Former model Sheila Kennedy has sued Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose for sexual assault over an alleged altercation that took place in 1989.
Kennedy, who modeled for Penthouse and was the 1983 Pet of the Year, claimed in her suit that she met Rose in a New York nightclub “in or around February 1989.” Rose allegedly invited Kennedy back to his hotel for a party with him and MTV’s Headbangers Ball host Riki Rachtman. Kennedy’s friend was not allowed to join, as Rose deemed her “not hot enough.”
While at the party, Kennedy said she saw multiple prescription pill bottles, “including lithium,” in Rose’s bathroom, and feared the frontman “could become dangerous” if he mixed these medications with alcohol and other drugs. When she exited the bathroom, she found Rose waiting for her outside the door.
Rose allegedly “pushed Kennedy against the wall and kissed her,” which she did not mind. Later, however, Rose allegedly began having sex with another model, which made Kennedy uncomfortable. “Rose was aggressive in a way that appeared painful for the model,” the suit says. Kennedy grew more uncomfortable and disturbed as Rose allegedly began encouraging group sex.
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At this point, Kennedy and Rachtman left Rose’s bedroom. Kennedy then heard the sound of glass shattering and Rose screaming at the other model, “You’re a fucking whore. Get the fuck out of here!” Rachtman then warned Kennedy, “It’s going to get bad.”
Rose stormed into Rachtman’s bedroom and, upon seeing Kennedy, asked, “What the fuck are you doing here?” The suit says that Rose then “dragged Kennedy to his bedroom like a caveman and acted with uncontrolled fury.” The singer then allegedly sexually assaulted Kennedy, “forcibly penetrating Kennedy’s anus with his penis” without a condom and without asking for consent.
Kennedy claims the alleged sexual assault has “had lifelong emotional, physical, psychological and financial impacts” on her life. She previously detailed the allegations in her 2016 autobiography No One’s Pet and in the 2021 documentary Look Away, which highlights sexual misconduct in the music industry.
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Kennedy’s lawsuit was made possible through New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which allowed alleged victims of sexual offenses for which the statute of limitations had expired a one-year period to file civil suits. The law went into effect on Nov. 24, 2022, and will end on Friday. During that time, several rock stars and music industry titans have been sued for sexual offenses, including Steven Tyler, former Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid, former Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow and late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun.
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Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening
