Kanye West sued by his former assistant for allegedly raping and drugging her at a Diddy party

Kanye West’s former assistant has filed a lawsuit, accusing him of drugging and sexually assaulting him during a studio session he co-hosted with Sean “Diddy” Combs. Lauren Pisciotta, who was employed by West from 2021 to 2022, claims in an amended complaint obtained by PEOPLE that West committed “sexual assault” after giving him a drink containing a substance.

Pisciotta’s allegations are an expansion of her previous wrongful termination lawsuit against West, in which she claimed she was subjected to explicit messages, pornographic images, videos and phone calls from him before being fired. She began working with West in July 2021 to assist with his women’s fashion line Yeezy and collaborate on his 2021 album, Donda.

Previously, a legal representative for West denied Pisciotta’s other claims and said “you will take legal action against Ms. Pisciotta.”

According to the now-amended complaint filed Oct. 8 in Los Angeles County Court, Pisciotta alleges that prior to her employment with West, he invited her to a studio session in Santa Monica, Calif., where “drinks were served to other people present. , followed by an announcement that everyone had to drink if they wanted to stay.

The lawsuit claims that West and Combs co-hosted the studio session and that Pisciotta attended it with a “former artist management client.” Although Combs is named in the amended complaint as a co-host, Pisciotta does not accuse him of any wrongdoing.

The filing further alleges that the drink served to Pisciotta — allegedly by a studio assistant at West’s request — was “laced with an unidentifiable drug,” disorienting her after only “a few small sips.”

“As the plaintiff began to sink into an altered and severely weakened state, she felt less in control of her body and her speech, and this is where the plaintiff’s memories of that night escaped her,” the statement said. complaint.

According to the filing, Pisciotta woke up the next day “feeling physically ill and confused” and experienced “tremendous shame and embarrassment” at not being able to remember what happened after drinking during the session. in the studio.

For years, West’s former assistant believed she had been drugged and humiliated at a work event. Later, after West hired Pisciotta as his assistant, chief of staff and A&R representative, he reportedly brought up that night for the first time. During the conversation, West told Pisciotta that they “kind of connected once,” referring to the night at the Santa Monica studio where the alleged assault took place.

When Pisciotta told West she had no memory of that studio session, West allegedly laughed and remarked, “Women love to say they don’t remember it,” according to the complaint.

“Until this precise moment, just before this conversation, the plaintiff was unaware that she had been the victim of gender-based violence and sexual assault during this studio party by KANYE WEST aka YE,” the document states.

The amended complaint also states that Pisciotta felt “overwhelmed with immense shame, discomfort and utter disgust.”

Additionally, Pisciotta alleges that in July 2021, during an “album workshop” at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco, West “aggressively knocked” on his hotel room door at 6 a.m., forced his way into his room and claimed he needed to use his shower because his was broken. She further alleges that West then approached her, “dropped his towel” and attempted to “forcefully push his naked body and penis into the plaintiff’s face,” ignoring her pleas to stop. According to the complaint, West then “quickly left” after saying “sorry” and continued with his day as if nothing had happened.

The complaint also claims that Pisciotta, who claims she received lewd messages from West and was fired from her position as chief of staff at his companies just one month after her September 2022 promotion, “couldn’t stand the fact that she worked for the man who sexually assaulted her while she was drugged, who then managed to lure her back into his orbit through a job opportunity to repeat the assault.

West also faces a separate lawsuit filed in April 2024 by a former employee who claimed he suffered “severe discrimination (and) harassment” while working for Yeezy and at his school Donda Academy. Additionally, a former employee recently filed a lawsuit alleging emotional distress, retaliation and labor code violations.