Guns N’ Roses Axl Rose accused of 1989 sexual assault in lawsuit
Former model Sheila Kennedy has sued Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose for alleged sexual assault and battery.
According to her lawsuit, the popular rock musician attacked her during a violent hotel room encounter in New York in 1989.
Ms Kennedy was diagnosed with anxiety and depression due to the alleged assault, the lawsuit says.
Mr Rose’s representatives did not respond to BBC News’ requests for comment.
Ms Kennedy seeks damages from Mr Rose for intentional affliction of emotional distress and gender motivated violence, her lawsuit says. Her attorneys have requested a jury trial.
The lawsuit was filed in New York Supreme Court days before the expiration of a law that allows sexual assault survivors to file lawsuits against their alleged attackers, no matter when the original statute of limitations expired.
Ms Kennedy said in her complaint that she was a 26-year-old model for Penthouse magazine when she met Mr Rose in a New York City nightclub in early 1989.
The musician physically and sexually assaulted her in his hotel suite hours later, she alleges in the lawsuit.
Alan S Gutman, Mr Rose’s attorney, rejected Ms Kennedy’s allegations in a statement to CNN.
“Simply put, this incident never happened,” said Gutman, who added that Mr Rose had “no recollection” of ever meeting Ms Kennedy.
The suit states that Mr Rose invited Ms Kennedy and another model to a party of alcohol and drugs in his hotel suite.
Though Ms Kennedy said she did not mind an initial encounter with Mr Rose in which he “pushed Kennedy against the wall and kissed her”, her view of the rock star changed as the night progressed.
According to the lawsuit, Ms Kennedy witnessed Mr Rose engage in sex with the other model in a manner that was “aggressive” and that “appeared painful for the model”.
Afterward, the lawsuit alleges the Guns N’ Roses vocalist physically assaulted Ms Kennedy in an angry confrontation.
It claims he grabbed her “by the hair and dragged her across the suite back to his bedroom”. Ms Kennedy alleges she was bleeding and tried to leave, but Mr Rose restrained her and proceeded to sexually assault her.
Since the attack, Ms Kennedy has suffered “lifelong emotional, physical, psychological, and financial impacts” and she has developed “symptoms akin to post-traumatic stress disorder” when hearing Guns N’ Roses music, the complaint alleges.
Dr Ann Olivarius, who is representing Ms Kennedy, alleged the music industry had enabled similar examples of misconduct.
She said she hoped Ms Kennedy’s “bravery helps other victims find their voice” and will serve as “an important turning point for the music industry”.
Ms Kennedy first described aspects of the alleged incident in her 2016 autobiography “No One’s Pet” and in the 2021 documentary “Look Away”, which details claims of abuse in the music industry, Rolling Stone magazine reported.
Mr Rose has faced allegations of abusive behavior in the past.
Past partners Erin Everly and Stephanie Seymour accused Mr Rose of physical abuse in a 1994 cover story of People magazine, which Ms Kennedy noted her in her lawsuit.
