LA Reid’s Sex Assault Trial to Include Claims He Blocked Accuser From Signing Ye, John Legend in Retaliation

As trial nears in the sexual assault case against legendary music executive Antonio “L.A.” Reid, a judge has ruled that former Arista A&R executive Drew Dixon can keep seeking damages over commissions she supposedly lost when Reid refused to sign Ye (formerly Kanye West) and John Legend to the label.

The ruling on Thursday (Aug. 7) comes just one month before Dixon’s civil claims against Reid are scheduled to go to trial in New York federal court. Dixon’s 2023 lawsuit alleges that Reid — who headed up Epic, Island Def Jam and Arista over the course of a storied career — sexually harassed her repeatedly and then forcibly kissed and groped her twice in 2001.

Dixon says that in addition to making her “depressed and suicidal,” Reid’s alleged abuse cost her valuable professional opportunities. She claims that after she rejected Reid’s sexual advances, he retaliated against her by refusing to sign two promising young artists she wanted to bring to Arista: Ye and Legend.

The lawsuit alleges that Reid berated Dixon in front of Arista’s entire A&R department about Ye’s audition being a “waste of his time,” and that he didn’t even bother to show up for Legend’s audition. Dixon says she lost out on hefty future commissions because of these signing snubs. Neither Ye nor Legend is accused of any wrongdoing.

Reid “adamantly” denies all of Dixon’s claims and is scheduled to contest them before a jury starting Sept. 8. Ahead of trial, his lawyers had sought to limit Dixon’s potential recovery by arguing in a so-called summary judgment motion that any damages over the Ye and Legend auditions are outside the statute of limitations.

But Judge Jeannette A. Vargas refused in Thursday’s order to bar these lost commissions from the upcoming trial. The judge says Dixon can keep pursing such damages, at least for now, under New York’s Adult Survivors Act (ASA) — a law that created a one-year window for otherwise time-barred sexual assault claims to be brought in court.

“Defendant is correct that, for a cause of action to be revived under ASA, it must be brought for an injury or condition suffered as a result of conduct which would constitute a sexual offense,” writes Judge Vargas. “It does not follow from this, however, that damages are limited once a cause of action has been revived.”

The judge notes, however, that Dixon’s summary judgment ruling is only considering the issue of the statute of limitations, and “it may well be that plaintiff cannot recover lost commissions under any of the asserted causes of action.” Thus, it remains to be seen whether Dixon will actually be able to win a money judgment for these lost signing fees at trial.

Reps for Dixon and Reid both did not return requests for comment on the decision.

Reid’s public image has been shaky since 2017, when, during his tenure as head of Epic Record,s he was accused of sexually harassing a female assistant. He exited Epic but stayed in the music business, launching the HitCo label and later co-founding music collective Mega alongside Usher.

While Reid has been represented in the Dixon lawsuit by powerhouse entertainment lawyer Shawn Holley, he’s currently staring down the September trial without an attorney after falling behind on his legal bills and refusing to return Holley’s calls.

Judge Vargas is allowing Holley and her team to step away from the case due to this rift, but says Reid’s Sept. 8 trial date is firm. That means Reid must either get a new lawyer before then, represent himself or be subjected to a default loss if he’s a no-show.

Dixon is also among multiple women who’ve accused Def Jam Recordings founder Russell Simmons of rape. Simmons has publicly accused Dixon of lying about the incident, leading to ongoing defamation litigation between the two.