A judge has ordered Soulja Boy to pay his former assistant $4 million after he was found liable by a California jury in a lawsuit that was filed in 2021, PEOPLE reports. The plaintiff alleged that Soulja Boy held her against her will after sexually assaulting her.
On Thursday (April 10), Soulja Boy’s accuser, who is identified only as Jane Doe, “was awarded just over $4 million in compensatory damages.” Punitive damages will be determined in a second trial.
Ron Zambrano, Doe’s attorney, praised the results of the ruling in favor of his client.
“We’re happy our client was vindicated and the jury believed her claims of physical and sexual assault,” Ron Zambrano said in a statement on Thursday. “We’re looking forward to moving on to the punitive damages phase of the case.”
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Soulja Boy expressed his dismay at the judge’s ruling.
“The district attorney never filed charges. I was never charged or convicted of this, criminally,” Soulja Boy said. “So, to be accused of this civilly is beyond me. I’ve never done any of the things they’re accusing me of. I just feel like this is very unfair.”
In January 2021, Jane Doe accused Soulja of several allegations when she worked as his personal assistant beginning in 2018.
Her complaint accused the rapper of “locking her in her room without hot water for three days,” and of sexually assaulting her “on numerous occasions.
During closing arguments this week, Zambrano laid out his case of alleged abuse telling the jury: “He raped her. He punched her. He kicked her. He cut her. He pointed a Draco gun at her. He locked her in her room … He told her, ‘I hope you die slow.’” According to Courthouse News, Zambrano argued that $73.6 million was justifiable given the level of trauma his client endured.
“If you don’t believe my client, don’t give her a dollar,” he said. “But if you do believe her, give her everything.”
This ruling follows a 2023 civil judgment that ordered Soulja Boy to pay $472,000. The case involved separate assault and kidnapping allegations from the current abuse allegations.
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