Rapper Nelly settles with woman over sexual-assault lawsuit
SEATTLE – A Seattle-area woman and the rapper known as Nelly have mutually agreed to settle the woman’s lawsuit alleging he raped her on his tour bus after a performance last year, then later defamed her when he claimed she made up the allegations.
Terms of the settlement between Monique Greene and Cornell Haynes Jr. – the rap star’s legal name – have not been disclosed. A dismissal order filed in King County Superior Court on Monday shows each party agreed “to bear his/her own attorneys’ fees and costs.”
Attorney Scott Rosenblum, whose St. Louis-based law firm represented Nelly, wasn’t immediately available to comment about the case Thursday, an assistant said.
The celebrity gossip news website TMZ reported Thursday that an unidentified lawyer for Nelly contended no money had exchanged hands as part of the case’s dismissal.
Greene’s lawyer disputed that Thursday.
“My client is not making any comment,” Seattle attorney Karen Koehler said. “She’s not able to defend herself, but if someone is going to lie, I think that is inappropriate.”
Koehler said she couldn’t comment specifically on the case, but said the comment attributed to the opposing attorney was false and potentially defamatory toward Greene.
Asked if Greene still stands behind the allegations detailed in the suit, Koehler said: “100 percent.”
Police arrested Nelly on Oct. 7, shortly after Greene reported that the rapper had sexually assaulted her inside his tour bus while it was parked outside a Walmart in Auburn after his performance at a Seattle nightclub on the previous night.
A subsequent Auburn police investigation found probable cause that Nelly committed the alleged assault, but prosecutors decided against charging him, citing a lack of cooperation by his accuser. Afterward, Nelly’s attorney issued several public statements contending the then-unidentified woman had made up her claims.
Greene, then a 22-year-old University of Washington student, sued Nelly in December, shortly after prosecutors declined to bring charges in the case.
Greene’s 14-page legal complaint, which for the first time identified her name publicly, relied heavily on information gathered during the police investigation. It alleged she joined Nelly and his entourage for an after-party in his tour bus following his performance at the Seattle nightclub Aston Manor, where Greene worked as a part-time host.
After the rapper allegedly assaulted her, Greene said she was pushed out of the bus and Nelly threw a $100 bill at her and taunted her from a bus window, according to the suit.
Nelly responded to the suit by countersuing Greene for defamation, contending their sexual encounter was consensual. His claims have also been dropped under the dismissal agreement.