Kanye West wants a judge to throw out a sexual assault lawsuit he’s facing, arguing that the allegations are an attempt to silence his freedom of speech. In court documents obtained by Us Weekly, the controversial rapper’s attorneys reference his past antisemitic remarks and offensive posts about sexual violence on social media. Jenn An originally filed the lawsuit against him in November 2024.
“These alleged quotations bear no relevance to the claims in this case,” West’s legal team wrote, adding that they lack “meaningful context.” They continued: “Their inclusion should be considered as facts to support arguments regarding [An’s] motive to bring this lawsuit — to silence [West] for his controversial speech on matters of public concern.”
In An’s lawsuit, she referenced a music video shoot in 2010, alleging that West choked her and “rammed several fingers down her throat.” In the response from West’s lawyers, they further wrote: “At no point during the production did [An] object to her role, express a lack of consent to participate, nor attempt to leave the performance.”
“To permit such claims to proceed would mean that every actor, director, and artist involved in provocative film, theater, or music video productions — whether depicting violence, sexuality, or both — could face retroactive criminalization,” the response continued.
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Kanye West Lawsuits
Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; Rapper/recording artist Kanye. West during the Cincinnati Bengals game against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images
Jesse Weinstein, an attorney representing An, addressed the response from West in a statement provided to Us Weekly. “While Ye is certainly entitled to defend himself in this suit, we refuse to adopt his idea that sexually assaulting Ms. An was somehow justified as ‘art,’” he said. “This was an unscripted moment that he took it upon himself to create, much to the dismay and shock of nearly everyone around him.”
The case is one of many lawsuits Kanye West is battling. He’s also facing complaints from several former employees of his Donda Academy private school, as well as from his former assistant, Lauren Pisciotta, and others.