Metro Boomin will face a civil rape trial later this year after settlement talks between the producer and accuser Vanessa LeMaistre fell apart. The case is now scheduled to begin on September 23, 2025.
LeMaistre’s 2024 lawsuit accuses Metro, born Leland Wayne, of sexually assaulting and impregnating her in 2016. She claims she blacked out after taking Xanax and drinking alcohol in his studio during a recording session, later waking up in a different location to find him assaulting her while she was “completely unable to move or make a sound.”
Metro has denied the allegations, with his legal team calling the lawsuit a “pure shakedown.” Court filings reviewed by *Billboard* on August 11 reveal the two sides participated in mediation in July with a retired judge and “continued limited settlement discussions, which have proven unsuccessful.”
According to LeMaistre, she met Metro in Las Vegas that year, bonded over music after telling him about the death of her 9-month-old son, and later traveled to California to visit his studio. She says the alleged assault resulted in a pregnancy and abortion, and claims the incident is referenced in the 2017 song “Rap Saved Me,” performed by Offset, 21 Savage, and Quavo. The track contains the lyrics, “She took a Xanny, then she fainted / I’m from the gutter, ain’t co hanging / From the gutter, rap saved me / She drive me crazy, have my baby.”
Metro denies writing those lyrics and insists their encounter was consensual, further alleging she fabricated the story after taking ayahuasca years later.
“These are false accusations,” attorney Lawrence Hinkle said. “Mr. Wayne refused to pay her months ago, and he refuses to pay her now… He will file a claim for malicious prosecution once he prevails.”
LeMaistre’s attorney Michael Willemin countered, “We look forward to holding Mr. Wayne accountable in front of a jury of his peers.”
