by: Christine Samra Posted: Jun 4, 2024 / 02:01 PM PDT Updated: Jun 4, 2024 / 02:13 PM PDT Prolific songwriter and producer The-Dream has been accused of rape, sexual battery and sex trafficking in a lawsuit by a former mentee. The lawsuit was filed in a California federal court on Tuesday by Chanaaz Mangroe who went by the stage name Channii Monroe. In documents obtained by The New York Times , The-Dream, whose real name is Terius Gesteelde-Diamant, is accused of promising Mangroe a prominent career but instead luring her into an “abusive, violent and manipulative relationship filled with physical assaults, violent sexual encounters, and horrific psychological manipulation” around 2015.
Gesteelde-Diamant is an eight-time Grammy winner known for hits like Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” Justin Bieber’s “Baby” and Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” He recently collaborated heavily with Beyoncé on her 2022 album “Renaissance,” which earned him three of those Grammy wins. From the Netherlands, Mangroe arrived in the United States in 2014 under a working visa.
In 2015, she met the songwriter/producer who “told her that he would make her the next Beyoncé and Rihanna.” She claimed Gesteelde-Diamant also promised to extend her visa. Court documents state Gesteelde-Diamant strangled Mangroe, forced her into sex, and even recorded her during the act.
The lawsuit claims he “used the existence of the recording to threaten (her) into silence.” Man.
