Rapper N.O.R.E. has denied allegations of sexual assault brought by Carmen Bryan in a civil lawsuit filed this week. Bryan, a prominent figure in New York hip-hop circles during the 1990s, claims the artist assaulted her at a Manhattan nightclub in 1999 while intoxicated. According to her complaint, the incident involved non-consensual contact that only ended when bystanders intervened.
Through his attorney Leonard Lesser, N.O.R.E., whose real name is Victor Santiago, characterized Bryan’s accusations as fabricated. The defense team pointed out that Bryan never mentioned Santiago or any similar incident in her 2006 memoir, which detailed her experiences with other prominent figures in hip-hop. The attorney stated they plan to vigorously contest the lawsuit and challenge what they describe as false claims.
Bryan filed the suit under New York City’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act and is seeking compensatory damages along with additional damages for emotional distress. In her complaint, she attributed her decades of silence to pervasive sexism within hip-hop culture and indicated she had privately disclosed the alleged assault to confidant Jay-Z years ago.
Originally reported by Rollingstone →
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