James Harden’s Nephew Accused of Assaulting Woman During NYE Mansion Party—Security Team, NBA Star Sued

NBA superstar James Harden is now a defendant in a lawsuit tied to an alleged sexual assault that occurred at his Houston mansion on New Year’s Day. The filing names Harden’s nephew, Justice Armani Blackburn, Harden himself, and his security team.

According to court records, on the night of December 31st, 2024, the plaintiff and two friends visited Polekatz Gentlemen’s Club, where they spotted Harden in the VIP section and later learned of an afterparty at his home. At the mansion, they were “inspected by Harden’s security team and directed to a studio” with other guests, where they noticed other women had “passed out in the home.”

Blackburn, identified as Harden’s nephew, “offered the three women a drink from the bottle he was holding, and they each drank a small amount.” After this, one woman’s “memory became hazy,” and she felt she was “fading in and out of consciousness and unable to speak clearly.”

She then “recalled being assaulted by Blackburn. She also remembered being asked if she was on birth control during the attack.” Shortly after, Harden’s security entered the room and “told the woman to leave the mansion.” Investigators noted her search for her phone was cut short when “they rushed her out before she could find it,” while her friends were barred entry and falsely told “there were no more women in the house.”

The lawsuit accuses Harden’s security of allowing women to remain “vulnerable inside the home,” endangering them, and asserts that their haste in removing people “allowed the assault to happen and delayed her in receiving necessary help.” The lawsuit does not accuse Harden of assaulting the women.

No criminal charges have been filed, and Harden has not responded publicly.