Axl Rose has responded to a lawsuit launched against him earlier this week by a former model named Sheila Kennedy, who accused the Guns N’ Roses frontman of sexually assaulting her in 1989. The suit, which was filed in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday, alleges that Rose had forcible anal sex with Kennedy without her consent in a New York City hotel room after she met the rock singer in a club and he invited her back to where he was staying.
Videos by American Songwriter
Through a lawyer, Rose strongly denies Kennedy’s allegations, claiming they were completely made up.
“Simply put, this incident never happened,” attorney Alan Gutman said in a statement shared with multiple news outlets, including Billboard and the Associated Press. “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 again fictional allegations prior to today.”
Gutman also maintained, “Notably, these fictional claims were filed the day before the New York State filing deadline expires.”
As mentioned in a Rolling Stone article that shared details of the lawsuit on Wednesday, Kennedy’s lawsuit was initiated under the umbrella of the Adult Survivors Act—a New York law that waived the statute of limitations on civil suits involving sexual misconduct, and that expired on midnight on Thursday, November 23.
According to the lawsuit, which was posted in its entirety at Billboard.com, Kennedy, who was the 1983 Penthouse Pet of the Year, met Rose at a New York City nightclub in 1989 and was invited her back to his hotel room for a party. She said she and another model went to the hotel with Rose and future MTV VJ Riki Rachtman.
The suit claims that Kennedy initially was receptive to Rose’s advances when he “pushed [her] against the wall and kissed her” while in the hotel suite, but later in the evening, Rose began having sex with the other model in front of Kennedy and Rachtman in an aggressive way “that appeared painful for the model.” Rose then allegedly tried to encourage Kennedy to take part in group sex, which she didn’t want to do, so she decided leave and go with Rachtman back to his room.
The suit claims that while she talking with Rachtman in his room, she heard glass shatter and Rose begin shouting and cursing at the other model, telling her to leave his room.
The lawsuit alleges that Rose then came into Rachtman’s room, and became enraged when he saw Kennedy there, and that he then knocked her to the floor and dragged her by the hair back to his room and into his bedroom. The suit claims that Rose then threw her on his bed, tied her hands behind her back with her pantyhose and, while not wearing a condom, had forcible anal sex with her.
According to the lawsuit, “Rose’s sexual abuse of Kennedy had lifelong emotional, physical, psychological, and financial impacts on Kennedy’s life.” The suit seeks unspecified damages, and charges Rose with assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and gender-motivated violence.
Billboard points out that Kennedy’s lawsuit is one of a series legal actions alleging sexual misconduct that were filed by various plaintiffs against men in the entertainment industry in the weeks leading up to the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act.
(Featured Image by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Stagecoach)
