Former Arista executive Drew Dixon has filed a lawsuit against music producer L.A. Reid. She is accusing the former head of Arista of sexual assault and harassment during her time at the company in the early 2000s. The lawsuit alleges that Reid assaulted Dixon twice, and when she rejected his advances, he retaliated professionally. The suit, falling under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, references Reid’s “sexualizing and harassing” behavior, claiming it led to setbacks for Dixon. “Promotional and recording budgets were suddenly reduced dramatically or frozen altogether. Song demos and artist auditions were flatly rejected,” Dixon told The New York Times. Dixon also accused Def Jam cofounder Russell Simmons of rape in 2017, a claim he has denied.
