Zion Williamson has denied every allegation in the civil lawsuit accusing him of rape and abuse, telling the court that he and his accuser were simply friends with benefits.
The New Orleans Pelicans forward filed his formal response in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to TMZ, which reported the filing on September 22. In it, Williamson says he never harmed the woman, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, and rejects her description of their relationship. He says the two never lived together, calls their sexual relationship “friendly and casual,” and describes their encounters as “pleasant and consensual.” He also claims she often asked him for sex when he was unavailable or traveling, and says whatever they had was over by May 2023.
Jane Doe filed her lawsuit against Zion Williamson in May 2025. She says they began dating in 2018, when he was a freshman star at Duke, and that the relationship lasted until 2023. Her complaint accuses him of raping her twice in 2020, first on September 23 at a home he rented in Beverly Hills and again on October 10 of that year. She alleges he took her phone and laptop after the second incident, keeping her from getting medical help. The complaint also accuses him of strangling her repeatedly, pointing a loaded gun at her head, threatening her and her family, and continuing the abuse in Louisiana and Texas until they split. It lists nine claims, including assault, sexual battery, domestic violence, stalking and false imprisonment, and asks for unspecified damages. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Zion Williamson’s new filing does more than deny the facts. It attacks the case on legal grounds. His team argues the assault, battery, sexual battery, domestic violence and stalking claims are barred by the statute of limitations, which is the legal deadline for filing a lawsuit after an alleged incident. They also argue that California laws covering sexual battery, domestic violence and stalking cannot be applied to anything that allegedly happened in North Carolina, Texas or Louisiana. Williamson calls the domestic violence claim “nonsensical,” saying the two never lived together or saw each other often enough for the relationship to legally count as domestic. He is asking the court to dismiss the case in its entirety.
His response matches what his camp said from the start. When the suit first surfaced in 2025, his attorney Michael Balascio called the claims “categorically false and reckless” and said the lawsuit looked like an attempt to exploit a professional athlete for money. Balascio also said Williamson had reported the woman to law enforcement for extortion attempts and that an arrest warrant was issued in connection with that report, though he did not say which agency took the report. He added that Williamson planned to countersue for defamation. Public reporting has not confirmed whether that countersuit was ever filed.
Jane Doe’s legal team has stood by her account. Her attorney Mark Lanier said in 2025 that his side did not want to fight the case in the press, but called it a very serious case and said his client looked forward to her day in court before a jury of her peers.
The filing lands as Zion Williamson heads into one of the most important seasons of his career. The Pelicans won just 26 games last season and are starting over under new head coach Jamahl Mosley. Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, played 62 games last season, the second highest total of his career, but averaged a career low 21 points per game. This week, ESPN ranked him 51st in its annual list of the league’s best players, one spot outside the top 50.
The court has not yet ruled on whether Jane Doe’s claims can move forward or whether Williamson’s legal arguments will end the case before it reaches a jury.
