L.A. Reid, co-founder of LaFace Records, is facing serious accusations of sexual assault and harassment. Former Arista Records chief executive, Drew Dixon, filed a lawsuit against Reid, claiming that he assaulted her twice in 2001. Similarly, Dixon accused record executive Russell Simmons of a similar sexual assault in the past. Is Drew Dixon a serial accuser or victim?
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Legendary record executive Antonio “L.A.” Reid, co-founder of LaFace Records, faces serious allegations of sexual assault and harassment that have been leveled against him by former Arista Records chief executive Drew Dixon.
In Dixon’s lawsuit filed in a New York federal court, she alleges that Reid began harassing her shortly after joining Arista in 2000. According to Dixon, the first assault occurred in January 2001 on a private plane when Reid played with her hair, kissed her, and penetrated her without consent.
The second assault allegedly took place several months later during a ride home from a New York event. Dixon says Reid groped, kissed, and penetrated her without consent.
Dixon attributes her abrupt departure from Arista in 2002 to Reid’s ongoing harassment, which she says ultimately cut her music industry career short.
Dixon’s lawsuit is based on New York state’s Adult Survivors Act, which allows adults to sue for alleged sexual abuse that occurred in the past, even if the statutes of limitations have expired.
Dixon had also publicly accused Reid of misconduct in December 2017, seven months after he left his position as Epic Records chief, where he was also accused of improper behavior. Neither Reid nor any of his representatives has shared a public comment on the lawsuit.
In 2017, L.A. Reid faced a similar sexual harassment allegation when an unnamed woman accused him of making advances toward her at a company party while he was the head of Epic Records.
Users on Twitter (X) reacted to the lawsuit and accusations by Dixon against Reid. One user commented “the way i’m not surprised. Like at all” and one other user commented, “disgusting lock him up.”
It is worth noting that this is not the first time Dixon has accused a music executive of sexual assault, which raises the question: Is Drew Dixon a serial accuser or victim?
In 2017, she also accused Def Jam Recordings co-founder Russell Simmons of rape, alleging that the harassment had started in 1995 when she worked for him. Dixon said the alleged harassment of Simmons started in 1995 when she was working for him at Def Jam Recordings and said she aroused him and he exposed himself to her.
While Simmons has denied Dixon’s allegations, she has not ruled out taking legal action against him.
Another musician in the music industry who has faced allegations of sexual harassment is Trey Songz. He was recently hit with a lawsuit by two women who accused him of non-consensual sexual acts at a party in 2015.
