New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has been accused of rape and domestic violence in a civil lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court late Thursday by a woman who said she dated him for almost five years, beginning when he was a freshman at Duke.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, is seeking an unspecified amount in damages from Williamson.
In the lawsuit, she alleges that Williamson repeatedly raped her, hit and kicked her and made her fear for her life in several instances, before the relationship ended in June 2023. She also alleged that Williamson falsely imprisoned and stalked her, threatened to kill her and that he had a pattern of “abusive, controlling, and threatening behavior.”
Williamson denied the allegations in a statement through his attorneys, Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, L.L.C.
“The allegations contained in the complaint are categorically false and reckless,” his attorneys said.
Williamson’s attorneys disputed the nature of the relationship, saying he and the woman never dated but maintained “a consensual, casual relationship.” They said they had “reported the plaintiff’s extortion attempts to law enforcement” and that Williamson “intends to file counterclaims and seek significant damages for this defamatory lawsuit.” Williamson’s attorneys did not respond to a request for more information on communication with law enforcement.
Sam Taylor, a lawyer for the woman, said there were “numerous misrepresentations” in the response from Williamson’s attorneys and denied that it was an extortion attempt. Williamson and the woman had previously engaged in a formal mediation before she filed the lawsuit, Taylor said, but their dispute was not resolved.
“We look forward to the day that our client can get this case to trial and let a jury decide who is credible and who is not credible,” Taylor said.
Williamson played at Duke for one season before becoming the No. 1 pick by the Pelicans in 2019. In her lawsuit, the woman said Williamson raped her in September 2020 after he moved to Beverly Hills, Calif. According to the complaint, Williamson’s agent picked her up at a hotel and drove her to his home. When he came home later that night, he said the woman could not go to sleep without having sex with him.
When she refused, according to the lawsuit, Williamson pinned her down on the bed and raped her. He did so again, she said, several weeks later, after she had considered leaving to go see a friend, and then took her phone and laptop away so she could not leave or get medical attention.
The woman said that Williamson repeatedly sexually and physically assaulted her through 2023. She also said that Williamson filmed her without her consent and, when she tried to break up with him, said he would disseminate the nude photos and videos of her.
Williamson, according to the lawsuit, also said he would threaten to have his security guard shoot the woman in the head, at a time when the security guard was with them and carrying a loaded gun. The lawsuit said that Williamson also threatened to have the security guard kill her parents and told her that he knew their home address.
The woman, according to the complaint, suffered “severe emotional distress, anxiety, depression, humiliation, loss of sleep, and other physical and emotional injuries” because of Williamson. She has sought counseling since their relationship ended two years ago, Taylor said.
“This is a major undertaking,” Taylor said. “She knew what he was going to say about her.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
