Axl Rose from Guns N' Roses performing on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2023.Photo:Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty
Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty
Sheila Kennedy in Beverly Hills in April 2013.Vincent Sandoval/WireImage
Vincent Sandoval/WireImage
The documents allege that the formerPenthousemodel discovered she “could profit from claiming that the incident had not in fact been consensual” once the statute of limitations had re-opened.
“Kennedy cannot and will not succeed in this unscrupulous attempt at a financial windfall. This lawsuit will lay bare the falsity of these vexatious and meritless allegations,” the suit reads.
A rep for Rose has not commented.
Kennedy, now 61, filed the lawsuit on Nov. 22 for alleged sexual assault and battery in New York, claiming the singer “targeted” her using his fame and celebrity status to “manipulate, control and violently sexually assault” her.
The complaint claimed that the former model left the club with Rose and his entourage for his hotel suite, where he allegedly “pushed Kennedy against the wall and kissed her,” though she said she did not mind, as she was open to having sex with him.
As the night continued, Kennedy claimed Rose began encouraging group sex, and she became “uncomfortable” as she watched him have sex with another model. The complaint alleged that Kennedy left Rose’s bedroom and later heard him throwing glass and screaming obscenities at the model.
Once in Rose’s bedroom, Kennedy alleged that he threw her to the floor twice and tied her hands behind her back using pantyhose before “forcibly penetrating Kennedy’s anus with his penis” without asking for consent.
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Guns N' Roses in 1988.Ross Marino/Getty
Ross Marino/Getty
“He treated her like property used solely for his sexual pleasure,” the complaint claimed. “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.”
In the complaint, Kennedy said the alleged assault left “lifelong emotional, physical, psychological and financial impacts” on her life, and that she’s experienced symptoms akin to post-traumatic stress disorder hearing Rose’s name or Guns N’ Roses music. She also claimed the assault directly led to her being diagnosed with anxiety and depression, and that it had an adverse effect on her career, as she avoided nightclubs and social settings where he or his music might be.
The complaint also listed other instances of Rose’s alleged sexual abuse, including his arrest for alleged statutory rape (the criminal charges were later dropped), and a 1994 PEOPLE cover story that featured interviews with his former partners Erin Everly and Stephanie Seymour. Both women alleged that Rose abused them, and both filed suit against him, though each case was settled out of court.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.
source: people.com
