A Grammy award-winning songwriter behind hits for artists similar to Beyoncé and Rihanna was accused on Tuesday of abuse and intercourse trafficking by a girl who stated she believed he’d assist launch her music profession.
Terius Gesteelde-Diamant, 46, identified professionally as The-Dream, was sued by singer Chanaaz Mangroe, 33, who claimed she was lured right into a “manipulative relationship” crammed with “violent sexual encounters” underneath the guise of a legit contract, in keeping with a lawsuit obtained by JHB.
The go well with, filed on Tuesday, stated that The-Dream’s alleged abuse was made doable with “company funding” by Contra Paris LLC, a file label he launched with Jay Z, and Epic Information, a Sony Music owned file label, each of that are additionally named within the civil motion.
Sony Music, didn’t instantly reply to JHB’s request for a remark.
Gesteelde-Diamant denied the abuse allegations claims in a press release to the New York Instances on Tuesday.
“These claims are unfaithful and defamatory,” he stated within the assertion. “I oppose all types of harassment and have all the time strived to assist folks notice their profession objectives. As somebody dedicated to creating a constructive influence on my fellow artists and the world at giant, I’m deeply offended and saddened by these accusations.”
Astrida Valigorsky through Getty Photographs
Mangroe met The-Dream in 2015, when she was 23. Initially from the Netherlands, she was working within the U.S. on a visa. Because the visa was near expiring, she’d been attempting to give attention to her music profession, the lawsuit stated. She was thrilled when a member of The-Dream’s safety element reached out to her by social media, the go well with stated, and the producer in the end provided to work along with her in Atlanta, the place she hoped to “land her huge break.”
The-Dream manipulated Mangroe right into a relationship by promising he may safe her an extension of her visa, the go well with claimed. The-Dream additionally promised he would write her hit songs and have her open for Beyoncé’s subsequent tour, the lawsuit stated.
As a substitute, Mangroe’s attorneys stated, her expertise was “nothing in need of a protracted nightmare.”
The lawsuit alleged that The-Dream compelled Mangroe to have intercourse along with her and abused her in different methods, together with by pressuring her to drink and do medication. A number of the alleged compelled sexual encounters had been filmed, the go well with stated, and The-Dream allegedly used these movies as threats to “silence” her. He additionally tracked her location and managed her housing, meals and transportation.
The lawsuit claimed that due to the alleged abuse Mangroe endured, her profession was upended and her music was taken from her with out compensation.
In a press release shared with JHB, Mangroe stated selecting to talk out has been one of the crucial tough choices of her life.
“What Dream did to me made it unattainable to stay the life I envisioned for myself and pursue my objectives as a singer and songwriter,” Mangroe stated. “Finally, my silence has turn out to be too painful, and I spotted that I want to inform my story to heal. I hope that doing so may even assist others and stop future horrific abuse.”
For years, The-Dream was referred to as a songwriter and producer of pop and R&B hits for celebrated girls performers, like Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Beyonce’s “Single Women.” In an interview with New York Journal in 2010, he stated he had a “gentle spot for ladies.”
“Man’s greatest enemy is a girl who has it in for them. I similar to being round them, watching, absorbing the data, being cursed out, being put out,” he instructed the publication.
In 2014, he was arrested and accused of assaulting his pregnant ex-girlfriend on the Plaza Lodge In New York Metropolis, the New York Every day Information reported. The costs had been dropped the next 12 months.
Mangroe’s lawsuit was filed by Douglas H. Wigdor and Meredith Firetog, who additionally represented Cassie Ventura, the singer who sued hip-hop mogul Diddy, Sean Combs, for rape and abuse. That go well with was rapidly settled.
In a joint assertion shared with JHB, the attorneys known as Mangroe’s case “one more horrific instance of how males within the music business use their energy and affect to control and hurt others.”
“Dream, like Sean Combs did with Ms. Ventura and others, used his standing as a outstanding recording artist and producer to topic Ms. Mangroe to vicious bodily, psychological, and sexual abuse.”
Need assistance? Go to RAINN’s Nationwide Sexual Assault On-line Hotline or the Nationwide Sexual Violence Useful resource Heart’s web site.