Metro Boomin Sued Over Alleged 2016 Rape

Leland Wayne, the Grammy-winning rapper and producer known as Metro Boomin, has been sued for sexual battery by a woman who alleges he raped her at a California recording studio in 2016.

Lawrence Hinkle, a lawyer for Wayne, denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit a “pure shakedown,” and said his client will countersue. He added, “Mr. Wayne refused to pay her months ago, and he refuses to pay her now.

Vanessa LeMaistre, in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, says she met Wayne in 2016 in Las Vegas. A friend introduced her to the producer, who extended an invititation to visit him in California.

When she arrived at the studio, LeMaistre was given an alcoholic drink, the filing says. She also ingested medication for anxiety, which she had been taking since her son died earlier in the year.

LeMaistre claims she lost consciousness while sitting on a couch watching him record. She awoke “unable to move or make a sound” on a bed in a different location to Wayne raping her, the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint details the producer performing various sex acts on LeMaistre, who was drifting in and out of consciousness. When she woke up again, she says she found herself at a Beverly Hills hotel, where she was quickly driven back to the studio.

Several weeks later, LeMaistre alleges she aborted a pregnancy she claims was a result of the rape.

To substantiate allegations of the incident, the lawsuit points to lyrics from Wayne’s “Rap Saved Me.” The song has lyrics that include, “She took a Xanny, then she fainted. I’m from the gutter, ain’t no changing. From the gutter, rap saved me. She drive me crazy, have my baby.”

Song lyrics have been admitted as evidence in criminal cases, most recently by prosecutors advancing racketeering charges against Young Thug over alleged gang violence. It’s ignited controversy over undermining free speech protections and introducing racial bias in jury deliberations.

Such evidence has rarely been allowed in civil cases.

Wayne, one of rap’s most sought-after producers, shot to stardom in the 2010s after collaborating with Atlanta-based artists Future, Young Thug and 21 Savage, among others. In 2022, he created the soundtrack to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

The Hollywood Reporter doesn’t typically name people who say they are the victims of sexual assault unless they identify themselves publicly.