Subscribe
Follow Us
New Orleans Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson has been named the defendant in a lawsuit filed against him in Los Angeles on Thursday. This lawsuit, which was submitted to Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Williamson raped, kidnapped, and terrorized the plaintiff, who is one of his exes, on multiple occasions throughout their yearslong relationship, according to TMZ.
The court documents obtained by TMZ filed by a Jane Doe state that she began dating Williamson in 2018 while he was still playing at Duke. In the lawsuit, she claims Williamson raped and assaulted her in Southern California on September 23, 2020, at the NBA star's Beverly Hills home.
Per the lawsuit, the accuser states Williamson's agent brought her to his home in Beverly Hills, however, he did not arrive home until the evening. When he returned home, she informed the defendant she was tired and wanted to go to sleep.
She then accused Williamson of calling her “stuck up” and a “b***h” and told her she could not go to sleep until engaging in sexual acts with him. The lawsuit goes on to claim Williamson pinned the accuser down on the bed with her hands behind her back and raped her.
On October 10, 2020, Doe accuses Williamson raped her again after finding out she was leaving to visit friends in San Diego. The documents obtained by TMZ accuse Williamson of then grabbing her phone and laptop following the alleged sexual assault, preventing her from getting medical care.
“These two incidents were not isolated,” the lawsuit states. It also claims Williamson “continued to abuse, rape, assault, and batter Plaintiff in California and other states, including Louisiana and Texas, until the relationship ended in 2023.”
Further in the lawsuit, the plaintiff claims Williamson threatened to have his security guard shoot her in the head “multiple times.” It even goes as far as to claim Williamson pointed a loaded firearm at the woman's head during a 2022 incident in Louisiana.
“We don't want to litigate this case in the media,” Doe's attorney, Sam E. Taylor of The Lanier Law Firm, told TMZ. “But I will say this is a very serious case as reflected in the pleadings that have been filed and our client looks forward to her day in court to seek justice in this matter.”
Williamson's legal team has since responded to the allegations, claiming that they are taking this lawsuit with the “utmost seriousness” and “unequivocally” deny them.
Article Continues Below
“This is the plaintiff's third set of attorneys,” Williamson's legal team said in a statement, via Will Guillory of The Athletic. “This appears to be an attempt to exploit a professional athlete driven by a financial motive rather than any legitimate grievance.”
In this statement, Williamson's representation claims that the Pelicans forward and the plaintiff never dated but did maintain a consensual, casual relationship that began when he was 18 years old.
Williamson has reported the plaintiff's extortion attempts to law enforcement in the past, and his legal team plans to file counterclaims and seek significant damages for what they are labeling as a “defamatory” lawsuit.
“We are confident that the legal process will expose the truth and fully vindicate Mr. Williamson.”
The Pelicans and NBA have yet to say anything about Williamson and the lawsuit.
The 24-year-old NBA All-Star recently finished his fifth season in the league and has been a hot topic of trade discussion for the Pelicans. He is under contract with the Pelicans through the 2027-28 season and is set to make $39.4 million next season.
