L.A. Reid Settles Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Music executive Antonio Reid, known as L.A. Reid in the industry, settled a sexual assault case the same day the trial was going to begin, the New York Times reports. Drew Dixon, a former executive and colleague of Reid’s at Arista Records, sued Reid in 2023 for sexually assaulting her and derailing her career. She accused Reid of “groping, kissing and digitally penetrating her without her consent” in the early 2000s; she left Arista Records in 2002 after he allegedly retaliated against her and wouldn’t let her work with upcoming artists like Kanye West and John Legend; the latter was going to be one of the witnesses for the trial on behalf of Dixon. “I hope my work as an advocate for the Adult Survivors Act helps to bring us closer to a safer music business for everyone,” Dixon said in a statement to the Times. “In a world where good news is often hard to find, I hope for survivors that today is a ray of light peeking through the clouds.” Reid’s lawyer Imran H. Ansari shared a statement as well, writing, “Mr. Reid has amicably resolved this matter with Ms. Dixon without any admission of liability.”

Outside of the Reid trial, Dixon was one of several women who accused Russell Simmons of rape in 2017 and was featured in the documentary, On The Record, that chronicled her journey going public with Reid and Simmons’s sexual assault allegations.