Kanye West Accused of Drugging and Sexual at Diddy Studio.
Kanye West has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting someone during a studio session with Diddy.
Kanye West's former assistant has launched a lawsuit, alleging that he drugged and sexually assaulted her during a recording session he hosted alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs. Lauren Pisciotta, who worked for West from 2021 to 2022, claims in an updated complaint filed in California that West committed "sexual battery" after serving her a contaminated drink.
Her claims are related to an earlier lawsuit for wrongful termination against West. In that case, she alleged that she experienced inappropriate messages, graphic images, videos, and phone calls from him before she was let go. Pisciotta began working with West in July 2021, where she supported his Yeezy women's fashion line and contributed to his 2021 album, Donda.
West's attorney has already dismissed Pisciotta's other allegations from her original complaint submitted in June 2024, and stated that "Ye intends to pursue legal action against Ms. Pisciotta."
In an updated legal filing submitted on October 8 to the Los Angeles County Court, Pisciotta alleges that before she started working for West, the rapper and producer invited her to a recording session in Santa Monica, California. At that session, she states that drinks were offered to the attendees, along with a statement indicating that everyone had to drink if they wanted to stay.
The legal filing claims that the recording session was jointly held by West and Combs, with Pisciotta present alongside a "previous artist management client." Although Combs is referred to in the updated complaint as a co-host of the event, Pisciotta is not accusing the former music executive—who is currently in jail awaiting trial for charges related to sex trafficking and racketeering—of any wrongdoing.
Related: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Faces Allegations of Inappropriate Behavior Involving a 9-Year-Old
The lawsuit claims that Pisciotta's beverage, supposedly given to her by a studio assistant at West's direction, contained an unknown drug. After taking just a few small sips, she started to feel confused and disoriented.
"As the plaintiff started to enter a state of confusion and impairment, she noticed a decline in her control over her body and speech, and that's when her recollections of that evening began to fade away," the complaint states.
Pisciotta shared that the following day she woke up feeling "sick and disoriented," overwhelmed with "intense shame" for not recalling what happened after she had the drink, according to the documents. For a long time, West’s previous assistant thought she had been drugs and felt humiliated at a professional gathering.
Much later on, after West hired Pisciotta as his assistant and Chief of Staff, who also took care of A&R responsibilities, she asserts that the rapper brought up that evening for the first time. In their conversation, West allegedly stated that they "sort of connected a little bit on one occasion," referring to the incident that took place in the Santa Monica studio where the alleged assault occurred. When Pisciotta told West that she couldn’t remember the studio session, West purportedly laughed and commented, "Women love to claim they don't remember," as outlined in the complaint.
"Until just before that conversation, the Plaintiff didn't realize that she had experienced gender-based violence and sexual battery from KANYE WEST, also known as YE, on the night in question," the document states.
In the revised complaint, Pisciotta reportedly experienced feelings of intense shame, discomfort, and profound disgust.
In her complaint, Pisciotta asserted that in July 2021, during a music workshop held at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco, West aggressively knocked on her hotel room door at 6 a.m., waking her up. He then barged into her room, claiming he needed to use her shower because his was malfunctioning. Pisciotta also alleged that later on, West came to her, dropped his towel, and tried to get too close to her, exposing himself despite her pleas for him to back off. The complaint stated that West quickly exited after muttering an apology and went about his day as if nothing had occurred.
The complaint reveals that Pisciotta, who charged West with sending her inappropriate messages and firing her from her Chief of Staff position just a month after her promotion in September 2022, found it unbearable to continue working for a man who had sexually assaulted her while she was intoxicated. He then managed to lure her back into his orbit with a job offer, but ended up assaulting her once more.
Furthermore, West is facing another lawsuit that was brought forth in April 2024 by a former employee who claimed to have suffered from “serious discrimination and harassment” while working at Yeezy and Donda Academy. This week, a different former employee has also filed a lawsuit, alleging emotional trauma, retaliation, and breaches of labor regulations.
Related: A Timeline of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Legal Matters
