Axl Rose Sued for Alleged 1989 Sexual Assault and Battery by Former Model as Rocker Denies Claims

The complaint was filed just one day before the expiration of the N.Y. Adult Survivors Act

A former model and actress has filed suit against Axl Rose, alleging that the Guns N’ Roses rocker sexually assaulted her in a New York City hotel during a 1989 encounter.

Sheila Kennedy sued Rose, 61, for alleged sexual assault and battery in New York on Wednesday, claiming the singer “targeted” her using his fame and celebrity status to “manipulate, control and violently sexually assault” her.

Kennedy, who previously spoke publicly about her encounter with Rose in her 2016 memoir, says in the complaint, which was obtained by PEOPLE, that she was “not previously aware” of who Rose was when she met him at a nightclub after having been invited there by a friend.

A lawyer for Rose denies the claims. "Simply put, this incident never happened. Notably, these fictional claims were filed the day before the New York State filing deadline expires," attorney Alan S. Gutman says in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. "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."

According to the complaint, Kennedy left the club with Rose and his entourage and headed for his hotel suite, where he allegedly “pushed Kennedy against the wall and kissed her,” though she says she did not mind, as she was open to sleeping with him.

As the night progressed, Kennedy, now 61, claims Rose began encouraging group sex, and she became “uncomfortable” as she watched him have sex with another model. The complaint alleges that Kennedy left Rose’s bedroom and later heard him throwing glass and screaming obscenities at the model.

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She alleges that he then came into the room she was sitting in and knocked her to the floor, then “grabbed her by the hair and dragged her” back to his bedroom in a “very painful” encounter that left her with bloody knees.

Once in Rose’s bedroom, Kennedy alleges that he threw her to the floor twice, then tied her hands behind her back using pantyhose before “forcibly penetrating Kennedy’s anus with his penis” without asking for consent.

“He treated her like property used solely for his sexual pleasure,” the complaint claims. “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.”

Kennedy, a former Penthouse model who was the magazine’s “Pet of the Year” in 1983, says in the complaint that the alleged assault left “lifelong emotional, physical, psychological and financial impacts” on her life, and that she’s experienced symptoms akin to post-traumatic stress disorder hearing Rose’s name or Guns N’ Roses music. She also claims the assault directly led to her being diagnosed with anxiety and depression, and that it negatively affected her career, as she avoided nightclubs and social scenarios where he or his music might be.

The complaint also lists other instances of Rose’s alleged sexual abuse, including his arrest for alleged statutory rape (the criminal charges were later dropped), and a 1994 PEOPLE cover story that featured interviews with his former partners Erin Everly and Stephanie Seymour. Both women alleged that Rose abused them, and both filed suit against him, though each case was settled out of court.

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Kennedy’s allegations were filed just one day before the expiration of the N.Y. Adult Survivors Act, which gave adult sex assault survivors a one-year window to sue their abusers regardless of when the abuse occurred.

She previously wrote about her encounter with Rose in her 2016 memoir No One’s Pet, in which she claimed that she was “crying and bleeding” as the musician allegedly assaulted her.

“Weirdly enough, I was okay with this. I had wanted to be with him the minute I’d first laid eyes on him, and now I was getting him. Once he was done he untied me and we f----d around some more,” she writes. “I remember going down on him… And when we were exhausted he got up next to me and spooned me, and started playing with my hair.”

Kennedy also wrote her book that while there were “a lot of people out there who want to see him burn in hell,” she felt differently.

“I don’t feel that way about him, but I do feel in a way that he got everything he deserved,” she wrote.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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