Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx, and Axl Rose, the frontman of the rock band Guns N’ Roses, were both accused of sexual assault on Wednesday, as part of a wave of lawsuits filed in New York before a statute of limitations deadline.
Sheila Kennedy, an actress and model, claims that Axl Rose “sexually assaulted her” in 1989 and that she “did not consent and felt overpowered” in the complaint.
The alleged victim in the Foxx case, Jane Doe, stated that Foxx “intentionally and without consent used force to offensively touch” her by touching her breasts and genitals at a Manhattan rooftop club in 2015.
Both filings state that they are being made under the New York Adult Survivors Act, a provision that allows for sexual assault lawsuits in incidents that would otherwise be too far in the past to pursue.
The 61-year-old lead singer of the hard rock band, known for songs such as “Appetite for Destruction,” has yet to publicly react.
He had visited the Formula One Grand Prix in Las Vegas the weekend before the case was filed in a New York court. The claimed encounter occurred in a New York hotel room after the couple met in a nightclub.
Rose, whose full name is William Bruce Rose, faces a jury trial in the civil case, and the jury is expected to give Kennedy “punitive damages.”
Axl Rose is accused of forcing anal sex on Kennedy in the complaint. Kennedy’s attorneys claim she “believed Rose would physically attack her, or worse, if she said no or attempted to push him away.”
“Axl Rose used his fame, status, and power as a celebrity and performer in the music industry to gain access to manipulate, control, and violently assault Kennedy,” the complaint claims. The band Guns N’ Roses is well known for classics like “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”
In the Foxx case, his accuser claims the Oscar winner, now 55, grabbed her “arm and pulled her to the back area of the rooftop” after meeting her at the bar.
When he arrived, he allegedly groped the plaintiff until a friend came seeking her. She also calls for Foxx, whose real name is Eric Marlon Bishop, to face a jury trial that could award punitive damages.
The suit says the plaintiff “will permanently be affected by the injuries and emotional distress she incurred as a result of the sexual assault, abuse, assault, and battery.”
Foxx, a comedian and Grammy-winning vocalist, earned an Academy Award in 2005 for the Ray Charles musical biography “Ray.” He was nominated for an Academy Award for “Collateral” the same year.
