One of Akon‘s nine wives, Amirah Iman-Thiam, is suing Publix Super Markets after she claims an employee sexually violated her. According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, the incident took place in September 2022 in Roswell, Georgia.
The employee, Jonathan Ross, a stock clerk with a disciplinary file, lingered near the organic snacks, an area outside his assigned duties watching her. As Iman-Thiam scanned her groceries, Ross slid behind her. “That dress got me rethinking my lunch break,” he muttered per the docs. Before she could react, his hands gripped her buttocks and vaginal area, the violence lasting mere seconds.
The store manager’s admission later chilled investigators: Ross had exhibited erratic behavior for months yet remained unsupervised near customers. Bodycam footage showed Iman-Thiam trembling as police arrived, her voice cracking: “He just… violated me.” Ross confessed within hours and he was ultimately convicted of sexual battery.
Iman-Thiam claims the trauma metastasized. Nightmares forced her to cancel a 12-city European tour, costing $287,000 in guaranteed fees and torpedoing collaborations with Grammy Award-winning producers.
“My creativity’s gone,” she told her therapist, now relying on Instacart deliveries and a $150/hour security escort for essential errands.
The docs read, “Ms. lman-Thiam’s professional and personal life has been severely impacted by Publix’s negligence. Ms. lman-Thiam is the wife of famed singer and producer, Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (‘Akon’). She is a rising recording artist and rapper with Konvict Muzik. At the time of the accident, Ms. Iman-Thiam had just negotiated an international tour agreement with Universal Artist Features Worldwide and Quilox, LLC. She was contracted to perform a multi-city musical tour comprising ofmusical concerts within Africa and United Arab Emirates between November 1, 2022 to January 5, 2023. She was contracted to earn $4,000,000.00 for her performances.
“The tour agreement is attached to this letter and, like this letter, is strictly confidential. As a result of Publix’s negligence, Ms. lman-Thiam also suffered from serious emotional and physical trauma. Ms. Iman-Thiam and her husband are devout Muslims. Culturally, Muslim women are forbidden to receive physical, sexual contact from anyone who is not their spouse. This is a strict prohibition in the Islamic faith.”
The continue, “In light of the sexual battery, Ms. Iman-Thiam was required to seek cleansing and therapy from an Imam (a priest) in Senegal (which is her husband’s home country). For approximately one (1) year, she was required to pray six (6) times a day and engage in cleansing and purification rituals until she was fully cleansed as prescribed in the Islamic faith. Consequently, Ms. Iman-Thiam’s tour had to be cancelled.”
Publix’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit—filed in Fulton County Superior Court—claimed Ross acted outside his employment, but Iman-Thiam’s attorneys countered with damning evidence: the chain had no sexual harassment protocols for frontline staff, despite 19 similar incidents statewide since 2020.
The complaint alleges Publix’s negligence transformed its stores into hunting grounds, with Ross’s history making the assault “as predictable as a Tuesday BOGO sale.” Iman-Thiam is seeking punitive damages for reputational harm and emotional distress, her legal team arguing the corporation prioritized profit over background checks.
“This wasn’t a rogue employee,” her attorney stated. “This was a broken system weaponized against women.”
As depositions loom, Publix’s quarterly earnings report, released days after Ross’s conviction, noted a $4.2 million allocation for “customer incident resolutions.”
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