains descriptions of alleged sexual assault.
Lauren Pisciotta, a former personal and executive assistant of Kanye West, has expanded her sexual harassment lawsuit against the rapper with claims that he drugged and sexually assaulted her. The original lawsuit had outlined instances of harassment by West involving unwanted sexual texts and masturbating while on the phone to her. An amended complaint, filed last week, includes allegations that he “touched, groped, fondled, grabbed, and forced himself in and on” Pisciotta on several occasions, without her consent, including once at a party co-hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs.
In the lawsuit, first reported by TMZ and viewed by Pitchfork, Pisciotta alleges that West assaulted her in a hotel in San Francisco, where he had assembled a team to work on Donda. Pisciotta says West banged on her door early one morning and asked to use her shower because his was broken. After undressing and showering, she alleges, West came into a separate room where she was sitting, dropped his towel, and pushed her onto the bed before straddling her and thrusting “his naked body and penis into [Pisciotta’s] face.” She says that after repeatedly saying, “I don’t want to do this,” West eventually apologized, gathered his clothes, and left with a bodyguard who had been waiting outside. Pisciotta alleges that she feared retaliation if she spoke out, despite subsequent incidents of repeated touching in the office.
The lawsuit goes on to allege that, on an unspecified date, Pisciotta attended a studio session in Santa Monica, California, co-hosted by West and Diddy. She claims that West served drinks to invitees and said they had to drink them if they wanted to stay. She says that, after a few small sips, she slipped “into an altered and heavily impaired state,” losing control of her body and speech. She says she woke up with no recollection of the night’s events, but West later told her that they “did kind of hook up a little” on the night in question. In that conversation, West said his former wife, whose name is withheld, had made a negative comment about Pisciotta over text and accused her and West of being “intimate” together. West, she claimed, had told his wife that the pair had “hooked up” but not that she had been “drugged and sexually assaulted.” Upon hearing this, West allegedly laughed and said “women love to say they don’t remember.”
The lawsuit claims that, upon learning that she “worked for the man who had sexually assaulted her,” she was “overcome with immense shame, discomfort, and utter disgust.” Her employment was eventually terminated, before a chance encounter with West and his current wife, Bianca Censori, at a Post Malone concert. She alleges that, upon seeing Pisciotta, West squeezed her neck and aggressively pulled her towards his chest, saying, “I always knew what I would do to you if I ever say you again.” Then, she claims, he forced his tongue into her ear while Censori looked on.
Pisciotta says she was left with “severe anxiety, depression, and overwhelming PTSD,” requiring a “strict schedule” of therapy and medicine. She is suing West for exemplary and punitive damages in relation to the alleged assaults, as well as other damages in relation to the claims in the original lawsuit.
Pisciotta’s attorney, Mark Koorenny, offered no additional comment when reached by Pitchfork.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
https://rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)
Crisis Text Line
SMS: Text “HELLO” or “HOLA” to 741-741
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