Hip-hop producer Irv Gotti sued for sexual assault

Hip-hop impresario Irv Gotti, the former Def Jam executive who first signed DMX and later promoted the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti to Murder Inc. Records, is the subject of a new sexual assault lawsuit filed in Miami.

Gotti, whose legal name is Irving Domingo Lorenzo, was sued by the Jane Doe accuser on July 11. According to the lawsuit received by Rolling rockthe woman claims Gotti sexually assaulted her multiple times, starting in 2020, after they met through a mutual friend at a poker tournament, and she agreed to go on vacation with him in Saint Martin.

“After dropping her off in Saint Martin, Gotti forced plaintiff to have sex with him. Gotti specifically threatened plaintiff that he would send her home if she did not comply with his demands. Therefore, and because of his power and influence in the music world, he complied,” the lawsuit states. The woman says she entered into an “abusive” two-year relationship with the producer.

“During this abusive relationship, Gotti demanded plaintiff perform unwanted sexual acts and frequently berated and berated her,” the complaint states. Jane Doe claims Gotti forced her to perform oral sex in an elevator at a Four Seasons hotel in Miami in January 2022 and in an Uber during a subsequent trip to Atlanta that same year.

“As a result of this sexually abusive relationship, the plaintiff suffered severe emotional and psychological harm requiring her to be committed to a psychiatric ward,” the lawsuit states. The woman further alleges that Gotti is “defaming her within his vast social network in and around Los Angeles.”

Efforts to reach Gotti were not immediately successful Tuesday. The woman is asking for damages to be judged at trial.

Gotti, 54, has collaborated with a long list of rap's biggest names, including Jay-Z, Kanye West and Fat Joe. He and his brother were acquitted in a high-profile money laundering case in 2005. Gotti had been accused of using his record label Murder Inc. to launder $1 million in drug proceeds for convicted gang leader Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff. Gotti, who faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted, said he was unfairly targeted because of his friendship with McGriff.