A former personal assistant to Soulja Boy who alleges she was sexually abused by the rapper won a round in court when a judge ruled her lawsuit against the 34-year-old “Crank That” singer can move forward with all its current allegations.
On Wednesday, Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Mark H. Epstein denied a motion by the singer’s attorneys to dismiss multiple causes of action in the lawsuit brought by the plaintiff, including gender violence, hostile work environment and negligence.
The plaintiff is identified only as Jane Doe and the singer’s real name is DeAndre Cortez Way.
“Way seems to contend that he owes plaintiff no duties outside the employment relationship.” the judge wrote. “The court is not sure what defendant means. If defendant means that he did not owe plaintiff a duty not to sexually assault her, the argument is frivolous. If it is something else, the court does not know what it is. Similarly meritless is the argument that the sexual assault had nothing to do with gender.”
The judge also scoffed at Way’s claim he didn’t pay the woman overtime because he did not know she worked it.
“If the OT was worked, it must be paid,” the judge wrote.
In her suit filed in January 2021, Doe says she was hired by Way in December 2018. Her duties included cooking and bringing food and snacks, carrying personal belongings or luggage, styling Way’s hair, driving him and handling travel plans, the suit states.
Way paid the plaintiff $500 weekly for her services and she lived and worked seven days a week, 20 hours daily, at his homes in Malibu and Bell Canyon, the suit states.
The two became romantically involved, but from January 2019 to December 2020 he sexually abused her and did not pay her overtime while also committing other wage and hour violations, her suit alleges.