LOS ANGELES — Snoop Dogg is being sued by a former backup dancer who alleges she was the victim of sex trafficking and sexual assault by the rapper and one of his associates.
According to the lawsuit, private mediation was attempted Tuesday and Wednesday morning. The plaintiff’s attorney, Matt E.O. Finkelberg of the Derek Smith Law Group, filed suit in federal court in L.A. immediately after talks failed.
Snoop Dogg’s attorney and publicists didn’t respond Thursday to a request for comment. Finkelberg also didn’t respond.
“Gold digger season is here be careful Nefews keep ya guards up,” the rapper posted Wednesday on Instagram. “And. Keep ya circle small.” The 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show performer included emojis of a police officer, a bag of money and a judge, along with a skeptical face.
The incidents in question allegedly occurred in 2013 to a woman, identified as Jane Doe, who worked for and performed with Snoop — real name Calvin Broadus — and other rappers. Don “Magic” Juan, born Donald Campbell, and several of Snoop’s companies are also named in the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, in May 2013, Doe and a friend attended a Snoop Dogg show at Club Heat Ultra Lounge in Anaheim. They entered the VIP room at the club and ran into Campbell, who allegedly later invited them back to the rapper’s studio. The friend left around midnight, and Campbell allegedly offered to take Doe “home or I can take you back to my place with me.” Doe said she asked to go to her home.
Doe fell asleep in the car, the lawsuit says, and awoke shortly before arriving at Campbell’s home, not her own. She was exhausted and fell asleep at his place, only to be awakened around 4 a.m., the lawsuit alleges, by Campbell forcing his penis in her face and into her mouth.
Campbell later urged Doe to “put this dress on” and come with him to the taping of “Snoop Dogg’s Double G News Network.” He allegedly told her he wanted to see if the rapper would make her the weather girl, and Doe says in the lawsuit that she complied in hopes of advancing her career.
At the studio, Doe went to the bathroom with a stomachache, only to have Broadus open the bathroom door while she was on the toilet, then enter and shut the door behind him, the suit says. He allegedly removed his penis from his pants and said, “Put it in your mouth.” Afraid for her safety and her life, she complied, the suit says.
Afterward, Doe was spotted by Campbell wandering in the studio. He called her over to take a picture with the rapper, then took her out of the studio, the lawsuit says.
Doe claims in the lawsuit that she wasn’t hired afterward because she didn’t “willingly and enthusiastically” give Broadus oral sex. She also alleges she has suffered from various ailments since the events, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depression, nightmares, sleep disorders, headaches, emotional distress and more.
The lawsuit seeks damages in an amount to be decided at a jury trial.
Wednesday was a big day for the rapper, business-wise: He announced the purchase of Death Row Records, the gangsta rap powerhouse label that released his 1993 album, “Doggystyle.”
“It feels good to have ownership of the label I was part of at the beginning of my career and as one of the founding members,” he said in a statement. “This is an extremely meaningful moment for me.”
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