A woman sued New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson on Thursday, saying Williamson raped her multiple times. She also said in the complaint that he physically hurt her, stalked her, and threatened to kill her and her family. The woman filed as Jane Doe in Los Angeles County Superior Court, and said the violence occurred while she and Williamson were dating for several years.
The lawsuit listed nine causes of action: assault, battery, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, domestic violence, stalking, burglary, false imprisonment, and conversion. A lawyer for Williamson responded by issuing a statement saying the allegations were "categorically false and reckless" and calling the lawsuit "an attempt to exploit a professional athlete driven by a financial motive rather than any legitimate grievance."
According to the lawsuit, filed by Doe's attorneys K. Rachel Lanier, W. Mark Lanier, and Sam E. Taylor II, she and Williamson began dating in 2018, while he was a freshman at Duke, and they continued dating through June of 2023, including when Williamson was taken No. 1 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by his current team, the Pelicans. The lawsuit described Williamson as "abusive, controlling, and threatening" toward Doe before focusing in on two times, both in 2020, when the lawsuit said Williamson raped Doe in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he had moved for training.
The first rape, per the lawsuit, happened in September of 2020. On or about Sept. 23, Williamson came back to the home he was renting, but Doe said she was tired and wanted to go back to her hotel. Williamson called her "stuck up" and a "bitch" before saying she could not go to sleep before she had sex with him, the lawsuit said. Doe said no, and, per the complaint, Williamson pinned her down on the bed "with her hands behind her back and raped her." When Doe tried to grab her phone afterward, Williamson "thew it across the room" and "yelled at her for 'talking too much.'" Doe said in her complaint that she could smell alcohol on his breath.
According to the lawsuit, a second rape happened the following month, also in Beverly Hills. On Oct. 10, Doe told Williamson that she wanted to see a friend down in San Diego. Per the complaint, Williamson told her no and got angry, throwing things and scaring Doe. "Then, he picked her up, threw her down to the ground, and pinned her shoulders down so she could not move," the lawsuit said. "[Williamson] violently raped Plaintiff in multiple ways." Afterward, the document said, Williamson took Doe's cellphone and laptop, stopping her from reporting what happened, going to a hospital, or getting a ride.
The lawsuit said the abuse and rape continued to happen across multiple states and goes on to list 17 examples of acts it said were done by Williamson, many times while he was drunk or on cocaine. The list in the lawsuit included: sexually and physically assaulting Doe multiple times, confining her after a rape or assault multiple times, strangling her to the point she feared for her life and lost consciousness multiple times, suffocating or smothering her multiple times, threatening multiple times to have his security guard shoot Doe in the head while the guard was there and carrying a loaded gun, and threatening to have his security guard kill Doe's parents multiple times after telling her he knows where they live. The lawsuit also said Williamson pointed a gun at Doe's head in 2022 in Louisiana; it added that he filmed her without her consent, then threatened to share nude photos and videos of her when she wanted to end the relationship in California and Louisiana.
In his statement, Williamson's lawyer, Michael A. Balascio, said Williamson and Doe never dated, but they did have a "consensual, casual relationship" that began more than six years ago and ended "years ago." At no point during the relationship, the statement said, did Doe "raise any concerns" and it was only "after the friendship ended did she begin demanding millions of dollars." The statement said Williamson considers the lawsuit defamatory, and that he intends to to file a counterclaim so that the legal process "will expose the truth and fully vindicate Mr. Williamson."
The statement said Williamson had reported Doe to law enforcement and an arrest warrant had been issued "in connection with that report." The statement did not say what law enforcement agency received the report, or who had issued the arrest warrant. Balascio did not reply to an email asking for clarification on those points.
The lawsuit in full, followed by the full statement from Williamson's lawyer, are below:
