The-Dream accused of rape, sexual battery and sex trafficking in new trial

Note: This article contains descriptions of alleged sexual and physical assaults.

The-Dream is being sued by a woman who claims the producer and songwriter sexually and physically assaulted her. The woman, Chanaaz Mangroe (aka Channii Monroe), filed her lawsuit today (June 4) in federal court in California. The-Dream's label, Contra Paris, and Epic Records are also named as defendants in the complaint.

In her complaint, seen by Pitchfork, Mangroe says she met The-Dream in 2014, when she was 23, arriving in the United States from her native Netherlands and “hoping to land her big luck as a singer and songwriter.” The lawsuit states: “Under the guise of pursuing a legitimate recording and publishing contract with Ms. Mangroe, Dream lured the vulnerable young artist into an abusive, violent and manipulative relationship filled with physical assault, violent sexual encounters and 'horrible psychological manipulation. .”

The lawsuit portrays The-Dream, whose legal name is Terius Adamu Ya Gesteelde-Diamant, as a control figure who used his fame and connections to Beyoncé, Rihanna, Jay-Z and others to manipulate Mangroe. “For a new artist, the idea of ​​becoming the next Beyonce or Rihanna was obviously intoxicating,” the lawsuit reads, “and Ms. Mangroe was willing to work as hard as possible to achieve her recording dreams.”

Mangroe claims she traveled to Los Angeles in February 2015 to record her debut album. During their first night at the recording studio, The-Dream “pressured her to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana in excessive quantities”, and also pressured her “to “she has sex with him,” she says. “He assured her that sex with him was 'part of the process' and that he could only write hit songs for her if she agreed to tell him everything about herself,” the lawsuit claims. The-Dream allegedly brought Mangroe into a bedroom and had sex with her; the producer left Mangroe in the bedroom and returned intermittently to continue having sex with her, according to the lawsuit.

“She returned to her hotel confused, but tried to remain grateful and hopeful for what she believed to be her big break,” according to the complaint. “During his stay in Los Angeles, if Ms. Mangroe and Dream were in the studio at the same time, he expected her to be available to have sex with him whenever he asked.”

After the recording sessions in Los Angeles, Mangroe returned home to Amsterdam, but soon returned to the United States, settling in The-Dream's hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, she says. “The dream became increasingly controlling after Ms. Mangroe moved to Atlanta,” she alleges in the complaint. “He told Ms Mangroe that she had to contact him every day, that she had to be available every time he called her and that she had to rely only on him for everything she needed. “