Axl Rose is being sued for sexual assault and battery.
Axl Rose is being sued
The Guns N' Roses frontman is the subject of a lawsuit - which was filed just one day before the expiration of the NY Adult Survivors Act, which gave adults a year to sue their alleged abusers, regardless of when incidents occurred - from model-and-actress Sheila Kennedy, who alleged he "targeted" her by using his fame and celebrity status to "manipulate, control and violently sexually assault" her at a New York hotel in 1989.
The 61-year-old rocker's lawyer branded the accusation "fictional" and questioned the timing of the legal action.
Attorney Alan S Gutman said in a statement: "Simply put, this incident never happened. Notably, these fictional claims were filed the day before the New York State filing deadline expires.
"Though he doesn’t deny the possibility of a fan photo taken in passing, Mr. Rose has no recollection of ever meeting or speaking to the Plaintiff, and has never heard about these fictional allegations prior to today. Mr. Rose is confident this case will be resolved in his favour."
The accuser - who had spoken about her alleged encounter with the 'Sweet Child O' Mine' rocker in her 2016 memoir - claimed in documents obtained by People magazine she was "not previously aware" of who Axl was when she met him a nightclub before leaving for his hotel suite with him and his entourage. She alleged the rocker, now 61, "pushed" her against a wall and "kissed her", but she didn't mind as she was open to sleeping with him.
However, as the night went on, the former Penthouse pin-up became "uncomfortable" when Axl encouraged group sex and she watched him have sex with another model.
She stated she left the singer's room and later heard him throwing glass and screaming at the other woman before entering the room she was in and allegedly “grabbed her by the hair and dragged her” back to his bedroom in a “very painful” manner that left her with bloody knees.
Sheila claimed Axl then threw her to the floor twice and tied her hands behind her back before sexually assaulting her.
The complaint stated: “He treated her like property used solely for his sexual pleasure.
"Kennedy did not consent and felt overpowered. She felt she had no escape or exit and was compelled to acquiesce. She believed Rose would physically attack her, or worse, if she said no or attempted to push him away. She understood that the safest thing to do was to lie in bed and wait for Rose to finish assaulting her.”
The complaint - which referenced other allegations previously made against the 'November Rain' hitmaker - claimed Sheila had been left with “lifelong emotional, physical, psychological and financial impacts” and hearing the singer's name or his music has given her symptoms similar to PTSD. She also claimed the alleged incident led directly to her being diagnosed with anxiety and depression and had a negative impact on her career as she avoided nightclubs and social situations where they may have crossed paths or she could have heard his songs.
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