Trigger warning: this story contains allegations and descriptions of sexual assault.
This week, former UNLV basketball player Dylan Gonzalez accused Trey Songz of sexual misconduct, alleging Songz raped her. It’s the latest example of a troubling history of allegations against the star singer.
In a lengthy tweet, Gonzalez detailed her ordeal of suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of Songz allegedly raping her at the Las Vegas Hotel. Under the hashtag “#BeStrongNotSilent,” Gonzalez’s post expressed her empathetic love for all sexual assault victims, encouraging them to not suppress their voices and speak up about their abuser. Her publicly outing Songz as her rapist isn’t stopping at a tweet, as she also revealed she has retained legal representation from attorney George Vrabeck and is considering all the possible legal actions she can take to bring Songz to justice. TMZ reports that a representative for Songz stated, “Trey and his team are confident in the legal process and that there will be an abundance of exonerating information to come over the next few weeks."
Gonzalez first accused Songz of being a rapist in a tweet sent on December 31, 2021, but decided to come forward with details of her own ordeal due to the "endlessly reoccurring news of the alleged sexual assault committed by Trey Songz,” according to her statement. Allegations that submerged the singer’s reputation in doubt have become an almost yearly occurrence. In 2012, Donna McIntosh-Inoe accused Songz of blackening her eye by throwing a wad of cash in her face at a Queens strip club after the singer took exception to her taking a photo of him. He was charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment as a result. One of Songz’s earliest accusations of a sexual nature came from singer and actress Keke Palmer in 2017, after she revealed Songz used “sexual intimidation” to force her to appear in the music video for his “Pick Up the Phone” remix. Songz responded to her allegations dismissively on Twitter claiming “Babygirl buggin,” before implying Palmer consented to appearing in the video because she “saw the cameras and the lights, heard action.” This lack of empathy for his accusers would be a recurring response by Songz over the years.
A year after the incident with Palmer, Andrea Burea accused Songz of choking her, knocking her to the ground, and punching her while on the ground at an NBA All-Star Weekend party in 2018. A week after Burea publicly accused him, Songz surrendered to Los Angeles Police Department on domestic violence charges, and tweeted how he was being “falsely accused for someone’s personal gain” an hour after he posted bail. Songz later claimed self-defense in the situation, and the lawsuit was eventually dropped by Burea 18 months following after the alleged assault occurred. Only four months after Burea dropped the lawsuit, Songz was back in the news after he was sued for $10 million by a woman who alleged Songz forced his hand up her dress in the VIP section of Miami's E11even nightclub on New Years Day 2018, a month after Burea accused him of assaulting her. The lawsuit was settled in April 2021, but not after a woman named Aliza alleged in an interview with No Jumper that Songz urinated on her without her consent and prevented her from leaving his room a year earlier. Once again, Songz took no responsibilty for any of it and claimed in an August 2020 tweet his accusers were hijacking “the movement to fight for the women who actually have suffered harassment and abuse on various levels.”
Based on the allegations, there are women who can attest to Songz having a pattern of abusive behavior and facing little to no repercussions. Songz worked with Beats by Dre a year after McIntosh-Inoe’s accusations, and became the face of fitness app RPT Live Touchpoint’s influencer marketing drive months before Songz settled the $10 million sexual assault lawsuit. The money keeps rolling in for Songz even as the accusations continue. But Songz hasn’t had a platinum-selling album in seven years, after releasing three in the first nine years of his career. And this week, the name of convicted sex offender singer R. Kelly has been trending on Twitter, with users comparing Songz to him with his repeated allegations. Trey Songz is in danger for becoming known just as much for sexual assault charges as his music — and with his repeated denials, there’s no telling how many more allegations will surface.
