Singer-songwriter The-Dream, best known as a solo performer and for his work penning massive hits for Rihanna and Beyoncé, has been accused of sexual and physical assault in a new lawsuit filed by a woman named Chanaaz Mangroe (a/k/a Channii Monroe).
The suit, filed in California federal court today, lays out accusations of abuse, violence and manipulation. The complaint names The-Dream, whose real name is Terius Adamu Ya Gesteelde-Diamant, as well as his label Contra Paris, LLC and Epic Records.
In a statement to the New York Times, The-Dream denied the accusations. “These claims are untrue and defamatory,” he said. “I oppose all forms of harassment and have always strived to help people realize their career goals. As someone committed to making a positive impact on my fellow artists and the world at large, I am deeply offended and saddened by these accusations.”
Mangroe, now 33, claims that she was introduced to The-Dream in 2014 when she was 23, working in the United States on an international visa from the Netherlands. With aspirations of making it in the industry as a singer-songwriter, she states that associates of The-Dream reached out via social media and invited her to join his musical partner Tricky Stewart in Atlanta.
According to the complaint, The-Dream made promises of writing blockbuster songs for her, an opening slot on Beyoncé’s tour and sponsorship of an extension of her visa. From there, their relationship allegedly turned violent, as the suit goes into extensive detail about her allegations.
Mangroe says that The-Dream controlled all aspects of her life in the United States, tracking her location and texting her at all hours to check on her whereabouts. He allegedly forced her to drink copious amounts of alcohol, strangled her during violent sex to the point of losing consciousness, and refused to wear a condom during intercourse. To the latter accusation, Mangroe states that she was forced to hide her birth control pills from him.
Among the claims, Mangroe also shares that he berated her during sex, which he supposedly filmed and used as leverage against her, and once forcibly raped her on the same evening he coerced her to perform sexual acts in a public movie theater.
Epic Records and Contra Paris are named in the lawsuit as The-Dream reportedly convinced them to fund Mangroe’s career without intending to support it.
“Choosing to speak out about the trauma I survived has been one of the most difficult decisions of my life, but ultimately, what Dream did to me made it impossible to live the life I envisioned for myself and pursue my goals as a singer and songwriter,” said Mangroe in a statement. “Ultimately, my silence has become too painful, and I realized that I need to tell my story to heal. I hope that doing so will also help others and prevent future horrific abuse.”
“This is yet another horrific example of how men in the music industry use their power and influence to manipulate and harm others,” says Mangroe’s attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and Meredith Firetog, partners of Wigdor LLP, which also represented Cassie Ventura in her $30 million lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs in November. “Dream, like Sean Combs did with Ms. Ventura and others, used his standing as a prominent recording artist and producer to subject Ms. Mangroe to vicious physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. While she will never fully recover from what he and those who supported him did to her, her willingness to speak out now is evidence of her extraordinary strength. We are honored to represent her.”
Mangroe is seeking compensatory damages connected to lost income from her experiences; a monetary judgment for her emotional distress; punitive and exemplary damages; and legal-related fees.
From Variety US