Music mogul L.A. Reid – who signed Usher and P!nk – is sued for sexual assault and harassment by a former colleague

Music mogul Antonio ‘LA’ Reid has been charged with sexual assault and harassment by a former colleague.

Drew Dixon, who worked for Reid during her employment at Arista Records, alleged in her lawsuit that she was assaulted by Reid twice in 2001, according to the New York Times And Rolling stone.

Dixon claims she was assaulted by Reid on a private plane and in the back of his private car.

Dixon, who rose to vice president of A&R during her tenure at Arista and has previously accused Reid of misconduct, claims Reid stunted her career and prevented her from signing and cultivating artists like John Legend when she confronted him in other cases rejected.

She left the company in 2002 and would return to the music industry, but her career did not reach the same trajectory as it initially did, according to the New York Times.

Dixon claims the problems started shortly after Reid joined Arista as CEO and president in 2000. “Almost immediately… Mr. Reid began sexualizing and harassing Ms. Dixon,” the lawsuit alleges.

Dixon – who previously accused Russell Simmons of rape, which he denied – claims the first attack took place on a plane bound for Puerto Rico for the company’s return flight.

She was supposed to fly with Reid and other senior executives on a private plane, but instead found out that she and Reid arrived.

Reid would “immediately begin flirting with her,” the complaint alleges.

While the two waited for the other travelers, Reid allegedly asked Dixon to sit next to him to go to work. However, he reportedly began “playing with her hair, kissing her and digitally penetrating her vulva without her consent.”

Dixon claimed that she made sure her assistant was with her for the remainder of the trip to deflect Reid’s sexual advances.

After the trip, Dixon claims she tried to “find the treacherous balance of maintaining a working relationship without succumbing to Mr. Reid’s sexual advances.”

This included not answering his late night phone calls, rejecting suggestions to hold meetings in hotel rooms and wearing unflattering clothing which Reid disliked.

Reid then reportedly became unhappy with Dixon and hit back, behaving unprofessionally and embarrassing her in front of other employees.

Dixon also claims that Reid was not interested in working with artists she had included in the company – musicians including Kanye West and John Legend.

The second alleged attack is said to have taken place in Reid’s private car.

Reid offered to give Dixon a ride in his vehicle after a work event, and Dixon agreed to allow Reid’s driver to be in the vehicle as well.

“Short on the road,” the lawsuit alleges, “Mr. Again, without Ms. Dixon’s consent, Reid began groping and kissing Ms. Dixon, who squirmed and pushed him away as Mr. Reid’s driver stared straight ahead.

“When Mr. Reid complained and became visibly irritated by her lack of obedience, Ms. Dixon froze. Mr. Reid again digitally penetrated Ms. Dixon’s vulva without her consent.”

Dixon claims her career continued to be affected by Reid after the alleged attack, with Reid responding ‘immediately’ to the rejection by interfering with her work in various ways.

Now feeling hopeless about her future with the company and the music industry as a whole, Dixon left Arista in 2002 and began studying at Harvard Business School.

Dixon claims that she never reached the same career heights after that, claiming that Reid was still breaking into her career as recently as 2017.

“When you talk about someone’s career being under siege, there’s a dance that takes place: She’s trying to make sure she doesn’t alienate him completely, but she doesn’t want to succumb to the assault,” Kenya K. Davis, who serves as one of Dixon’s attorneys, the Times reported. ‘He was ruthless. And by defying him, she paid the price.”

Dixon previously claimed she was sexually harassed by Reid. Speaking to the New York Times in 2017, she alleged that Reid began sexualizing her and making unwanted advances, often with conditions.

The former director would “go cold when she denied his unwanted advances,” which reportedly included invitations for late-night rendezvous at his hotel, she claimed.

‘It was a quid pro quo: ‘I have power, you want access, sleep with me – otherwise I’m going to be really mean to you the next day. And there will be consequences,” she told the Times.

In a statement to The New York Times at the time, Mr. Reid did not address the specific claims but apologized if his words were “misinterpreted.”

“I am proud of my track record of promoting, supporting and uplifting women at every company I have ever led. Nevertheless, if I have ever said anything that could be misinterpreted, I apologize unreservedly.”

Reid has had a successful career in the music industry and has helped launch the careers of some of the biggest stars, including Pink, Usher and Mariah Carey.

Dixon’s lawsuit was able to be filed because of the Adult Survivors Act, which allows victims of sexual assault to sue for assaults that occurred decades ago. Dixon advocated for the law, and the window closes on November 24.

The Times was unable to speak to Reid in their efforts to comment on the lawsuit.