Rapper Nelly is being sued by a woman who alleges he raped her on his tour bus and then tossed a $100 bill at her as he shoved her out the door.
The woman, Erica Greene, initially filed a police report regarding the allegation on Oct. 7 after Nelly's concert in Auburn, Washington, but a week later, she told detectives she would no longer cooperate with their investigation after her name was leaked to the press despite assurances that it would remain confidential.
A barrage of hostile messages on social media and interview requests soon followed, and Nelly, arguing that Greene’s refusal to cooperate with police signaled that her claims against him were false, said he intended to pursue his own legal action against her.
Now Greene has filed a civil lawsuit against Nelly, whose legal name is Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., claiming sexual assault and defamation.
According to her complaint filed Monday in Washington state, Greene, a college student at the University of Washington, said she met Nelly, 43, on Oct. 6 when he was performing at Aston Manor dance club in Seattle.
A member of Nelly’s entourage asked her to join the group in the VIP area, where Greene alleges she was given even more alcohol. After the club, Greene joined Nelly's afterparty on his tour bus in a Walmart parking lot at 2:30 a.m.
Greene states in her lawsuit that while she found the location odd, she did not feel unsafe, because there were other people on the bus. Once aboard, Nelly allegedly took her to his bedroom at the back of the bus.
“Nelly then began masturbating, closed the door, and sexually assaulted Ms. Greene against her will and after Ms. Greene refused to consent,” the lawsuit states. “This included oral sex and penetrated her with his penis.”
Greene alleges that, in addition to saying no, she tried to dissuade Nelly by stating that he couldn’t have intercourse with her without a condom. According to the lawsuit, after the initial assault, Nelly emerged from the bathroom, resumed masturbating, and wanted to have sex again.
After the alleged assault, Greene began yelling that she wanted off the bus. At this point, she claims, Nelly pushed her off the bus and threw a $100 bill at her as he closed the bus door while telling her “bye-bye.”
Greene states in her complaint that Nelly then taunted her from the bus window as she stood alone in the Walmart parking lot. When the police arrived, she gave a recorded statement, signed a medical release form, and completed a rape kit exam at a medical facility.
After his arrest, Nelly told police that while he had not used a condom, he believed his encounter with Greene was consensual.
But after Greene withdrew her cooperation with the investigation, police issued a statement that they were dropping the case, prompting Nelly to threaten a defamation lawsuit.
Nelly’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, said Greene’s lawsuit comes as no surprise and promised to countersue.
"It comes as no surprise that Ms. Greene filed a lawsuit against Nelly seeking money after we announced our intention to hold her accountable,” Rosenblum said. “We always believed her accusation was motivated by greed. Nelly will answer and proceed with a counter suit against her for her outrageous unfounded allegations."