Metro Boomin’s R4pe Trial Begins

Renowned hip-hop producer Metro Boomin has gone on trial in California over allegations that he sexually assaulted Vanessa LeMaistre in 2016. The civil case opened Tuesday (Sept. 23) at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Los Angeles.

LeMaistre, who filed her lawsuit last year, testified that she decided to pursue justice after a therapy session in Peru, where she consumed the psychedelic plant Ayahuasca.

“I recall being instructed from the medicine that this is the root of your issues for the past 10 years, this incident with the defendant,” she told the jury. “This is the root of continual trauma and pain and suffering, and that I needed to address this, seek justice and contact lawyers.”

According to LeMaistre, Metro Boomin allegedly gave her half a Xanax pill and a shot of liquor before having sex with her in a Las Vegas hotel room while she was unconscious. “I didn’t know consent means when someone says no or they’re not able to consent, that that still is rape,” she said in court.

Metro Boomin’s attorney, Lawrence Hinkle, dismissed the claims, characterizing the lawsuit as financially motivated. “We are here because she thought my client could solve her financial problems,” Hinkle argued. “And so she made a claim that he sexually assaulted her, expecting that he would just write a check to make it all go away quickly and quietly.”

Hinkle said UCLA psychology chief April Thames is expected to testify that LeMaistre meets diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder with psychotic features, major depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder  but that there is “no credible evidence” linking her current psychological state to the alleged assault.

Metro Boomin is also expected to testify during the trial, which is anticipated to conclude on Friday, Sept. 26.