Axl Rose Settles Sexual Assault Lawsuit as Guns N' Roses Rocker Continues to 'Deny the Allegations'

• Axl Rose has settled a lawsuit brought on by Sheila Kennedy accusing him of sexual assault

• The Guns N' Roses rocker previously attempted to have the lawsuit, filed in November 2023, dismissed in March 2024

• "As I have from the beginning, I deny the allegations. There was no assault," Rose tells PEOPLE
  

Axl Rose has settled a sexual assault lawsuit first brought against him by a former model in November 2023, PEOPLE has learned.

News of the Dec. 4 settlement comes nearly nine months after the Guns N' Roses rocker, 62, and his legal team attempted to have the suit — which claims Sheila Kennedy was sexually assaulted by the singer in a New York City hotel in 1989 — dismissed in March.

At the time, Rose's legal team cited Kennedy's 2016 memoir, No One's Pet, in which she described the alleged incident as "consensual sex," per documents obtained and reviewed by PEOPLE. They also highlighted the model's past interviews, including a time Kennedy, 62, said in the 2021 documentary Look Away she "did not consider it rape," adding the incident "was consensual."

Upon settling the suit, Rose's attorney, E. Danya Perry, told PEOPLE, "Mr. Rose has suffered greatly from this lawsuit, and I am pleased that he will now be able to move on with his life."

In a separate statement, Rose said, "As I have from the beginning, I deny the allegations. There was no assault."

Related: Axl Rose Files to Dismiss Lawsuit from Former Model Who Sued Him for Alleged 1989 Sexual Assault

In a complaint filed just prior to the expiration of the N.Y. Adult Survivors Act on Nov. 22, 2023, Kennedy sued Rose for alleged sexual assault and battery, claiming the rock legend "targeted" her by using his fame and celebrity status to "manipulate, control and violently sexually assault" her, PEOPLE previously reported.

According to documents reviewed by PEOPLE, Kennedy recalled leaving a nightclub with Rose and a group of acquaintances for his hotel suite. There, as the evening progressed, she claimed she became "uncomfortable" after watching the singer have sex with another model and attempted to have group sex.

After leaving his hotel room, Kennedy claimed Rose eventually found her and knocked her to the floor before he "grabbed her by the hair and dragged her" back to his bedroom in a "very painful" encounter.

Once inside Rose's room, the former model alleged he eventually tied her hands behind her back before "forcibly penetrating" Kennedy without asking for consent. "He treated her like property used solely for his sexual pleasure," the complaint claimed.

The complaint added, "Kennedy did not consent and felt overpowered. She felt she had no escape or exit and was compelled to acquiesce. She believed Rose would physically attack her, or worse, if she said no or attempted to push him away. She understood that the safest thing to do was to lie in bed and wait for Rose to finish assaulting her."

Related: Axl Rose Sued for Alleged 1989 Sexual Assault and Battery by Former Model as Rocker Denies Claims

In her 2016 memoir, Kennedy claimed she was "crying and bleeding" as the musician allegedly assaulted her. "Weirdly enough, I was okay with this. I had wanted to be with him the minute I’d first laid eyes on him, and now I was getting him. Once he was done he untied me and we f---ed around some more," she wrote.

Kennedy also wrote while there were "a lot of people out there who want to see him burn in hell," she felt differently, adding, "I don’t feel that way about him, but I do feel in a way that he got everything he deserved."

Rose's legal team has continuously denied Kennedy's claims since the lawsuit was first filed, with attorney Alan S. Gutman telling PEOPLE in November, "Simply put, this incident never happened. Notably, these fictional claims were filed the day before the New York State filing deadline expires… Mr. Rose is confident this case will be resolved in his favor."

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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