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Model and actor Jenn An is one of the women accusing Kanye West of sexual assault.
In a new interview, she emotionally details the traumatic incident — when she signed up to be a model, not a victim.
Kanye has blamed his antisemitism and pro-Hitler stances on a 2002 brain injury.
For this, however, it looks like his team isn’t disputing the facts — but insist that the lawsuit should be thrown out anyway.
Content warning: this article contains a description of sexual assault
Jenn An has given an emotional interview with a BBC reporter, detailing her allegations.
In 2010, the model — also known for her role on America’s Next Top Model — auditioned for a role in a music video.
The project was a collaboration between Ye and La Roux.
After hours of shooting with other models, Kanye arrived and unilaterally selected three of the models.
One of them was Jenn. However, Ye soon ordered the other two women out of the room, she described.
A tearful Jenn described Ye choking her with both of his hands.
She said that he also smeared her makeup over her face and stuffed his fingers as far down her throat as possible.
Jenn recalled feeling “so suffocated” in these moments and understandably “scared.”
When she and the other models were being photographed before, it felt like there was collaboration on the set.
When Ye arrived, on the other hand, it felt like he was calling all of the shots — and allegedly felt that he could do whatever he wanted.
Even years later, it’s difficult for her to discuss
Jenn even had alleged text messages, dating back to the immediate aftermath of the 2010 incident.
In them, she described her horror and fear when it was still fresh in her mind.
She also said that Kanye had asked her if she felt like he had set women back by years.
Notably, there are of course professions and jobs where actors and models may feel uncomfortable or frightened.
In these scenarios, making sure that everyone gives informed consent, has necessary safety training, and is under the supervision of an intimacy coordinator is key.
TMZ spoke to a representative for Ye.
Interestingly, Kanye’s team doesn’t seem to be disputing the facts of the case. At least, not as their main argument.
Instead, the rep said that whatever happened was “intended as an artistic expression for a music video.”
This apparently means that, in their eyes, it does not count as gender-motivated violence or as sexual assault.
That sounds like a pretty chilling argument. Will it fly in court?