Influential producer The Dream has been hit with a concerning lawsuit that lodges several disturbing allegations against him. As reported in documents obtained by TMZ on June 4, a former female protégé of his accused him of sexual battery, abuse, and trafficking.
The Dream, who is most well known for writing and producing for big names like Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, and Rihanna, has been sued by his former protégé Chanaaz Mangroe. In her lawsuit, she claims the producer preyed on her by luring her into a toxic relationship by leveraging her career against her and continually subjected her to “violent sexual acts and vicious psychological torture.”
According to the documents obtained by TMZ, Netherlands-born Mangroe was led to believe that The Dream would launch her music career to the next level after the producer sponsored her to extend her work visa back in 2014.
However, as described in the lawsuit, The Dream allegedly abused and manipulated her for over a year by using his influence over her. She claimed that he raped and physically assaulted her, all while promising to make her the next Beyoncé Knowles. She explained that The Dream exploited her by using the “Texas Hold Em’” singer’s name. Although The Dream has called all of the allegations “untrue [and] defamatory,” Mangroe said he “regularly used the success he reached working with Beyonce to excuse his violent, coercive, and manipulative behavior.”
“From the moment Dream began texting Ms. Mangroe, he began regaling her with stories about how he helped create Beyonce and Rihanna and would do the same for her as long as she did everything he told her to do,” the lawsuit read.
At one point, Mangroe alleged that she was locked inside of a dark room while The Dream brutally sexually assaulted her and left her alone and naked “for hours on end.”
The Netherlands native also said The Dream “frequently strangled” her until she nearly lost consciousness. He reportedly recorded these sexual assaults and leveraged them as a means to keep her quiet about the abuse.
The lawsuit described the producer monitoring all aspects of her life. Despite his promise to boost her music career, The Dream allegedly did the opposite. She said her “music was taken away without explanation and that Dream’s record label never compensated her for the work she did under them.”
Mangroe said, “Ultimately, my silence has become too painful, and I realized that I need to tell my story to heal. I hope that doing so will also help others and prevent future horrific abuse.”
Her lawyers, Douglas H. Wigdor and Meredith Firetog, added, “This is yet another horrific example of how men in the music industry use their power and influence to manipulate and harm others.”
