The leader of the American rock group Guns N’ Roses, Axl Rose, or William Bruce Rose, as his real name is, is accused of sexual assault by an American model, Sheila Kennedy, according to a New York court document published by the trade press.
According to this civil lawsuit filed on Wednesday, November 22, Axl Rose, now 62, is responsible for sexual assault and violence against Sheila Kennedy, a 1980s model. The crimes were allegedly committed in a New York hotel room in 1989, after an encounter in a nightclub.
Ms Kennedy, also born in 1962, was one of the stars of the American magazine Penthouse in 1983. She is also an actress.
Axl Rose targeted Sheila Kennedy in 1989 when he was at the height of his commercial success with the legendary hard rock group Guns N’ Roses, which supports the lawsuit filed by the New York judiciary.
Rose used his fame, status and power as a celebrity and artist in the music industry to manipulate, control and sexually and violently attack Kennedy, says the lawsuit filed in the New York State Supreme Court, a trial court.
Consequence of Axl Rose’s sexual assault: Kennedy suffered emotional, physical, financial and psychological distress, the document says.
First consensual exchanges that would have degenerated
According to the complainant, the actions were allegedly carried out in a hotel room after a meeting and initial consensual discussions, which no longer took place.
Founded in 1984, Guns N’ Roses is one of the most popular bands in rock history and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Its original members include Axl Rose, Saul Slash Hudson and Michael Duff McKagan.
On Friday evening, American hip-hop star Sean Combs, Puff Daddy on stage and his ex-partner Casandra Ventura aka Cassie reached an amicable settlement a day after a civil lawsuit against him for rape and violence committed between 2005 and 2018.
These civil lawsuits are made possible by a New York State law that, as of November 2022, has allowed victims of sexual violence to file a civil lawsuit for statutory offenses or torts. However, these procedures can only be carried out for one year.