Axl Rose Settles Sexual Assault Suit Out of Court, Maintains His Innocence
Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose managed to settle his sexual assault suit privately, according to Rolling Stone. Despite the settlement, Rose maintains his innocence.
In a lawsuit filed a little over a year ago, former Penthouse Magazine model Sheila Kennedy accused Rose of violently attacking and sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan hotel room in 1989. During an afterparty, Kennedy alleges that she initially consented to kissing Rose, but as things progressed Rose got more aggressive, pushed her, dragged her by her hair across his luxury suite, and penetrated her without consent. As the lawsuit described it:
“Rose made no attempt to ask for or check that Kennedy was consenting. He treated her like property used solely for his sexual pleasure. He did not use a condom.”
Kennedy’s lawsuit also referenced the fact that Rose has gotten into trouble with allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct before, referencing claims made by his former partners Erin Everly and Stephanie Seymour that came out in a 1994 story in People magazine. Everly also sued Rose back in 1994 and also settled out of court.
Rose sought to have the case dismissed in March, arguing that, in Kennedy’s 2016 memoir No One’s Pet, she described the encounter as consensual, specifically saying:
“I was okay with this. I had wanted to be with him since the minute I’d first laid eyes on him, and now I was getting him.”
It also pointed out that Kennedy said in the 2021 documentary Look Away:
“It was okay. He was fine. … I did not consider it rape. It was consensual.”
According to Rolling Stone, both parties recently filed paperwork in the state of New York which discontinued the case with prejudice, which means that it can’t be reopened or refiled in the future, and they both agreed to cover their own legal costs. Despite the settlement, Rose said in a statement to Rolling Stone:
“As I have from the beginning, I deny the allegations. There was no assault.”
E. Danya Perry, Rose’s lawyer, also said in a statement:
“Mr. Rose has suffered greatly from this lawsuit, and I am pleased that he will now be able to move on with his life.”
Kennedy has yet to make a public comment about the settlement.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, resources are available for help. Visit the RAINN website (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) or dial 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673).
