Woman’s Herpes Case Against Usher Will Go Forward After Judge Denies Singer’s Dismissal Bid (Exclusive)

Usher and Laura Helm. Getty Images and Instagram

Laura Helm Accused Usher Of Knowingly Exposing Her To The Herpes Virus

A judge has denied Usher’s bid to dismiss a case accusing him of transmitting the herpes virus to a sex partner.

Atlanta Judge Kelly Lee Ellerbe on Tuesday denied Usher’s motion to dismiss Laura Helm’s case against him, saying that Usher’s defense that Helm should have known the risks involved with unprotected sex didn’t have a leg to stand on, according to the order, which was obtained by BOSSIP. The judge ruled that Helm successfully argued in her complaint that Usher caused her illness – something Usher denied in court papers. And the judge said that Usher’s alleged disregard for Helm, which was evidenced in her complaint, added weight to her allegation that Usher intentionally caused her emotional distress, which was another reason Usher said Helm’s complaint should be thrown out.

Usher, who has not outright denied that he has herpes, asked the judge to dismiss the case in part because he said his alleged victim knew the risks of having casual unprotected sex were. He said that Helm never proved that he was the one who gave her herpes and chastised Helm for not bringing any protection with her to their alleged sexual assignations.

But the judge’s decision means that Helm can now take her case against the “Caught Up” singer to trial.

We exclusively revealed that Helm sued Usher for negligence, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and more earlier this year.

Helm said she had sex with Usher twice and she later she’d contracted the virus. She said Usher had a duty of care to tell her that he allegedly has herpes, and the diagnosis caused her to suffer mentally and emotionally from the stigma of being a single woman with herpes.