Axl Rose Hit With Lawsuit For Alleged Sexual Assault of Model: He Was “encouraging group sex and ”forcibly penetrating her”

Axl Rose, lead vocalist for legendary hard rock act GUNS N’ ROSES, is now formally facing an allegation of a sexual assault via a newly-filed civil lawsuit. Ex-Penthouse model Sheila Kennedy filed suit against the musician in New York Supreme Court today, November 22nd. Rolling Stone have obtained a copy of the lawsuit and have since reposted it.

The suit finds Kennedy claiming that Rose violently sexually assaulted her in a hotel room in NY back in 1989. It details an alleged drug and booze-fueled incident at a hotel involving Rose, herself, another model, and former MTV host Riki Rachtman.

Per Rolling Stone‘s republishing of the suit, Rose is alleged to have began having ‘violent’ sex with the other model in the hotel room, and was “encouraging group sex” with the aforementioned party. Kennedy refused, opting to instead exit with Rachtman to go back to his hotel room.

It is alleged that Rose was later heard sattering glass and yelling at the other model, “You’re a fucking whore. Get the fuck out of here.” The suit claims that Rachtman then informed Kennedy that “it’s going to get bad.” Rose is then alleged to have later entered Rachtman‘s room and berated Kennedy upon finding her there.

The suit then goes on to allege that Rose pushed Kennedy to the ground, “While Kennedy was on the ground, Rose grabbed her by the hair and dragged her across the suite back to his bedroom.” It is alleged that Rose then tied her hands behind her back with pantyhose, leaving her on the bed, before forcibly penetrating her anus with his penis.

The suit goes on to claim:

“He treated her like property used solely for his sexual pleasure. He did not use a condom. Kennedy did not consent and felt overpowered. She felt she had no escape or exit and was compelled to acquiesce. She believed Rose would physically attack her, or worse, if she said no or attempted to push him away. She understood that the safest thing to do was to lie in bed and wait for Rose to finish assaulting her.”

The suit further claims that Kennedy has experienced PTSD-like symptoms since the alleged incident, along with anxiety and depression from it as well. Assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and gender-motivated violence are listed as causes of action in the suit. She is seeking the courts to establish potential damages. Rachtman did not immediately reply to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment on the matter.

Kennedy previously spoke of the alleged incident in her 2016 autobiography ‘No One’s Pet‘. This suit was filed now under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which has temporarily waived the statute of limitations on sexual misconduct claims for civil suits for incidents alleged to have taken place where a victim was over the age of 18.

Several allegations of domestic and sexual abuse have been made against Rose in the past, including one claim filed by his ex-girlfriend Erin Everly, which was resolved in a settlement.

Update: November 23rd, 2023 12:35am:

Axl Rose has since denied the allegations put forth against him, issuing the following statement through his attorney, Alan Gutman:

“Simply put, this incident never happened. Notably, these fictional claims were filed the day before the New York State filing deadline expires. Though he doesn’t deny the possibility of a fan photo taken in passing, Mr. Rose has no recollection of ever meeting or speaking to the Plaintiff, and has never heard about these fictional allegations prior to today. Mr. Rose is confident this case will be resolved in his favor.”