Jenn An, a former America’s Next Top Model contestant, has sued rapper Kanye West for gender-based violence during the filming of a music video in 2010.
The Wrap reported that model and actress Jenn An filed a lawsuit in a New York court on November 22, accusing Kanye West of sexually assaulting and choking her on the set of the music video for In for the Kill – a song by singer La Roux featuring Kanye. The lawsuit states that the music video was filmed around September 7, 2010, in a suite at the Chelsea Hotel in New York.
An said that Kanye picked her out of a cast of female extras. “Give me that Asian girl,” she recalled Kanye saying, adding that the rapper chose her because she was wearing a skimpy outfit at the time.
Kanye West is being sued by model Jenn An.
According to the lawsuit, Kanye dismissed all the other actors and models, leaving An alone on a chair, and began filming what looked like a pornographic scene. She alleges that ex-husband Kim Kardashian strangled her with both hands, shoved several fingers down her throat, and moved around, covering her face with his hands to simulate oral sex. The incident reportedly lasted a minute, after which Kanye yelled, “This is art. I’m like Picasso.”
For Jenn An, the entire scene felt more like “gag porn, BDSM fetish” than a music video shoot. The scene was later not included in the music video. Kanye West’s image only appeared on the remix of In For the Kill. According to the model, singer La Roux described the shoot to a friend, saying she saw some “unpleasant and disturbing” behavior.
Jenn An is also suing Universal Music Group for allowing Kanye West to physically assault her on set, accusing the company of “systematically discriminating against women by continuing to work with artists who have a history of sexual harassment and discrimination”. She accuses other senior figures of trying to bury the matter.
The model is seeking damages from Kanye West and Universal Music Group for her mental and physical injuries and damage to her reputation.
Jenn An was born in 1985 and began her career when she competed on America’s Next Top Model in 2009. Although she did not win the title, Jenn An received many opportunities for fashion shoots after the competition. She also appeared in a number of films such as The Mindy Project, Criminal Minds and Grey’s Anatomy.
Kanye West, the rapper who is divorced from Kim Kardashian and living with his second wife, Bianca Censori, has been hit with a series of lawsuits in recent months. One of the most high-profile cases involves his assistant Lauren Pisciotta, who claims Kanye drugged and raped her in a recording studio several years ago. Lauren also accuses the rapper of multiple acts of sexual harassment during their employment and withholding pay. The 47-year-old rapper has not responded.
