A new lawsuit filed by model Jennifer An alleges that Kanye West strangled and gagged her during a music video shoot in 2010 as he declared, “This is f--king art. I am like Picasso.”
An, a former contestant on America’s Next Top Model, says in the suit filed Friday that the assault occurred on set at New York City’s Chelsea Hotel to film a video for “In for the Kill,” by the synth-pop duo La Roux, according to Page Six and other outlets.
West, who is featured on the song’s official remix, showed up at the filming accompanied by his then-girlfriend, model Selita Ebanks, and “took control of the production and the production team” without the approval of the video’s director.
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An claims that West made the models line up in a hallway. He singled her out and said, “Give me the Asian girl.” Although she said it made her feel “uncomfortable,” she “reluctantly acquiesced,” and joined West on a couch that was facing a camera.
Clad only in lingerie, An remarked to West that she “wasn’t wearing very much,” to which he purportedly responded, “That’s why I chose you.”
An alleges that West began to choke her with one hand and then “wrapped his other hand around her neck and continued to strangle her with both hands.” He “smothered” her face with both hands and smeared her make-up in the process.
“He then rammed several fingers down her throat, continuously moved them in and out, and gagged her… to emulate forced oral sex,” according to suit complaint.
While carrying out his actions, West allegedly shouted, “This is art. This is f--king art. I am like Picasso,” An claimed.
An “started to panic, and looked around the set, hoping to see anyone who could intervene,” while she “struggled to breathe” and felt like she had “temporarily blacked out.”
An said the incident left her feeling “extremely humiliated, degraded, victimized, embarrassed, and emotionally distressed” and has affected her for years.
An said she briefly made eye contact with Ebanks as she was leaving the set, but the fellow model “abruptly turned her head away.” An is also reportedly pursuing legal action against Universal Music Group, who she claims “failed to investigate” the incident.
The new suit comes as West faces a separate allegation of sexual assault from his former assistant Lauren Pisciotta, who alleged that she was drugged and raped at a party hosted by the music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Neither West, Ebanks, nor Universal has yet to publicly address the lawsuit or respond to inquiries from media outlets at the time of publication.
