'Umbrella' songwriter accused of sex trafficking, rape

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

0 3 minutes read

Superstar music producer The-Dream is being sued by an aspiring songwriter who claims he used promises of career advancement to coerce her into an “abusive, violent and manipulative relationship” filled with “physical assault, of violent sexual encounters and horrific psychological manipulation.” »

Chanaaz Mangroe, a Dutch singer-songwriter known by the stage name Channii Monroe, filed a lawsuit in California federal court on Tuesday, accusing The-Dream, also known as Terius Gesteelde-Diamant, of sex trafficking , sexual assault and rape.

“Choosing to speak out about the trauma I survived was one of the hardest decisions of my life, but ultimately what Dream did to me made it impossible for me to live the life I was considering for myself and pursuing my goals as a singer and songwriter. “, Mangroe said in a statement. “Ultimately, my silence became too painful and I realized I had to tell my story to heal.”

In a statement to The New York TimesGesteelde-Diamant called the claims “false and defamatory.”

“I oppose all forms of harassment and have always sought to help people achieve their career goals,” he said. “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.”

Gesteelde-Diamant is a Grammy Award-winning producer who has written Billboard-topping songs for Rihanna, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber and Kanye West. (Well-known hits include Beyoncé's “Umbrella” and “Single Ladies.”) He collaborated with Beyoncé on six albums and was once called her “musical soul mate” by The New Yorker.

According to the lawsuit, associates of Gesteelde-Diamant contacted Mangroe through social media in 2014, when she was 23 and working in the United States on a visa. The suit claims she sent him samples of her music and that he promised her a recording contract with a major label if she came to Atlanta to work with him. He reportedly smoothed the situation by promising to sponsor her visa, write her hit songs and offer her an opening gig on Beyoncé's next tour.

But there was a catch. According to the complaint, Gesteelde-Diamant lured Mangroe into a “prolonged nightmare,” in which he controlled her spending on housing, transportation and food and almost constantly tracked her movements. He also allegedly forced her to drink excessive amounts of alcohol by holding her head back and pouring it down her throat.

Even more gruesome, the complaint alleges that Gesteelde-Diamant raped Mangroe and forced her to have rough sex during which he strangled her – sometimes to the brink of unconsciousness – and verbally berated her, forcing her to “congratulate him and declare her loyalty to him.” He also allegedly refused to wear a condom and became furious when he discovered she was taking birth control. She alleged that he recorded their sexual acts and used the existence of those recordings to threaten to silence her.

Gesteelde-Diamant was previously arrested for allegedly punching and kicking his eight-month pregnant girlfriend and threatening to kill her if she went to the police. Prosecutors dropped the charges after saying they could not prove them beyond a reasonable doubt.

He was briefly engaged to singers Nivea and Christina Milian and has children with both.

The lawsuit follows similar allegations of physical and sexual abuse against another prominent producer, Sean “Diddy” Combs. Seven women sued Combs, accusing him of sex trafficking and sexual assault. He denies the allegations.

Magroe's lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, called Gesteelde-Diamant's alleged behavior “another horrific example of how men in the music industry use their power and influence to manipulate and harm others.”

“Dream, as Sean Combs did with Ms. Ventura and others, used his position as a prominent artist and producer to subject Ms. Mangroe to violent physical, psychological and sexual abuse,” Wigdor said in a statement. “While she will never fully recover from what he and those who supported him did to her, her willingness to speak out now is proof of her extraordinary strength. We are honored to represent her.