LOS ANGELES (CN) — A woman suing Soulja Boy took the stand on Monday for the third day in a row during the civil jury trial and gave more details about the abuse she claims the rapper inflicted on her while she was working as his live-in assistant.
Among other things, the woman — who is suing Soulja Boy for sexual assault under the alias “Jane Doe” and who has asked not to be named —said the rapper locked her in her room on more than five different occasions, for as little as eight hours and as long as two days, without giving her any food.
Known for his 2007 viral hit single “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” which spawned an internet dance craze, 34-year-old Soulja Boy — whose real name is DeAndre Way — has denied ever abusing the woman. He has said that he never hired her as an assistant and that they were in a romantic if perhaps tumultuous relationship.
The plaintiff testified last week that she worked for Way for nearly two years. In that time, their relationship went through some wild swings. At first, he wouldn’t let her leave his remote house on the outskirts of Malibu and beat her. He later raped her. Then, he went to jail for violating the terms of his probation, and upon his release, he became remorseful, even warm, and the two became romantic. They would send each other loving text messages; then, things would sour, according to the plaintiff, and the physical, sexual and emotional abuse returned.
“He would beat me and have sex with me even when I didn’t want to,” the woman testified on Monday.
She had different reasons for staying and going back to him with him, she said: She was afraid he would hurt her or her family; she felt sorry for him; she was embarrassed for having stayed with him for so long; she had nowhere else to go.
Much of her testimony has been accompanied by the text messages she sent at the time, screenshots of which have been shown in court. Once, she confided over text to a friend who asked why she remained in such an abusive relationship.
She explained: “I was in too deep n too embarrassed to let anyone know they was right about me doing favors for free n getting shitted on afterwards i was gone look goofy i told anybody how abusive he was n how bad he treated me.”
Throughout all these ups and downs, she said, she continued to work as Way’s assistant, making sure the bills were paid and managing the Twitch account he used to broadcast himself playing video games. Mostly, she was in charge of picking up fast food and marijuana. But even though she was supposed to have received $500 a week, she said, she was only ever paid for her first month of work.
Asked about the lasting impacts of the years of abuse, the plaintiff told the jury: “I feel dead inside. I don’t care to do anything or hang out with anyone.”
During cross-examination, Way’s attorney, Rickey Ivie of Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs, tried to highlight certain inconsistencies between the plaintiff’s earlier deposition and her latest testimony. Those attempts appeared not to have their desired effect, showing only minor discrepancies. Other attempts to discredit her came off as equally clumsy.
Last week, the plaintiff testified that the first time she was raped by Way was inside his bathroom during a police raid, as Way thought he was about to go to jail and wouldn’t be seeing another woman for some time. Ivie asked why, after the assault, the plaintiff hadn’t walked out of the bathroom and told the police the police about the “intercourse.”
“He had sex with me,” the plaintiff said. “I didn’t participate, voluntarily.” She added later: “You keep saying I had intercourse with him. I don’t think it should be called that.”
Cross-examination of the plaintiff is set to continue on Tuesday morning. The plaintiff’s attorneys have said they will call Way as a hostile witness later this week. The trial is expected to conclude next week.