Metro Boomin is headed to trial this fall after settlement talks collapsed in a civil rape case that has shadowed the hitmaker for over a year. The Los Angeles federal case, brought by Vanessa LeMaistre, is set to begin September 23, following an unsuccessful mediation session with a retired judge last month.
LeMaistre’s lawsuit, filed in 2024, alleges the Grammy-winning producer — born Leland Wayne — assaulted and impregnated her in 2016. She says the two met in Las Vegas that spring, where she shared the recent loss of her nine-month-old son. According to her account, they bonded over music as a form of emotional healing.
Months later, in September 2016, LeMaistre claims Metro invited her to his California recording studio. There, she says, she consumed a shot of alcohol and half a Xanax before losing consciousness.
When she awoke, she alleges she was in another room, paralyzed and unable to speak, as Metro raped her. She says she became pregnant from the assault and terminated the pregnancy that November.
Her complaint also ties the alleged incident to “Rap Saved Me,” a track Metro produced for the 2017 Without Warning project featuring Offset, 21 Savage, and Quavo. The song’s chorus — “She took a Xanny, then she fainted…
She drive me crazy, have my baby” — is cited in court filings as a lyrical nod to the assault. Metro, who did not pen or perform the verse, denies any connection and rejects all allegations.
His legal team insists the encounter was consensual, portraying LeMaistre’s claims as a fabrication that surfaced years later after she used ayahuasca. Attorney Lawrence Hinkle has described the suit as “a pure shakedown,” claiming Metro refused to pay what he calls extortion demands. In filings, the defense accuses her of orchestrating a scheme to obtain millions through litigation.
LeMaistre’s attorney, Michael Willemin, disputes that narrative, accusing Metro’s camp of stalling discovery and vowing to present a full case to the jury.
With no settlement on the table, the trial will pit one of hip-hop’s most sought-after producers against allegations that could alter his career trajectory. The proceedings are expected to be combative, drawing scrutiny from both the industry and the public.
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