In the middle of a beef with fellow hip-hop media figure DJ Vlad, N.O.R.E., real name Victor Santiago, is facing a sexual assault lawsuit from Carmen Bryan. She claims he sexually assaulted her at a Manhattan nightclub in 1999 while he was intoxicated, allegations he has outright denied via a statement from his lawyer posted to his Instagram Story yesterday evening (Thursday, September 10).
"The allegations by Ms. Bryan about invented interactions with Mr. Santiago from nearly three decades ago are entirely false," attorney Leonard F. Lesser of Simon Lesser PC stated. "We will defend Mr. Santiago from this legally groundless lawsuit and look forward to exposing Ms. Bryan's fabrications in court as we clear Mr. Santiago's good name."
Lesser also claimed Carmen Bryan "has a long history of making salacious and contested claims about public figures." He mentioned the 2006 book It’s No Secret: From Nas to Jay-Z, From Seduction to Scandal–A Hip-Hop Helen of Troy Tells All and her 2018 book Life After Child Support: When The Checks Stop Coming. Lesser claimed the complete lack of any mention of N.O.R.E. in these accounts suggest Bryan is lying about the alleged sexual assault.
N.O.R.E. Lawsuit
Carmen Bryan, an entrepreneur formerly of Rush Management who shares a child with Nas, accused the rapper and podcaster of forcing himself on her in a packed club. The 20-page civil lawsuit alleged he "physically overpowered" her "committed an act of non-consensual digital penetration." Per the lawsuit, Bryan's pleas for N.O.R.E. to stop only manifested when other folks in the venue pulled him off her.
Also, she claimed he apologized to her twice for this alleged assault. In the complaint, Carmen Bryan claimed "pervasive sexism, sexual objectification, and ‘misogynoir’" in hip-hop led her to stay silent. She claimed she told Jay-Z, an on-and-off partner, about the situation, but also alleged she convinced him to not confront N.O.R.E. when he allegedly "threatened to confront [him] personally."
Elsewhere, N.O.R.E.'s media beef with DJ Vlad was at the top of his mind. But these sexual assault allegations are now taking priority. His commentary hasn't slowed down, so we'll see if he discusses any of this publicly on other platforms or mediums.
