“Beneath the guise of pursuing a respectable recording and publishing contract with Ms. Mangroe, Dream lured the younger and susceptible artist into an abusive, violent, and manipulative relationship stuffed with bodily assaults, violent sexual encounters, and horrific psychological manipulation,” the criticism states.
The lawsuit makes Gesteelde-Diamant the most recent musician to face critical accusations of abuse that probably implicate others within the music business. Much like latest accusations made in opposition to Sean “Diddy” Combs, Mangroe alleges that others in Gesteelde-Diamant’s orbit witnessed or aided within the abuse, which the swimsuit claims lasted for greater than a 12 months.
An eight-time Grammy winner, Gesteelde-Diamant has labored on a number of the largest hits of the previous 20 years, together with Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” Justin Bieber’s “Child” and Beyoncé’s “Single Women.” Shortly earlier than assembly Mangroe in 2015, he served as government vp of A&R at Def Jam Recordings.
Gesteelde-Diamant has confronted authorized bother earlier than. He was arrested in 2014 on prices of felony assault, strangulation, reckless endangerment and youngster endangerment. These prices, which stemmed from allegations that he beat his girlfriend, who was eight months pregnant on the time, had been dropped the next 12 months attributable to an absence of proof. He was arrested again the next year on prices of felony assault, strangulation, reckless endangerment and youngster endangerment. These prices had been dropped the next 12 months due to an absence of proof.
In an announcement shared with the New York Instances, Gesteelde-Diamant denied the allegations.
“These claims are unfaithful and defamatory,” he stated. “I oppose all types of harassment and have at all times strived to assist individuals notice their profession targets. As somebody dedicated to creating a constructive affect on my fellow artists and the world at massive, I’m deeply offended and saddened by these accusations.”
In keeping with the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court docket in Los Angeles, Gesteelde-Diamant exerted management over practically each facet of Mangroe’s life and profession between 2015 and 2016, manipulating her with guarantees of fame and successful album. On the time, Mangroe, who’s from the Netherlands, was 23 and dwelling in the US on an O-1B visa, given to foreigners with “extraordinary potential within the arts.”
Mangroe met Gesteelde-Diamant by means of considered one of his associates, who reached out to her on social media, the criticism says. In early 2015, Gesteelde-Diamant flew Mangroe to Atlanta, the place he was working on the time, to report along with her.
“Dream informed her that he would make the subsequent Beyoncé and Rihanna,” the lawsuit states. Gesteelde-Diamant claimed that he knew that Beyoncé was pregnant earlier than her husband did and that Rihanna had disclosed to him when she misplaced her virginity, the lawsuit says. Representatives for Beyoncé and Rihanna didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Satisfied that he would launch her profession, Mangroe was “prepared to take any and all path from him,” the criticism provides.
In return, Gesteelde-Diamant demanded gratitude and full compliance, the courtroom papers say.
The lawsuit claims that Gesteelde-Diamant shortly assumed management over many facets of Mangroe’s life: He put her up in a Residence Inn in Atlanta and saved a replica of her lodge key so he may come and go as he happy, the criticism states. She was required to examine in with him day by day and was anticipated to remain in her room except she was on the recording studio or on the health club, in response to the lawsuit. He additionally started to control her social media accounts, the lawsuit alleges.
Throughout this time, Gesteelde-Diamant turned more and more violent along with her, in response to the lawsuit. Earlier than recording periods, he would allegedly ply her with marijuana and alcohol and aggressively pressured her to have intercourse with him, telling her that it was a part of “the method.” He allegedly refused to put on safety throughout their sexual encounters. As soon as, the criticism states, after a “stroll by means of” of her lodge room, he demanded she throw away her contraception tablets; he allegedly took it as a “signal of disrespect to stop a being pregnant by him.”
In keeping with the lawsuit, over the course of a number of months, Gesteelde-Diamant grew more and more short-tempered and would repeatedly drive Mangroe to have intercourse every time he demanded, at one level recording an encounter. “Dream would later repeatedly use the recording to threaten Ms. Mangroe that he may share it with anybody he needed,” the swimsuit claims.
Mangroe alleges a number of violent sexual encounters, together with one by which he allegedly pressured her to have intercourse with him at a movie show. In keeping with the courtroom submitting, he allegedly raped and strangled her in a van outdoors of a recording studio.
When Mangroe requested to maneuver lodges due to bedbugs in her room, Gesteelde-Diamant blew up at her: allegedly blaming her for delays on Beyoncé’s subsequent album, demanding she apologize and strangling her, the criticism says.
Regardless of guarantees to advance her profession — together with an alleged alternative to open for Beyoncé on tour — Mangroe stated she was saved at midnight about the way forward for her album, as Gesteelde-Diamant maintained “full management” over communications relating to her contracts, in response to the lawsuit. When Mangroe started disclosing her abuse to Gesteelde-Diamant’s associates, she was informed that it was a “private” concern and that she needed to work it out with Gesteelde-Diamant.
The lawsuit claims that one particular person informed her: “Even in the event you see and realize it’s chocolate, if Dream tells you it’s vanilla, it’s vanilla.”
Gesteelde-Diamant allegedly turned vindictive in August 2015, after Mangroe tried to distance herself from the producer. She alleges that he refused to show over the music they made collectively and successfully derailed her profession.
Mangroe is being represented by Douglas Wigdor and Meredith Firetog, who introduced R&B singer Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit in opposition to Combs in November. The lawsuit was settled the subsequent day, and it was the primary of six lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual assault. Mangroe’s lawsuit was filed below California’s Sexual Abuse and Cowl-Up Accountability Act, which extends the statute of limitations for sexual assault circumstances.
“That is yet one more horrific instance of how males within the music business use their energy and affect to govern and hurt others,” her attorneys stated.
In an announcement, Mangroe stated: “What Dream did to me made it not possible to reside the life I envisioned for myself and pursue my targets as a singer and songwriter.”
“Finally,” Mangroe added, “my silence has grow to be too painful, and I spotted that I want to inform my story to heal. I hope that doing so may also assist others and forestall future horrific abuse.”
