Soulja Boy was ordered to pay $4 million to a Jane Doe who accused him of sexual battery and abuse during their two-year relationship.
According to Courthouse News, a jury decided that the rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Way, was liable in his civil case for claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual harassment and non-payment of wages. Way, who smiled as the verdict was read, was cleared on claims of false imprisonment and constructive discharge, but will face additional punitive damages.
Legal representatives for Doe and Way did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Doe sued Way in Jan. 2021, accusing him of raping and kidnapping her while working as his personal assistant starting in 2018. She claimed that within the first month of employment, Way sent her photos of his penis and they initiated a romantic relationship that turned violent and toxic. During the trial, she testified that he locked her in a room without food for as long as two days.
Way denied abusing Doe, stating that he never formally hired her and offered her a place to stay in exchange for rolling blunts. He described their relationship as consensual yet at times contentious. Throughout the trial, photographs of Doe’s bruises and text messages between the two were key pieces of evidence, with Way explaining that threatening texts like “Die bitch. Shoulda killed your stupid ass” were not meant to be violent. His lawyers also argued that the photographs of bruises didn’t establish that Way had inflicted them on her, and that she was suing for a payday.
During closing arguments on Monday, Doe’s attorneys asked the jury to award her $73.6 million. “If you don’t believe my client, don’t give her a dollar,” said her lawyer, Ron Zambrano. “But if you do believe her, give her everything.
“He raped her,” he added. “He punched her. He kicked her. He cut her. He pointed a Draco gun at her. He locked her in her room… He told her, ‘I hope you die slow.’”
Way’s attorney Rickey Ivie painted Doe as an extortionist driven by greed. “She wanted to be paid,” he said. “Which is what this case is all about. Because it’s not about the truth.”
Way was previously sued for assault and kidnapping in 2021 and, two years later, was ordered to pay $471,800 to an ex-girlfriend. She claimed that he had kidnapped her and held a gun to her head at his home after a party in Feb. 2019. Another woman also accused Way of assaulting her in 2021, alleging that he put a gun to her head and kicked her in the stomach while she was pregnant. She said she suffered a miscarriage after the incident.
From Variety US