TDE Record Execs Hit with Harassment Lawsuit

Top Dawg Entertainment, home of rappers Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Doechii and others, hit was a sixual harassment lawsuit filed by two former employees claiming execs turned a blind eye to harassment in the workplace...

From Newsweek

A record label representing some of the biggest artists in hip-hop has been slapped with a lawsuit alleging sixual harassment and assault.

Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an independent record label that represents the likes of Peabody Award winner Kendrick Lamar, "Snooze" singer SZA and "Collard Greens" rapper Schoolboy Q. None of these artists are named in the suit or accused of any misbehavior.

Two women have alleged several of TDE's executives and employees committed sixual harassment, assault, and breach of contract against them. The lawsuit claims TDE management turned "a blind eye" when they were made aware of the allegations at the time.

Lodged in the Los Angeles Superior Court, the lawsuit identifies the women as Jane Does and alleges a "pervasive culture of sexual harassment within TDE, implicating some of its highest-ranking executives."

The first plaintiff began working at TDE in 2019 and accuses chief marketing officer, Brandon Tiffith, of approaching her with unwanted sexual advances and sexual battery. She also alleged that TDE's president Anthony Tiffith, Jr, who is the son of the label's founder, engaged in a pattern of ongoing sexual harassment.

The complaint also accuses TDE of failing to honor a contract between its president and the first Jane Doe to pay her for her professional services.

The second plaintiff has alleged multiple instances of sexual harassment and assault by "TDE employees while on TDE property and under their control." She also described an incident where she was coerced into" consuming alcohol while underage for the purpose of sexual exploitation."

The two women are being represented by attorney Shounak Dharap of Arns Davis Law.