Axl Rose Settles Sexual Assault Lawsuit as Guns N' Roses Rocker Continues to 'Deny the Allegations'
Axl Rose has settled a sexual assault lawsuit first brought against him by a former model in November 2023, PEOPLE has learned.
News of the Dec. 4 settlement comes nearly nine months after the Guns N' Roses rocker, 62, and his legal team attempted to have the suit — which claims Sheila Kennedy was sexually assaulted by the singer in a New York City hotel in 1989 — dismissed in March.
At the time, Rose's legal team cited Kennedy's 2016 memoir, No One's Pet, in which she described the alleged incident as "consensual sex," per documents obtained and reviewed by PEOPLE. They also highlighted the model's past interviews, including a time Kennedy, 62, said in the 2021 documentary Look Away she "did not consider it rape," adding the incident "was consensual."
Upon settling the suit, Rose's attorney, E. Danya Perry, told PEOPLE, "Mr. Rose has suffered greatly from this lawsuit, and I am pleased that he will now be able to move on with his life."
In a separate statement, Rose said, "As I have from the beginning, I deny the allegations. There was no assault."
In a complaint filed just prior to the expiration of the N.Y. Adult Survivors Act on Nov. 22, 2023, Kennedy sued Rose for alleged sexual assault and battery, claiming the rock legend "targeted" her by using his fame and celebrity status to "manipulate, control and violently sexually assault" her, PEOPLE previously reported.
According to documents reviewed by PEOPLE, Kennedy recalled leaving a nightclub with Rose and a group of acquaintances for his hotel suite. There, as the evening progressed, she claimed she became "uncomfortable" after watching the singer have sex with another model and attempted to have group sex.
After leaving his hotel room, Kennedy claimed Rose eventually found her and knocked her to the floor before he "grabbed her by the hair and dragged her" back to his bedroom in a "very painful" encounter.
Once inside Rose's room, the former model alleged he eventually tied her hands behind her back before "forcibly penetrating" Kennedy without asking for consent. "He treated her like property used solely for his sexual pleasure," the complaint claimed.
The complaint added, "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."
In her 2016 memoir, Kennedy claimed 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---ed around some more," she wrote.
Kennedy also wrote while there were "a lot of people out there who want to see him burn in hell," she felt differently, adding, "I don’t feel that way about him, but I do feel in a way that he got everything he deserved."
Rose's legal team has continuously denied Kennedy's claims since the lawsuit was first filed, with attorney Alan S. Gutman telling PEOPLE in November, "Simply put, this incident never happened. Notably, these fictional claims were filed the day before the New York State filing deadline expires… Mr. Rose is confident this case will be resolved in his favor."
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
Guns N' Roses Axl Rose accused of 1989 sexual assault in lawsuit
Former model Sheila Kennedy has sued Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose for alleged sexual assault and battery.
According to her lawsuit, the popular rock musician attacked her during a violent hotel room encounter in New York in 1989.
Ms Kennedy was diagnosed with anxiety and depression due to the alleged assault, the lawsuit says.
Mr Rose's representatives did not respond to BBC News' requests for comment.
Ms Kennedy seeks damages from Mr Rose for intentional affliction of emotional distress and gender motivated violence, her lawsuit says. Her attorneys have requested a jury trial.
The lawsuit was filed in New York Supreme Court days before the expiration of a law that allows sexual assault survivors to file lawsuits against their alleged attackers, no matter when the original statute of limitations expired.
Ms Kennedy said in her complaint that she was a 26-year-old model for Penthouse magazine when she met Mr Rose in a New York City nightclub in early 1989.
The musician physically and sexually assaulted her in his hotel suite hours later, she alleges in the lawsuit.
Alan S Gutman, Mr Rose's attorney, rejected Ms Kennedy's allegations in a statement to CNN.
"Simply put, this incident never happened," said Gutman, who added that Mr Rose had "no recollection" of ever meeting Ms Kennedy.
The suit states that Mr Rose invited Ms Kennedy and another model to a party of alcohol and drugs in his hotel suite.
Though Ms Kennedy said she did not mind an initial encounter with Mr Rose in which he "pushed Kennedy against the wall and kissed her", her view of the rock star changed as the night progressed.
According to the lawsuit, Ms Kennedy witnessed Mr Rose engage in sex with the other model in a manner that was "aggressive" and that "appeared painful for the model".
Afterward, the lawsuit alleges the Guns N' Roses vocalist physically assaulted Ms Kennedy in an angry confrontation.
It claims he grabbed her "by the hair and dragged her across the suite back to his bedroom". Ms Kennedy alleges she was bleeding and tried to leave, but Mr Rose restrained her and proceeded to sexually assault her.
Since the attack, Ms Kennedy has suffered "lifelong emotional, physical, psychological, and financial impacts" and she has developed "symptoms akin to post-traumatic stress disorder" when hearing Guns N' Roses music, the complaint alleges.
Dr Ann Olivarius, who is representing Ms Kennedy, alleged the music industry had enabled similar examples of misconduct.
She said she hoped Ms Kennedy's "bravery helps other victims find their voice" and will serve as "an important turning point for the music industry".
Ms Kennedy first described aspects of the alleged incident in her 2016 autobiography "No One's Pet" and in the 2021 documentary "Look Away", which details claims of abuse in the music industry, Rolling Stone magazine reported.
Mr Rose has faced allegations of abusive behavior in the past.
Past partners Erin Everly and Stephanie Seymour accused Mr Rose of physical abuse in a 1994 cover story of People magazine, which Ms Kennedy noted her in her lawsuit.
