On Tuesday, Terius Gesteelde-Diamant—better known as The-Dream—was sued by a former protégée who accused the songwriter of rape and sexual battery. Chanaaz Mangroe, who performed under the moniker Channii Monroe, said the abuse occurred in 2015.
According to The New York Times, Mangroe stated in the lawsuit that Gesteelde-Diamant forced her to have sex on multiple occasions, strangled her and recording the two having sexual relations and threatened to share the video with other people.
The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, also accused Gesteelde-Diamant of sex trafficking. Mangroe’s suit cites the Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, which is a California law that allows people to bring alleged sexual assault cases even if the statute of limitations caused them to expire.
In a statement, Mangroe explained: “What Dream did to me made it impossible to live the life I envisioned for myself and pursue my goals as a singer and songwriter. Ultimately, my silence has become too painful, and I realized that I need to tell my story to heal. I hope that doing so will also help others and prevent future horrific abuse.”
Through a representative, Gesteelde-Diamant vehemently denied the claims. “These claims are untrue and defamatory. I oppose all forms of harassment and have always strived to help people realize their career goals,” he stated.
“As someone committed to making a positive impact on my fellow artists and the world at large, I am deeply offended and saddened by these accusations.” The suit states that Mangroe turned to an Epic executive for help with the alleged abuse but was told “she needed to figure out a way to work with Dream again.”
She was dropped from the label in July 2016 and Epic is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The-Dream, who is an eight-time Grammy winner, has worked with Rihanna, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Ciara and a slew of other artists.
Mangroe is being represented by Douglas H. Wigdor and Meredith A. Firetog, who also represented Casandra “Cassie” Ventura in her November 2023 sexual assault and abuse lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs.