Jury finds Soulja Boy liable to tune of $4.25 million in sexual assault civil trial

LOS ANGELES (CN) — A jury on Thursday slapped rapper Soulja Boy with a $4.25 million verdict on civil claims of sexual assault brought by a woman he used to live with.

Soulja Boy, whose real name is DeAndre Way, smiled calmly as the verdict was being read, giving little in the way of reaction to being found liable for a range of civil claims including sexual battery, assault and gender violence.

The verdict included just over $4 million in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages. The plaintiff had asked for another $4 million in punitives.

The plaintiff, who has asked to remain nameless throughout the trial, expressed a level of muted satisfaction about the verdict.

“It’s gonna help,” she said. “Now I can get medical attention and seek therapy. But none of that is going to give me my life back.

“I got some justice. I’m happy that this is all over now.”

Her attorney, Neama Rahmani agreed. “Today is just the beginning of justice for Soulja Boy’s victims,” said Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers. Rahmani said his client felt vindicated by the verdict, “because he called her a liar. He said she was never an employee — nothing more than a disgruntled, jealous, lying ex. And I think the jury rejected that argument.”

According to Rahmani, Way made an offer to settle the case right before the trial began for $100,000.

Way said he was “deeply disappointed" with the verdict, which he said was “not based on facts or substantial evidence.”

“I want to make it clear that I’m innocent,” said Way, reading from a statement on his smartphone outside the courthouse. “I am committed to filing an appeal and fighting for the truth to be revealed.”

He also objected to the plaintiff being allowed to remain anonymous throughout the trial.

“Keeping these individuals anonymous while I’m forced to face public scrutiny creates an unequal playing field,” he said. “I believe this entire process has been tainted by a system that is not designed to protect the rights of the accused.”

The plaintiff said that she worked as Soulja Boy’s assistant for nearly two years, during which time he regularly raped and beat her, at times keeping her as a prisoner. At one point, she said, the two fell in love and were in something like a consensual relationship. But it was a tumultuous one that frequently veered into physical, sexual and emotional abuse, she testified.

The 34-year-old rapper, best known for his 2007 viral hit single “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” denied raping or beating the plaintiff, calling some of the accusations “disgusting.” He also said that he never even even formally employed the plaintiff, insisting that she stayed at his house frequently and rolled blunts, but nothing more.

“She was rolling blunts,” Way’s attorney, Rickey Ivie of Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs told the jury during his closing statement. “She got room and board. That’s the industry standard.”

When called to testify by the plaintiff as a hostile witness, Way admitted he had called her his assistant at least once, at a Louis Vuitton store.

The jury also found the rapper liable on the claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual harassment and nonpayment of wages. Jurors cleared him on claims of false imprisonment and constructive discharge.

The plaintiff testified for the better part of three days, and gave a harrowing account of her time spent with Way.

“I wanted to die,” the woman testified, sobbing. “I just wanted to go home.”

When she first met Way, she said, she weighed about 150 pounds. By the time she finally broke free from him, she said, she was down to about 86.

“I didn’t even feel human anymore,” she said. “I felt like an animal.”

She had, at different times throughout their turbulent time together, different reasons for staying, and different reasons for coming back to him, which she did on numerous occasions. He threatened to hurt her or her family, threats that were backed up by a Draco pistol he would frequently carry around the house and menace her with, she said. He also recorded a video of her performing oral sex on him, she said, and he threatened to post it online. At other times, she said she felt sorry for him — he was often stoned and malnourished. As time wore on, she felt more and more ashamed for having stayed. At a certain point, she felt she had nowhere else to go.

“It wasn’t a simple case of abusive husband and passive wife,” said one of the jurors after the verdict was read. “It was a real relationship. It was unmistakable to us that he beat the crap out of her. But she stuck around.”

Another juror said that all 12 of them felt that her testimony was mostly convincing, as were the photographs of her bruises. As to Way, she said, “We think he might have been lying about certain things.”

The plaintiff’s testimony was buttressed by a long chain of text messages between her and Way, screenshots of which were shown to the jury. The messages showed that she was tasked with making travel arrangements, styling Way’s hair and most of all, keeping Way supplied with a steady diet of fast food and marijuana. The texts also showed how Way would speak to her, in the cruelest of ways.

“Why the Fuk is u not answering the phone,” Way texted her in March 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic was setting in. “All I’m Tryna tell u grab Mc Donalds.”

A month later he texted: “Fuk u bitch. I hope u die slow.”

The text chain showed both sides of the relationship. At times, both expressed a deep love for one another. And both could be contrite, apologizing profusely and begging for forgiveness.

“Babe come back let’s talk seriously," Way texted during a conciliatory phase. “Are u ok… I’m sorry I love u please call.”

But the texts also seemed to confirm the woman’s account of physical abuse.

“You think you can keep hitting on me you are crazy,” the woman texted Way.

After the verdict, Way took the stand again during the second phase of the trial to determine punitive damages, held Thursday afternoon. Much of the questioning focused on his current finances.

“As far as $4 million just to pull out and pay, I don’t have that,” Way told an increasingly restless jury.

He detailed among his expenses two children, ages two and one, and $25,000 in monthly rent, which he said he was recently late on. He said that his income has been plummeting as of late, in large measure because of the accusations leveled against him.

“I was just offered a big performance slot at Coachella,” Way said. “But that was canceled due to the accusations.”

Addressing Way’s ability to pay the large judgment against him, Rahmani said, “We’re going to be going after Way and his assets, whether he’s on tour, whether he’s doing TikTok live, he’s going to have to pay a significant sum of money."

This is not the only time Way has been sued by a woman for assault. In 2021, a jury ordered Way to pay $471,800 to an ex-girlfriend named Kayla Myers, who accused Way of domestic violence and kidnapping. He did not appeal that verdict.

He’s also being sued by Nia Riley, an ex-girlfriend who appeared with Way on the reality show “Love & Hip Hop” claiming assault and sexual battery. The case remains pending with no trial date set.

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