Kanye West Sued for Assault of “America's Next Top Model ”Alum Jenn An During 2010 Music Video Shoot: Reports
She has accused him of choking her and ramming his fingers down her throat while he yelled, "This is art ... I am like Picasso"
America's Next Top Model alum Jenn An is suing Kanye West for allegedly assaulting her by choking her and ramming his fingers down her throat during the filming of a music video in 2010.
In the lawsuit filed in New York federal court on Friday, Nov. 22, the model accused the rapper, 47, of staging "his own production" by asking a camera crew to film him choking her during the filming of the music video for La Roux's song “In for the Kill,” which featured West on a remix.
The suit, obtained by Rolling Stone, Page Six and TheWrap, states that An was working as a background actress for the video at New York City’s Chelsea Hotel in September 2010 and was wearing only "revealing lingerie: when West pointed her out to the crew and said, ‘Give me the Asian girl.’ ”
An claimed that she told West, “I'm not wearing very much,” He allegedly replied, "That's why I chose you," and she recalled him ordering the other background actors to leave the room.
The model and actress alleged that West (who has legally changed his name to Ye) was "towering over" her and "breathing heavily" when he suddenly asked the camera crew to get a close up of her face and used a "gyrating hand" to "emulate forced oral sex" on her.
“On camera, defendant West began to choke plaintiff with one hand. He then wrapped his other hand around her neck and continued to strangle her with both hands," the suit alleged, per Rolling Stone. "He then rammed several fingers down her throat, continuously moved them in and out, and gagged her" for more than a minute.
An also claimed that the rapper screamed, "This is art. This is f------ art. I am like Picasso," as he choked her, in "a manner similar to pornographic gagging/deep throat/BDSM fetishes."
"Plaintiff struggled to breathe and felt as if she had temporarily blacked out. When defendant West decided that he was finished with plaintiff, her face was covered in saliva and smeared makeup," the suit said.
Universal Music Group (UMG) is also named as a co-defendant in the case, as An alleged that the company "failed to investigate" the incident. The lawsuit stated that West's "gendered, hateful, and abusive controversies were a brand, which was too profitable for Defendant Universal Music to intervene, despite his unlawful conduct."
Related: Kanye West Admits He 'Was Drinking' When He Wrote 2022 Antisemitic Tweet
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An argued that West violated New York's Gender Motivated Violence Act and she is asking a judge for trial by jury for punitive damages, legal fees and "damages for mental, emotional and physical injury, distress, pain and suffering and injury to reputation."
Her attorneys also argue that UMG "systematically discriminates against women, by continuing to work with artists with well-documented histories of sexual harassment and discrimination." The suit also stated that UMG and its affiliate labels including Interscope Records and “other high-profile figures within the industry [tried to] 'bury' the incident.”
The final version of the music video does not feature any appearances from West and An.
Reps for West and UMG did not immediately return PEOPLE's request for comment.
An appeared on season 13 of ANTM in 2009, finishing in third place. She has become an actress in recent years, appearing in Criminal Minds and The Mindy Project.
This is one of several lawsuits filed against Ye in recent months. Last week, his former Yeezy employee, Murphy Aficionado, filed 12 complaints against him and his companies, Yeezy LLC and Donda Academy, for discrimination, harassment, retaliation and more.
Aficionado accused the rapper of making antisemitic comments, including "the Jews got [ex-wife] Kim [Kardashian] and my kids.' " West reportedly made discriminatory comments about Aficionado’s Filipino ancestry and allegedly told him to remove his "ugly" traditional Filipino tattoos, called “Batok.”
In the complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Aficionado — who worked as a project manager for Yeezy for nine months — claimed that he experienced “unlawful termination” and he was not compensated for his work. He also alleged that West told him to come into a hotel room where he and his then-girlfriend, Bianca Censori, were having sex and then put on a T-shirt with a swastika design on it.
West's former assistant also sued him in October, accusing him of drugging and sexually assaulting her at a studio session co-hosted by the rapper and Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Lauren Pisciotta, who worked for West from 2021 to 2022, alleged in an amended complaint obtained by PEOPLE that West committed sexual battery after serving her a drugged drink.
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.