Here we go. Another day, another civil trial. But this one is disturbing. Super producer Metro Boomin appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom on Tuesday, September 24, as a civil trial began over allegations that he sexually assaulted Vanessa LeMaistre in 2016.
Metro who’s real name is Leland Tyler Wayne maintains his innocence and this is not a criminal trial. Still the allegations are disturbing.
Wayne was present with his legal team and a bodyguard while jury selection and opening statements set the tone for a tense proceeding.
Get this, according to filings, LeMaistre says she confided in Metro about the loss of her nine month old son. She claims he gave her half of a Xanax pill along with alcohol, after which she blacked out. She testified that she later woke up to find herself being sexually assaulted.
LeMaistre told the court that she became pregnant afterward, chose to have an abortion, and believed Metro was the father.
Sheesh.
She further alleged that lyrics on his song “Rap Saved Me” referenced her experience. Metro has firmly denied all accusations.
Wow.
Opening arguments revealed the sharp divide between the two sides. Michael J. Willemin, representing LeMaistre, told jurors, “He knew that she was unable of consenting.” Metro’s attorney, Lawrence C. Hinkle II, painted the plaintiff as financially desperate and motivated by resentment, saying, “It wasn’t about sexual assault, it was about her wanting a relationship with him.” Hinkle also said Metro would testify and had “nothing to hide.”
On the stand, LeMaistre described the mixture of Xanax and alcohol as feeling like “anesthesia.” She said she woke up disoriented the following morning, looked through the hotel trash for a condom, and left feeling confused. She admitted she once believed assault only involved attacks from strangers, explaining, “I truly thought that rape was what you see on TV.”
She also testified that in 2024, during an ayahuasca experience, she connected the incident to long standing trauma. By the end of her testimony, she told the court it had “completely shattered” her sense of self worth.