Murder Inc. Records Co-Founder Irv Gotti Sued for Sexual Assault and Battery
Irving Domingo “Irv Gotti” Lorenzo Jr., June 2022 (Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
Irv Gotti the co-founder of Murder Inc. Records, is being sued for sexual assault and battery and the intentional infliction of emotional distress, the Miami New Times reports. A woman identified as Jane Doe filed the complaint in a Miami-Dade County, Florida, court on July 11. She is seeking a jury trial and “damages, including those for mental anguish.”
In the complaint, Doe says that she met Gotti, whose real name is Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr., in summer 2020. After meeting, the music executive and producer invited Doe on a vacation to Saint Martin, where, according to the lawsuit, “Gotti coerced Plaintiff [Jane Doe] into having sex with him.” Following the trip to the Caribbean island, Gotti and Doe allegedly entered into a two-year relationship. “During this abusive relationship, Gotti demanded that Plaintiff perform unwanted sexual acts and often berated and scolded her,” the complaint reads.
As a result of Gotti’s alleged abuse, Doe claims that she “has suffered severe emotional and psychological harm for which she had to be committed to a psychiatric ward.” She also says that she “now fears leaving her home” due to the alleged abuse and Gotti’s apparent “slandering [of] her to his vast social network in and around Los Angeles.”
Irv Gotti and his brother, Christopher Lorenzo, co-founded Murder Inc. Records in the late 1990s. The label was an imprint of Def Jam Recordings and released music by Ja Rule, Ashanti, Lloyd, and others. Gotti is also the founder of a company called Visionary Ideas, and Pitchfork has contacted an email associated with the company for comment on the lawsuit.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
https://www.rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)
Crisis Text Line
SMS: Text “HELLO” or “HOLA” to 741-741
Originally Appeared on Pitchfork