Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation, the organization founded and formerly led by the hip-hop pioneer, have been accused of child sex trafficking in a new lawsuit.
As first reported by Metropolis and confirmed by additional outlets, the lawsuit was filed August 4 in New York State Supreme Court on behalf of a plaintiff identified as John Doe. The plaintiff alleges that Bambaataa sexually abused and trafficked him for four years beginning in 1991, when he was 12 years old and Bambaataa was 33 or 34.
The following article contains potentially triggering material relating to sexual assault and violence. If you believe you have experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct and are looking for support, consult the Government of Canada's Sexual Misconduct Support Tool to find resources in your area.
According to the lawsuit, Doe was "repeatedly sexually abused and sex trafficked" by Bambaataa at the Bronx River Houses public housing project, where the artist's apartment was recognized as Zulu Nation headquarters.
The suit claims that after Doe became a member of the Zulu Nation, and began administrative work for the group out of Bambaataa's apartment, the artist "eventually began to inappropriately touch [Doe] in his private areas while [Doe] was in [Bambaataa's apartment]."
Doe and his legal team allege that Bambaataa "eventually encouraged [Doe] to watch pornographic videos while in [Bambaataa]'s apartment," which then "progressed to mutual masturbation… and sodomy."
They also allege that Doe "became a victim of sex trafficking as [Bambaataa] would transport [Doe] to other locations and offer [him] for sex to other adult men," claiming that "[Bambaataa] would watch as [Doe] was sodomized by other adult men" during the encounters.
Doe claims that as a result of the abuse, he has "suffered physical injury, severe and permanent emotional distress, mental anguish, depression and embarrassment," adding that he has also been "unable to keep a steady job."
The suit against Bambaataa and Zulu Nation was filed under New York's 2019 Child Victims Act, which opened a limited window for victims of childhood sexual assault to sue regardless of when the abuse occurred. The same window was used last month by a woman who claims Bob Dylan sexually abused her as a 12-year-old in 1965, a claim that a spokesperson for the songwriting icon called untrue.
Afrika Bambaataa was first publicly accused of child sexual abuse in 2016, when former New York State Democratic Committee member Ronald Savage alleged that the hip-hop forefather repeatedly molested him when he was around 13 or 14 years old. Savage had previously laid out the allegations in his 2014 book, Impulses, Urges and Fantasies.
At the time, Bambaataa denied Savage's allegations in a statement made on his behalf by lawyer Vivian K. Tozaki, calling the claims an "asinine quest for social media popularity and superficial gain."
Bambaataa would step down as leader of the Zulu Nation a month after Savage's allegations resurfaced, and while he has not publicly commented on the newly reported lawsuit, Zulu Nation shared in a statement to Metropolis, "Nothing has changed since 2016 when these decades-ago accusations first surfaced. This is a personal matter for Afrika Bambaataa and his lawyers to deal with."
As first reported by Metropolis and confirmed by additional outlets, the lawsuit was filed August 4 in New York State Supreme Court on behalf of a plaintiff identified as John Doe. The plaintiff alleges that Bambaataa sexually abused and trafficked him for four years beginning in 1991, when he was 12 years old and Bambaataa was 33 or 34.
The following article contains potentially triggering material relating to sexual assault and violence. If you believe you have experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct and are looking for support, consult the Government of Canada's Sexual Misconduct Support Tool to find resources in your area.
According to the lawsuit, Doe was "repeatedly sexually abused and sex trafficked" by Bambaataa at the Bronx River Houses public housing project, where the artist's apartment was recognized as Zulu Nation headquarters.
The suit claims that after Doe became a member of the Zulu Nation, and began administrative work for the group out of Bambaataa's apartment, the artist "eventually began to inappropriately touch [Doe] in his private areas while [Doe] was in [Bambaataa's apartment]."
Doe and his legal team allege that Bambaataa "eventually encouraged [Doe] to watch pornographic videos while in [Bambaataa]'s apartment," which then "progressed to mutual masturbation… and sodomy."
They also allege that Doe "became a victim of sex trafficking as [Bambaataa] would transport [Doe] to other locations and offer [him] for sex to other adult men," claiming that "[Bambaataa] would watch as [Doe] was sodomized by other adult men" during the encounters.
Doe claims that as a result of the abuse, he has "suffered physical injury, severe and permanent emotional distress, mental anguish, depression and embarrassment," adding that he has also been "unable to keep a steady job."
The suit against Bambaataa and Zulu Nation was filed under New York's 2019 Child Victims Act, which opened a limited window for victims of childhood sexual assault to sue regardless of when the abuse occurred. The same window was used last month by a woman who claims Bob Dylan sexually abused her as a 12-year-old in 1965, a claim that a spokesperson for the songwriting icon called untrue.
Afrika Bambaataa was first publicly accused of child sexual abuse in 2016, when former New York State Democratic Committee member Ronald Savage alleged that the hip-hop forefather repeatedly molested him when he was around 13 or 14 years old. Savage had previously laid out the allegations in his 2014 book, Impulses, Urges and Fantasies.
At the time, Bambaataa denied Savage's allegations in a statement made on his behalf by lawyer Vivian K. Tozaki, calling the claims an "asinine quest for social media popularity and superficial gain."
Bambaataa would step down as leader of the Zulu Nation a month after Savage's allegations resurfaced, and while he has not publicly commented on the newly reported lawsuit, Zulu Nation shared in a statement to Metropolis, "Nothing has changed since 2016 when these decades-ago accusations first surfaced. This is a personal matter for Afrika Bambaataa and his lawyers to deal with."
