Axl Rose has settled a sexual abuse lawsuit filed last year by former model Sheila Kennedy, Fox News Digital has confirmed.
Details surrounding the settlement have not been disclosed. Kennedy, a former Penthouse Pet of the Year, claimed Rose attacked her in a New York hotel room shortly after meeting at a nightclub in 1989.
“As I have denied from the beginning, I deny the allegations. There was no assault,” the spokesperson said Guns N’ Roses lead singer told Fox News Digital. His attorney, E. Danya Perry, echoed similar statements: “Mr. Rose has suffered tremendously from this lawsuit and I am glad he can now move on with his life.”
AXL ROSE ACCUSED OF VIOLENT SEXUAL ASSAULT BY FORMER MODEL IN 1989: LAWSUIT
Axl Rose settled a sexual assault lawsuit filed by Sheila Kennedy in 2023 under the New York Adult Survivors Act. (Getty Images)
Representatives for Kennedy did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Kennedy’s claim was filed the day before the trial New York Adult Survivors Act expired in 2023, allowing sexual assault survivors to file lawsuits against alleged abusers after the statute of limitations expired.
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In the lawsuit, Kennedy alleged that the “Paradise City” singer used his “fame, status and power as a celebrity and recording artist in the music industry to gain access to manipulate, control and violently sexually assault Kennedy.”
Rose – whose full name is William Bruce Rose, Jr. is – allegedly invited Kennedy back to his hotel room for a party with his friend, David Andrew “Riki” Rachtman, but wouldn’t let Kennedy’s friend because she wasn’t “hot enough.” “to his taste, per documents.
According to documents, Kennedy suffered “severe emotional, physical, financial and psychological distress” after he was allegedly attacked by Rose. (Getty Images)
“Kennedy apologized to her friend and joined Rose, Rachtman and another model, invited by Rachtman, to go from the nightclub to Rose’s luxury suite at a hotel on Central Park West,” the complaint said. Once in the hotel room, more acquaintances joined the party, and “Rose supplied his guests in the suite with cocaine, champagne and alcohol.”
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“The party was in full swing and there were many people in the suite. Eventually, Rose told Rachtman to clear the suite of everyone except Kennedy and the other model, and Rachtman did so,” the documents say. Kennedy felt “uncomfortable” when he saw Rose “having sex with the other model.”
“Rose was aggressive in a way that seemed painful to the model. The encounter quickly became not only uncomfortable, but disturbing,” the complaint said. Rachtman and Kennedy went down the hall to a back bedroom to talk when she suddenly claimed to have heard “objects being thrown and the sound of glass breaking.” She also claimed to hear Rose yelling at the other model, and was warned by Rachtman, “It’s going to be bad.”
Kennedy then reportedly heard Rose storming “down the hall” toward them, and when she saw Kennedy, Rose yelled at her, “What the fuck are you doing here?” She claimed Rose grabbed her by her bathrobe and “knocked her to the ground in the hallway.”
Rose continues to deny Kennedy’s claims. (Getty Images)
“While Kennedy was still on the floor, Rose grabbed her by the hair and dragged her through the suite back to his bedroom,” the lawsuit said. “This was very painful for Kennedy and caused her knees to bleed from scraping the carpet.”
Rose allegedly “tied Kennedy’s hands behind her back” with pantyhose nearby and then “sexually assaulted Kennedy.” The lawsuit stated, “Rose’s sexual abuse of Kennedy had lifelong emotional, physical, psychological and financial consequences on Kennedy’s life.”
Kennedy claimed that she was “diagnosed with anxiety and depression” as a result of the attack. She also said her career has suffered.
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Rose’s attorney, Alan S. Gutman, said in an earlier statement to Fox News Digital: “Simply put, this incident never occurred. Specifically, these fictitious claims were filed the day before the New York State filing deadline expires. Although that is not the case.” “To deny the possibility that a fan photo was casually taken, Mr. Rose has no recollection of ever meeting or speaking with the accuser and has never heard of these fictitious allegations before today.”
