The-Dream, R&B star and Beyoncé producer, accused of sexual assault
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
The songwriter and producer known as The-Dream is behind some of the biggest chart-toppers of our time. He frequently collaborates with artists like Beyonce, Rihanna and Mariah Carey. Well, today, one of his former protegees filed a lawsuit accusing him of violent abuse while he promised to make her a star. We'll note that this report from NPR culture correspondent Anastasia Tsioulcas includes descriptions of physical and sexual assault over the next few minutes. Hi, Anastasia.
ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS, BYLINE: Hi there, Ari.
SHAPIRO: The-Dream is really well known in R&B music, less so in the public eye. For folks who are not familiar with him, why is he so important?
TSIOULCAS: Well, he's a singer-songwriter and producer. But more than anything, The- Dream's a major hitmaker. Beyonce, for example, has collaborated with him on every one of her albums since 2008. He's a songwriter and producer on some of her big hits, including "Single Ladies" and "Break My Soul." And he's won eight Grammy awards.
In this lawsuit, though, the woman, Chanaaz Mangroe, alleges The-Dream promised to make her just as big as Beyonce and another of his collaborators, Rihanna. And I'll note, he's being sued under his legal name, which he recently changed from Terius Nash to Terius Gesteelde-Diamant.
SHAPIRO: Can you tell us more about the lawsuit, the woman who filed it and what's alleged?
TSIOULCAS: Sure. She is a singer and songwriter from the Netherlands. She filed this suit in California, in a U.S. district court in Los Angeles. And she alleges, while The-Dream was making extravagant promises about stardom, he pressured her for sex almost immediately. And in the suit, she says, he told her sex with him was, quote, "part of the process."
And so she's accusing him of raping her, violently assaulting her on multiple occasions, including strangling her, forcing her to drink alcohol and psychologically manipulating her. She alleges he had forced her to tell him where she was at all times and that he allegedly made a video of one of their sexual encounters and then threatened to show it to other people. And she says he told her all the while that this was the path to a huge career.
SHAPIRO: When does she say this happened?
TSIOULCAS: So she says one of his associates reached out to her in very late 2014 and that she met him in person in January 2015. And she alleges the abuse began almost immediately and continued for months. So this is, like, a decade ago - right? - but her lawsuit cites California's Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which specifically allows people to file suits on sexual assault accusations even if the statute of limitations has expired on the alleged incidents.
SHAPIRO: Has there been any response from The-Dream or his lawyers?
TSIOULCAS: Not to NPR, no - though, of course, we've asked for comment. But a spokesperson of his told the New York Times in a statement, quote, "these claims are untrue and defamatory" and that, quote, "I am deeply offended and saddened by these accusations."
And I should point out that Mangroe's suit is also against the record label Epic Records, which is part of Sony Music Entertainment. Mangroe says they knew about but ignored the abuse. And she's also suing a company co-owned by The-Dream. We haven't heard back from either Epic Records or The-Dream's representative, so I think it's going to take a while to see how this all plays out.
SHAPIRO: All right. That is NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas. Thank you for your reporting.
TSIOULCAS: Thank you for having me, Ari.
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