Woman Who Won $7 Million In Sex Abuse Suit Against The Game Hopes Case Will Help Others
Exclusive: Woman Who Won $7 Million In Sex Abuse Suit Against The Game Hopes Case Will Help Others
Priscilla Rainey Said She Hopes To Empower Other Women; Lawyers For The Game Said He’ll Appeal
The woman who sensationally won a multimillion civil sex assault lawsuit against The Game said she hopes her case will help other victims and shed light on the issue of sex abuse.
A jury Nov. 18 unanimously ordered The Game to pay Rainey $1.13 million in compensatory damages and $6 million in punitive damages following a three-day trial by jury.
“This case was never about money,” Rainey said in an exclusive statement to BOSSIP. “This was always about standing up for not only my rights, but also the rights of women who have been similarly victimized.”
Rainey, a contestant on the rapper’s reality dating show, “She’s Got Game,” filed a $10 million federal civil suit against The Game after she accused him of assaulting her during an after hours date after filming the show last year. She said The Game, who appeared inebriated, molested her several times, grabbing her bare vagina and buttocks. Rainey said she suffered emotional distress and psychological injury, while the rapper denied the assault ever occurred.
A jury agreed with her, and last week ruled in her favor, awarding her a total of $7.1 million in damages.
But Andrew Williams, The Game’s lawyer, said they’d appeal for a number of reasons, including the fact that The Game couldn’t attend court in person because he had to undergo emergency surgery and was advised not to fly for 10 days. Williams said he asked to delay the trial until The Game was ready, but the judge denied it. He also said the $6 million in punitive damages were excessive based on previous U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
“We believe that a new trial is warranted where our client can vigorously deny these allegations in person,” Andrew Williams told us in a statement. “We are confident of the success of an appeal vacating the district court judgment.”
As the case made its way through the courts, the rapper lashed out at Rainey on social media, questioning her motives in suing him and accusing her of being everything from a criminal to an escort.
Rainey said although she’d been “tremendously” affected by the social media onslaught, she was determined to see the case through not only because she wanted the truth to come out, but she also wanted to empower other women who had been victimized within the music industry.
“My life has been impacted tremendously by relentless negativity, solely because I chose not to remain silent,” Rainey told us. “I am hopeful that this result can empower other women to also come forward and stand up for themselves.”
The Game has been uncharacteristically silent about the case since the Nov. 18 verdict, though it may be because he’s still recovering from the surgery.
Rainey’s lead counsel, Brad Edwards, said not only was this case controversial, but it was being tried on its own in the court of social media. Nevertheless, Edwards said he was pleased with the verdict.
“Ten citizens of Illinois reviewed all of the evidence to unanimously arrive at the result they determined was fair and just,” Edwards said in a statement to BOSSIP. “Priscilla Rainey just wanted her life back, and hopefully, this is a step in that direction.”
