An Atlanta-based rapper is heading to trial next month in a case alleging he raped a woman and then wrote a song about it.
Court documents obtained by Channel 2 Action News show that rapper Metro Boomin, whose real name is Leland Wayne, and plaintiff Vanessa LeMaistre tried mediation, but were unsuccessful.
The federal court filing says that a trial is being scheduled for Sept. 23.
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LeMaistre filed the lawsuit in Oct. 2024 and accused Wayne of sexually assaulting her in 2016. He has denied those allegations.
According to the lawsuit, obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, LeMaistre alleges that Leland, who currently lives in Cartersville, gave her a Xanax and a shot of alcohol. She says she woke up in a Beverly Hills hotel to him raping her.
Several weeks later, according to the lawsuit, LeMaistre found out she was pregnant and had an abortion, saying the pregnancy was a result of the alleged incident.
A 2017 song that Wayne produced, “Rap Saved Me,” is cited in the suit with lyrics that LeMaistre said parallel the alleged incident.
The track includes the lyrics: “She took a Xanny, then she fainted/ I’m from the gutter, ain’t no changing/ From the gutter, rap saved me/ She drive me crazy, have my baby.”
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“These are false accusations,” Wayne’s attorney Lawrence C. Hinkle II told the AJC last year. “Mr. Wayne refused to pay her months ago, and he refuses to pay her now. Mr. Wayne will defend himself in court. He will file a claim for malicious prosecution once he prevails.”
The case moved to a federal court in December.
Michael J. Willemin, an attorney for LeMaistre, told the AJC via email on Tuesday that he looks forward to “holding Mr. Wayne accountable in front of a jury of his peers.”
“Mr. Wayne has failed to comply with basic discovery obligations and Court orders in an apparent effort to avoid accountability for his actions. Meanwhile, we and Ms. LeMaistre have pushed the case forward aggressively,” the email said.
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