L.A. Reid Sued By Former Executive For Alleged Sexual Assaults – Deadline

L.A. Reid, who helped develop music superstars Mariah Carey, Pink, TLC, and Usher, has been sued by a former music executive on accusations of sexually assaulting her more than two decades ago.

Drew Dixon claims Reid, 67, derailed her rising career after he became Arista Records‘ chief executive and she rejected his advances. The allegations include two alleged sexual assaults that she said occurred in 2001.

The case is Dixon v Reid and was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. Dixon seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in her lawsuit.

Reid and his representatives have so far not commented on the lawsuit.

Although the allegations date back to the turn of the century, Dixon is suing under New York state’s Adult Survivors Act. That gives adults a one-year window to sue over alleged sexual abuse that occurred long ago, even if the statutes of limitations have expired. The window closes this month.

Dixon is a board member at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music and was a subject in the 2020 HBO Max documentary, “On the Record,” concerning sexual misconduct accusations by women against rap mogul Russell Simmons.

Dixon first accused Reid of misconduct in December 2017. That was less than a year after he left his position as head of Sony’s Epic Records after he was accused of improper behavior.

At that time, Reid spoke to The New York Times. “I’m proud of my track record promoting, supporting, and uplifting women at every company I’ve ever run. That notwithstanding, if I have ever said anything capable of being misinterpreted, I apologize unreservedly.”

In her legal filing today, Dixon claimed Reid began harassing her shortly after arriving at Arista in 2000. On a company trip on a private jet, he allegedly played with her hair, kissed her, and penetrated her without consent.

The second alleged assault occurred several months later during a ride home from an event in New York. Dixon claimed Reid groped, kissed, and penetrated her without consent.

Dixon said her career stalled after that, as Reid became “hostile.” She claims Reid wanted her to meet him late at night in his hotel and wear skirts instead of jeans. She said her budgets were slashed and her artists rejected when she did not submit.

She left the industry to 2002 to attend Harvard Business School.

Reid’s “persistent campaign of sexual harassment and assault forced me to abandon the work I loved when I was at the top of my game in the music business,” Dixon said in a statement provided by her lawyers.