Grammy-winning music producer Antonio “L.A.” Reid settled a sexual assault lawsuit with a former employee on the same day the trial was scheduled to start.
On Monday, Jan. 12, Variety reported Reid reached a settlement with former Arista Records executive Drew Dixon, who accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2001.
Terms of the settlement were not revealed. His attorney said the agreement is not an admission of wrongdoing.
“Mr. Reid has amicably resolved this matter with Ms. Dixon without any admission of liability,” Ansari said.
Reid and Dixon had both been expected to testify in the trial.
John Legend was among the music industry insiders who were scheduled to take the stand. Dixon has alleged Reid preventer her from signing Legend to a contract early in his career as retaliation after she rejected the music mogul’s advances.
In 2023, Dixon filed a lawsuit against Reid in Manhattan Federal under the New York Adult Survivors Act.
She accused the LaFace Records co-founder of sexual harassment, assault and retaliation while she worked for him as an A&R representative at Arista Records.
Reid, 69, was president and CEO of Arista at the time. He’s known for helping launch the careers of TLC, OutKast, Toni Braxton and other chart-topping performers.
Dixon said she was assaulted on a private plane in 2001, and alleged another incident occurred months later.
According to court documents obtained by multiple outlets, Dixon, 53, alleged her career was “derailed” by Reid.
Dixon appeared outside the Manhattan courthouse with her attorney Kenya Davis and her mother on Mondag to announce a settlement had been reached. In video captured by Inner City Press, Dixon praised her family and her legal team.
“I am deeply grateful to my mother and my children for their enduring love and support,” she said. “I would also like to thank my incredible attorneys, Sigrid McCawley, Jacqueline Kelly, Daniel Crispino, Amber Stewart… for shepherding me through this arduous process. I hope my work as an advocate for the Adult Survivor’s Act helps to bring all of us closer to a music business that is safer for everyone.”
Dixon also accused Def Jam mogul Russell Simmons of sexual assault in a 2017 New York Times article and in the 2020 documentary On The Record.
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