Songwriter-producer The-Dream seeks dismissal of sexual assault lawsuit

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawyers for The-Dream, a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer, are seeking the dismissal of a woman’s lawsuit that accused him of sexual assault and other abuse.

The producer, whose legal name is Terius Gesteelde-Diamant, was a writer and producer on huge hits including Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” Justin Bieber’s “Baby” and Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” He has denied allegations of sexual assault, rape and other abuse made in a June lawsuit by singer Chanaaz Mangroe.

Gesteelde-Diamant’s lawyers want the suit to be thrown out entirely, writing in their motion filed Friday in a Los Angeles federal court that Mangroe’s lawyers are “using the judicial system to propagate a false and defamatory narrative about Diamant, a highly respected Black musician in the arts industry, for their own financial gain and to his extreme detriment.”

Mangroe, who performed under the stage name Channii Monroe, alleged in the June lawsuit that Gesteelde-Diamant lured her into “an abusive, violent, and manipulative relationship filled with physical assaults, violent sexual encounters, and horrific psychological manipulation” after she left her native Netherlands for the U.S. with hopes of making it big as a singer.

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The motion also aims to dismiss or, alternatively, strike the lawsuit’s rape claim, on technical grounds.

In a statement Friday, Desirée F. Moore, who is representing Gesteelde-Diamant and his company, argued the lawsuit is a “shotgun pleading,” which she says is grounds for dismissal because it doesn’t specify specific factual allegations against each defendant.

Meredith Firetog, one of the lawyers representing Mangroe, said in an email to The Associated Press Friday that the arguments made in the motion to dismiss are “wholly unpersuasive.”

“We look forward to opposing the motions” and proceeding with the case, Firetog said.

If the case isn’t dismissed, Gesteelde-Diamant’s lawyers want a judge to strike portions of the complaint they deemed “impermissibly immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous material.” They also want the company he co-owns, Contra Paris, LLC, dismissed because it primarily does business in Atlanta and is registered in Delaware.

The Associated Press doesn’t typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Mangroe has.