L.A. Reid settles Drew Dixon civil suit before Manhattan trial

On the day his civil trial was scheduled to begin in Manhattan, Grammy-winning music executive Antonio "L.A." Reid settled a lawsuit brought by a former employee, Drew Dixon, who had accused him of sexual assault and harassment.

Ms. Dixon, who worked for Mr. Reid at Arista Records in the early 2000s, filed the suit in 2023 alleging that Mr. Reid groped, kissed and digitally penetrated her without her consent on two occasions — once on his private plane en route to a companywide retreat in Puerto Rico and once in his car after a work event. The complaint said Mr. Reid retaliated after Ms. Dixon rebuffed him by reducing her promotional and recording budgets and rejecting song demos and artist auditions, which the suit said prevented her from signing and cultivating artists such as John Legend and Kanye West. The suit also said Ms. Dixon left Arista in 2002 and that the departure caused irreparable damage to her career.

Details of the settlement were not disclosed. Ms. Dixon filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act and said in a statement that she hoped her advocacy for the law would help create a safer music business and that the settlement was "a ray of light peeking through the clouds." Imran H. Ansari, a lawyer for Mr. Reid, said the matter was "amicably resolved" without any admission of liability. The announcement came on Monday, the day the trial was to begin.

Key Topics

Culture, L.a. Reid, Drew Dixon, Arista Records, Adult Survivors Act, Puerto Rico