Los Angeles jury clears Metro Boomin of civil sexual assault claims

A Los Angeles federal jury on Thursday found music producer Metro Boomin, legally Leland T. Wayne, not liable on all four claims in a civil sexual assault lawsuit brought by Vanessa LeMaistre, ending a nearly yearlong legal dispute. The eight-person panel deliberated for about an hour before unanimously concluding that LeMaistre had not met the burden of proof on allegations stemming from an encounter she says occurred in 2016.

LeMaistre filed the suit in October 2024, alleging that she was given alcohol and Xanax at a recording session, blacked out, and later awoke in a hotel room to find Wayne having sex with her. She testified that she subsequently discovered a pregnancy she attributed to the encounter and obtained an abortion. The complaint cited lyrics from a 2017 song Wayne produced, including lines about taking a Xanny and fainting, which LeMaistre’s attorneys argued referred to her experience.

During the short trial, LeMaistre was the only witness called by the plaintiff. Jurors reviewed her testimony, a handwritten note she said she wrote during an Ayahuasca ceremony in Peru detailing plans to publicize her allegations and listing a damages range, and medical records...