Kevin Liles is pushing back against new sexual assault claims.
TMZ reports that the ex-Def Jam president has been accused of assault by his former protégé, Lady Luck, who is reportedly seeking a $30 million payout. Liles has since denied her allegations.
In a statement obtained by the outlet, Liles said that Luck, real name Shanell Ayana Jones, accused him of grooming her nearly 26 years ago, when she was signed to Def Jam. She also allegedly threatened to accuse him of exposing himself to her and forcing her to perform oral sex. According to Liles, Luck said that if he doesn’t pay up, she’ll publish everything in a book.
“None of this ever happened,” Liles wrote in the statement. “Her threatened allegations are totally false. And they are contradicted by Ms. Jones’ many public statements about me and her experience at Def Jam.”
He added, “They are also at odds with her continued outreach and relationship with both my family and me for the past 26 years. Her story is a fabrication. Rather than pay her and her legal team, I am publicly addressing what I view to be an extortion attempt.”
He also said that the battle rapper is trying to “leverage the current news environment” so that he’ll write her an “exorbitant check.”
He then outlined their history together at Def Jam, which began in 1999, and spoke on her supposed history with substance abuse, incarceration, and child abuse.
In February, reports emerged that Liles was being sued by a woman who claimed he sexually assaulted her when he was an executive at Def Jam Recordings in 2002.
Liles later responded, calling the claims against him “slander” and “outrageous.”
