According to Aug. 16 court filings, artist and producer The-Dream (born Terius Adamu Ya Gesteelde-Diamant) has filed a motion to dismiss the standing lawsuit against him. The suit accuses him of several violent acts, including rape, sexual assault, and trafficking, but The-Dream’s filing claims that the complaint is untrue and “weaponizes destructive racial stereotypes against [him].”
The lawsuit was filed
in June by his former protégé, singer and songwriter Chanaaz Mangroe. In new documents obtained by People, the 46-year-old producer has moved to attempt to get the complaint dismissed altogether.Desirée F. Moore, The-Dream’s attorney, said that Mangroe’s allegations “must be dismissed in its entirety for failing to attribute specific factual allegations to each defendant.”
Not only does Moore argue that the accusations are baseless, but she also states that the California-filed complaint leverages harmful stereotypes about the “I Luv Your Girl” singer’s race.
“Before the complaint raises a single relevant allegation, Plaintiff dedicates
several pages to irrelevant gossip designed to harm Diamant’s children and impugn his marital history; unsubstantiated allegations of past violence (none of which resulted in any proceedings or findings against Diamant); false depictions of an absent father; and racist insinuations that Diamant is affiliated with a street gang.”The Dream’s legal team alleged that Mangroe actually pursued The-Dream by “unilaterally soliciting sex (and other favors), including in writing,” following the conclusion of their relationship. Moore claimed in the filing that The-Dream was the one who refused Mangroe at this time.
The court documents additionally stated, “Plaintiff’s complaint contains dozens of allegations that are utterly irrelevant to her sexual battery and sex trafficking claims and are, instead, designed solely to smear Diamant’s name and reputation.”
Moore explained in a statement, “Absent any facts alleging plaintiff’s involvement in a ‘commercial sex act,’ her cause of action for sex trafficking against Diamant must be dismissed.”
As previously reported, Mangroe sued The-Dream on June 4 and logged allegations against him that claimed he preyed on her through a binding recording contract. The lawsuit claims that in 2015 The-Dream held the “vulnerable artist into an abusive, violent and manipulative relationship.”
Mangroe described her experience as being “nothing short of a prolonged nightmare.”