Photo of Damon Dash by David Shankbone (CC BY-SA 3.0)
A photographer has filed a $50 million lawsuit against producer Damon Dash, claiming that he sexually assaulted her.
In a filing that TheWrap has seen, Monique Bunn accused the co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records of assaulting him in his home in April of this year.
Allegedly, Dash hired Bunn, who is known for photographing rap stars, for a photo shoot related to a fashion company that he owns, which is called Poppington. After finishing the initial day of shooting, the two went to Dash’s home.
According to the complaint, “Upon arriving at the Dash residence, Bunn was informed that she was staying in Dash’s daughter’s room.” She insists that Dash later came to this room while she was sleeping and sexually assaulted her wearing nothing but a robe. She further insists that Dash was likely intoxicated at the time, as “Dash had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana all day.”
Bunn says that she fought off the assault and that, while she did not leave the house that night, she did not sleep, either.
In addition to the assault, Bunn is claiming that Dash threatened to make a docuseries about her life if she did not keep quiet about the assault and that Dash did not return some of her belongings, such as photographs that she had taken in the past of celebrities.
So far, neither Dash nor his representatives have issued a statement in response to the charges, but the same cannot be said of Bunn’s representatives.
Christopher Brown, who is Bunn’s lawyer, said, “Ms. Bunn looks forward to having a jury decide the litigation.”
Bunn also named Raquel Horn in the suit, who is Dash’s partner, as well as Poppington LLC and Damon Dash Studios.
Dash made news last month when he was arrested for failing to pay child support while in court to pay support for a different child.