Axl Rose Sued Over Alleged 1989 Sexual Assault
Axl Rose has been accused of sexually assaulting a former model in 1989 in a new lawsuit that was filed in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday. As The Daily Beast first reported, Shelia Kennedy — a model for Penthouse — claims that the Guns N’ Roses frontman violently assaulted her in his hotel room after they met at a New York City night club. What was at first described as a consensual encounter “quickly became not just uncomfortable by disturbing,” the suit reads, as Rose tried to engage Kennedy to participate in group sex.
When Kennedy left the room after expressing disinterest, Rose allegedly became “furious” and “loomed threateningly” and knocked her to the floor. “While Kennedy was still on the ground, Rose grabbed her by the hair and dragged her across the suite back to his bedroom,” the suit claims. “This was very painful for Kennedy and caused her knees to bleed from scraping on the rug.”
Rose is then accused of tying Kennedy’s hands with pantyhose behind her back, causing her to feel “trapped” as he raped her, “forcibly penetrating” her anus without her consent. “He treated her like property used solely for his sexual pleasure,” the suit continues. “He did not use a condom. Kennedy did not consent and felt overpowered. She felt she had no escape or exit and was compelled to acquiesce. She believed Rose would physically attack her, or worse, if she said no or attempted to push him away. She understood that the safest thing to do was to lie in bed and wait for Rose to finish assaulting her.”
The suit notes that Kennedy has has “lifelong emotional, physical, psychological, and financial impacts” due to the assault. As Rolling Stone points out, Kennedy has discussed Rose’s alleged assault in the past, both in her autobiography No One’s Pet and in the music industry sexual misconduct documentary Look Away.
The suit arrives on the eve of the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which allows survivors of sexual abuse to bring civil charges against perpetrators despite the statute of limitations. Recent lawsuits against Steven Tyler, LA Reid, Neil Portnow, and more have been filed in anticipation of the act’s expiration date.
If you or someone you know is undergoing sexual abuse, please visit rainn.org or contact the National Sexual Assault Helpline at 1-800-656-4673.