Metro Boomin’s sexual assault and battery trial has begun in a California court. The alleged victim, who claimed she was raped, says a session on Ayahuasca made her realize she should seek justice against the hit-making producer.
On Tuesday (Sept. 23), Metro appeared at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Los Angeles for the first day of his civil trial, where he is being accused of raping Vanessa LeMaistre in 2016. On day one of the trial, LeMaistre told the jury that she decided to sue Metro eight years after the alleged incident, following a therapy session in Peru where she was high on the psychedelic plant Ayahuasca.
“I recall being instructed from the medicine that this is the root of your issues for the past 10 years, this incident with the defendant,” Vanessa LeMaistre, who sued Metro last year, testified, according to legal affairs reporter Meghann Cuniff. “This is the root of continual trauma and pain and suffering, and that I needed to address this, seek justice and contact lawyers.”
LeMaistre claims Metro had sex with her in a Las Vegas hotel room when she was unconscious after giving her a half a Xanax pill and a shot of liquor. She told the jury that she could not have consented.
“I didn’t know consent means when someone says no or they’re not able to consent, that that still is rape,” she said.
Metro’s attorney, Lawrence Hinkle, called the lawsuit a money grab.
“We are here because she thought my client could solve her financial problems,” Hinkle said. “And so she made a claim that he sexually assaulted her, expecting that he would just write a check to make it all go away quickly and quietly.”
Hinkle plans to have UCLA’s psychology chief, April Thames, testify that LeMaistre “meets the criteria for borderline personality disorder with psychotic features, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.”
“She will testify that there is no credible evidence to indicate that the alleged assault has contributed to LeMaistre’s current psychological functioning,” Hinkle said.
Metro will testify as well. The trial is expected to end on Friday (Sept. 26).