Model Sues Kanye West Claiming He Choked Her on Music Video Set

An was 24 when she was hired to appear in the music video for La Roux’s hit song In For The Kill.

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She said she did not know West would be on set that day. The shoot took place at the Chelsea Hotel in New York. According to An the crew suddenly stopped work and started running around saying Kanye was coming. Models were lined up in the hallway. West chose three including An to be in the scene with him.

After starting to film An alleges West could not remember his lines. He shouted cut and turned his attention to a different scene. He pulled one chair in front of the camera and positioned himself behind it facing An but out of shot. She said she was given no direction. She was simply told to sit.

Then the music started and the cameras rolled. An said West suddenly reached out and started choking her with one hand. Then he used both hands. He smeared her makeup across her face and stuck his fingers inside her mouth in a way she said simulated oral sex. She described the act as him trying to touch as much as he could. She felt frozen. She did not object because she feared losing her job.

An said many people on set did not intervene. They just stood still and stared at her. The encounter ended when West yelled something about this being art and that he was Picasso. He said he got what he wanted and abruptly left. West did not speak to her before during or after. He never appeared in the released version of the music video.

An spoke to La Roux whose real name is Elly Jackson afterward. The singer apologised and assured her the footage would not be aired. In 2024 An reached out again via Instagram. Jackson responded saying she could never forget that day and called it horrific. She said West knew exactly what he was doing and thought it was funny. Jackson also recalled West whispering to her that she probably thought he had put women back ten years. She replied that he had put women back five hundred years. Those messages have been submitted as evidence in court.

Lawyers for West do not deny the encounter took place. They argue it was part of an intense and provocative theatrical performance meant to emulate a scene from the film American Psycho. They claim An was a consenting participant in the stage performance and did not object or attempt to leave. They said the homage may have incidentally caused her difficulty breathing.

An filed her civil Lawsuit under New York City’s Gender Motivated Violence Protection Act. The case has not yet gone to trial. West’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss arguing the First Amendment protects the encounter as expressive art. An’s lawyer said it would set a really dangerous precedent for artists to feel they can do whatever they want in creative spaces and get away with it as long as they call it art.