Overview
- Jennifer An told the BBC Wednesday that during a 2010 La Roux shoot at Manhattan’s Chelsea Hotel Kanye West grabbed her neck, smeared her makeup and put his fingers in her mouth while cameras rolled.
- An filed a civil suit in November 2024 under New York City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act and her lawyers have submitted alleged Instagram messages from La Roux’s Elly Jackson who called the encounter “horrific.”
- West’s lawyers have moved to dismiss the case this year, arguing the conduct was part of an expressive, theatrical performance protected by the First Amendment and pointing to the absence of contemporaneous police or medical records.
- The lawsuit is pending in the Southern District of New York with dismissal motions unresolved so the court must decide whether claimed artistic intent can lawfully bar civil liability for the alleged conduct.
- Reporting highlights on-set power dynamics and non-intervention by crew members and experts say the court’s ruling could shape how future claims from performers and background actors are judged when art and alleged abuse overlap.