New York:
US actor Jamie Foxx and Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose were each charged with sexual assault on Wednesday, part of a spate of lawsuits filed before the statute of limitations expired in New York.
In the lawsuit against Rose, Sheila Kennedy, an actress and model, claims that he “sexually assaulted” her in 1989 and that she “did not consent and felt overwhelmed.”
The alleged victim in the Foxx case, identified only as Jane Doe, said that in 2015, Foxx “intentionally and without consent touched her in an offensive and violent manner” by touching her breasts and genitals at a rooftop bar in Manhattan groped.
Both motions note that they are filed under the New York Adult Survivors Act, a law that has opened the door to sexual assault lawsuits in cases that are otherwise too remote to go to trial.
The 61-year-old lead singer of the heavy rock band known for albums such as “Appetite for Destruction” has not yet commented publicly.
He attended the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Las Vegas at the weekend before the lawsuit was filed in a New York court.
The incident is said to have occurred in a New York hotel room after the two met in a nightclub.
The civil suit requires Rose, whose real name is William Bruce Rose, to face a jury trial and for the jury to award Kennedy “punitive damages.”
The complaint accuses Rose of forcing anal sex on Kennedy. Kennedy’s lawyers said she “believed Rose would physically attack her, or worse, if she said no or tried to push him away.”
“Rose used his fame, status and power as a celebrity and artist in the music industry to gain access to, manipulate, control and violently attack Kennedy,” the lawsuit says.
Guns N’ Roses is best known for hits like “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”
“Permanently” affected
In the Foxx case, his accuser says the Oscar-winning actor, now 55, “grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the back of the roof” after meeting her at the bar.
Once there, he is said to have groped the plaintiff until a friend came looking for her.
She also wants Foxx, whose real name is Eric Marlon Bishop, to face a jury trial that could award punitive damages.
The lawsuit states that the plaintiff “will be permanently affected by the injuries and emotional distress she suffered as a result of the sexual assault, abuse, assault and battery.”
Foxx, who in addition to acting is also a comedian and Grammy-winning singer, won an Oscar in 2005 for the Ray Charles musical biopic “Ray.” That same year, he was nominated for an Oscar for “Collateral.”
Wednesday’s lawsuits follow an Adult Survivors Act rape lawsuit against rapper Sean Combs filed last week by R&B singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura.
A day after the lawsuit was filed, the parties said they had agreed to settle the case, but did not provide any details about the terms of the settlement.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)