Veteran music executive and former X Factor judge L.A. Reid has been sued for sexual assault and harassment by the producer, entrepreneur and former Arista Records executive Drew Dixon.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's Federal District Court yesterday (November 8) and obtained by Variety, Dixon's career was allegedly derailed by two instances of sexual assault: one at the hands of Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons, which she sued over in 2017 and the defendant denied (he is not named in the new lawsuit); the other at the hands of Reid, who "sexually harassed Ms. Dixon and refused to allow her to succeed unless she acquiesced to his demand to be alone and in close proximity to her, where he would create the opportunity to sexually assault her on two separate occasions," as per the filing.
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 Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime to find resources in your area.
Dixon was vice president of A&R at Arista Records prior to the alleged assaults. The lawsuit claims that Reid committed both soon after replacing Clive Davis as CEO in 2000, when Dixon was 29. The first allegedly took place on a private plane chartered to a company retreat in Puerto Rico, where she and Reid ended up alone in the cabin after she claims he told her they would be joined by other execs.
"He asked her to sit next to him to go over materials for the presentation, and then he began playing with her hair, kissing her and digitally penetrated her vulva without her consent," the lawsuit reads, adding that the plaintiff "spent the rest of the flight in a daze," going on to spend the retreat with her assistant and take a commercial flight home.
Dixon alleges that she made efforts to avoid Reid, but claims he retaliated against her through unprofessional conduct and humiliation. Eventually, she agreed to listen to a prospective artist in his car, knowing a driver would be present and believing she wouldn't be able to secure Reid's approval of her artists otherwise.
The suit alleges that Reid "began to grope and kiss" Dixon in the car, while she "squirmed and pushed him away." It adds, "When Mr. Reid complained and became visibly irritated with her lack of compliance, Ms. Dixon froze. Mr. Reid again digitally penetrated Ms. Dixon's vulva without her consent."
Dixon claims that, as she continued to turn down Reid's advances, he stifled her career, thwarting opportunities with Kanye West and John Legend by way of tactics like freezing budgets and rejecting demos. She left Arista in 2002, attending Harvard Business School before continuing to work in the music industry, where she went on to help facilitate hits like Estelle's "American Boy" — but Dixon claims that Reid diminished essential momentum and opportunities for her.
"L.A. Reid is a known predator, who uses his singular professional power to force himself on his victims," Dixon said in a statement through her lawyer. "In my case, his persistent campaign of sexual harassment and assault forced me to abandon the work I loved when I was at the top of my game in the music business, having worked my way up from internships and a job as a receptionist."
In 2017, Reid was accused of sexual harassment by a former assistant, resulting in the mogul stepping down as CEO of Epic Records and severing ties with Sony Music. Dixon's complaint falls under the Adult Survivors Act enacted in New York last year, which opened a year-long window for civil lawsuits from anyone who was over 18 when they were allegedly abused.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's Federal District Court yesterday (November 8) and obtained by Variety, Dixon's career was allegedly derailed by two instances of sexual assault: one at the hands of Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons, which she sued over in 2017 and the defendant denied (he is not named in the new lawsuit); the other at the hands of Reid, who "sexually harassed Ms. Dixon and refused to allow her to succeed unless she acquiesced to his demand to be alone and in close proximity to her, where he would create the opportunity to sexually assault her on two separate occasions," as per the filing.
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 Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime to find resources in your area.
Dixon was vice president of A&R at Arista Records prior to the alleged assaults. The lawsuit claims that Reid committed both soon after replacing Clive Davis as CEO in 2000, when Dixon was 29. The first allegedly took place on a private plane chartered to a company retreat in Puerto Rico, where she and Reid ended up alone in the cabin after she claims he told her they would be joined by other execs.
"He asked her to sit next to him to go over materials for the presentation, and then he began playing with her hair, kissing her and digitally penetrated her vulva without her consent," the lawsuit reads, adding that the plaintiff "spent the rest of the flight in a daze," going on to spend the retreat with her assistant and take a commercial flight home.
Dixon alleges that she made efforts to avoid Reid, but claims he retaliated against her through unprofessional conduct and humiliation. Eventually, she agreed to listen to a prospective artist in his car, knowing a driver would be present and believing she wouldn't be able to secure Reid's approval of her artists otherwise.
The suit alleges that Reid "began to grope and kiss" Dixon in the car, while she "squirmed and pushed him away." It adds, "When Mr. Reid complained and became visibly irritated with her lack of compliance, Ms. Dixon froze. Mr. Reid again digitally penetrated Ms. Dixon's vulva without her consent."
Dixon claims that, as she continued to turn down Reid's advances, he stifled her career, thwarting opportunities with Kanye West and John Legend by way of tactics like freezing budgets and rejecting demos. She left Arista in 2002, attending Harvard Business School before continuing to work in the music industry, where she went on to help facilitate hits like Estelle's "American Boy" — but Dixon claims that Reid diminished essential momentum and opportunities for her.
"L.A. Reid is a known predator, who uses his singular professional power to force himself on his victims," Dixon said in a statement through her lawyer. "In my case, his persistent campaign of sexual harassment and assault forced me to abandon the work I loved when I was at the top of my game in the music business, having worked my way up from internships and a job as a receptionist."
In 2017, Reid was accused of sexual harassment by a former assistant, resulting in the mogul stepping down as CEO of Epic Records and severing ties with Sony Music. Dixon's complaint falls under the Adult Survivors Act enacted in New York last year, which opened a year-long window for civil lawsuits from anyone who was over 18 when they were allegedly abused.